The writer is responding to two recent letters, “Democrat uses race to spur voters,” by Elaine Hewitt, and “A political hatchet attack,” by John Leatherman, that were published Sept. 1 and 4, respectively.

My recent letter concerning Ted Budd (“Budd using race to spur voters,” Aug. 29) seems to have been wildly successful at raising awareness.

The article concerning the opening of the Republican headquarters makes no mention of Maxine Waters’ membership on the House Financial Services Committee. The phrase “pass the gavel” is generally understood to mean that the office of Speaker of the House is being transferred. Budd said, “For instance, if we lose the House, the gavel would go to Maxine Waters.”

While it may have been apparent to Budd’s audience at the headquarters that he was referring to the committee, I feel certain that most readers assumed his statement was in regard to the speakership of the House.

Every word I attributed to Budd was his alone. Mr. Leatherman seems to be under the impression that it is improper to use a short quote. I think he was trying to accuse me of taking a statement out of context. In this instance, if anyone has been playing around with context, it is Mrs. Hewitt and Mr. Leatherman, apparently seasoned practitioners of gotcha politics.

Neither Elaine Hewitt, John Leatherman nor myself are running for office in November. However, Ted Budd is a candidate and I would like to revisit his response to last year’s deadly hurricanes.

Budd failed to join nearly every other member of Congress in voting for the initial Hurricane Harvey aid package to help alleviate the suffering in Texas. One month later, when Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, Budd once again voted to deny aid. Maybe the money just wasn’t available.

Just a few weeks later, Budd voted for a massive tax cut whose primary beneficiaries are corporations and the very wealthy. Now this legislation is adding billions to the national debt.

Ted Budd’s abandonment of Americans in such desperate need is a moral outrage.

— Keith Townsend

Mount Ulla