Religion not the issue
So Larry Sabato says the matter of Del. Eric Cantor’s faith was the “unspoken issue people whispered about” in the recent GOP primary campaign (Cover story, June 27). That’s funny, because I voted for Eric Cantor and I didn’t find out he is Jewish until I read Sabato’s unfortunate and typically out-of-touch-with-real-people analysis in Style. Talk about scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Had someone shouted it from the rooftops, Cantor’s religious faith wouldn’t have mattered to me as a voter whose polling precinct happens to be right across the street from my church. My reason for voting for Cantor is simply that he was the better candidate, though I vehemently disagree with his position on most issues. That’s not too sexy a reason — and I realize people who earn a living watching politics and explaining what happens to the ignorant masses need more oomph when it comes to the phenomenon of a close race.
But the theory that Cantor’s faith played a role in this race is just beyond offensive. The notion that anyone, Republican or Democrat, might whisper about this man’s religious faith, let alone cast a vote for his Baptist opponent based solely or in part on that fact, smacks of a deep bigotry. If those doing the whispering are Christian, they haven’t been reading the same Scripture I have.
So just who was involved in quietly telling GOP voters about Cantor’s faith, using innuendo to imply that he might be somehow less than qualified to serve because of it? Will those same people mount a secret smear campaign against him in the fall?
The suggestion of a whisper campaign does a great disservice to many of us out here who, in an ongoing exploration of our faith, honor the interconnectedness between Judaism and Christianity.
Laura E. Bland
Keeping his seat is the problem
Even if it was unintentional, Larry Sabato seems to have articulated one of the major problems facing the House of Representative when he said of Eric Cantor (Cover story, June 27): “That’s all anyone can ask. He’s got to worry about keeping his seat.” If all Cantor is going to worry about in the next two years — assuming, as everyone does, his election – is keeping his seat, it means we in the 7th will be unrepresented for that period.
Carol J. Brandt
Phooey on foie gras
Shame on you, Style, for your recent references to foie gras (Cover story, July 4). Maybe you just don’t know how they make the product.
In more civilized places like the U.K. and Switzerland its production is against the law. Members of England’s Royal Family initiated boycotts on establishments that serve the dish. Many U.S. restaurants, such as Chicago’s Pump Room, San Antonio’s, La Louisiane and the San Francisco Hilton simply have removed it from their menu. Even a number of the airlines are removing it from their in-flight menus.
Sorry, but you really should give yourself a -5 on your “The Score” this week. You do deserve a +2 for an otherwise useful dining edition. That should put you a few points ahead of the restaurants that serve foie gras; they simply get minuses.
Barbara West
Menu-making is an art
I have just read Carter Braxton’s review of Lewis Ginter’s Robins Tea House with great interest (Restaurant Reviews, July 4). As membership director of the Bull & Bear Club, I was gratified by your description of our club as “downtown’s fancy high-rise dining room.” We do have a dining room that serves a very eclectic menu.
Our new chef, Michael Grayson, has transformed our menu of fresh foods, free-range meats, farm-raised seafood’s, organically grown herbs and the market’s best selection of fruits and vegetables, all of this is paired with a wonderful wine list.
However, I would like to point out that we offer amenities other than dining. My main concern with your article is that you state that you “must order lunch from a menu assembled by The Bull & Bear Club.” I wonder if Carter Braxton is aware of the amount of time and effort it takes to put together a menu, especially a seasonally adapted one. It is revised and revamped until a consensus is reached that it is good to go. Obviously you enjoyed your meal and we are ecstatic about that. The Bull & Bear Club is privileged to offer dining at two establishments that afford a perfect view.
Judi A. Antrobus
Director of Membership
Bull & Bear Club
Inspired to sweat
I really enjoyed reading Brandon Walter’s piece about SEAL Team (Cover Story, July 11). She did a great job. It makes me want to go and work out. Congrats to Style and her for writing and publishing such an interesting article.
Kent Engelke
Correction:
In a photo caption in the July 18 cover story, we incorrectly identified Del. Eric Cantor as a Democrat. Cantor, whom Style profiled in a cover story June 27, won the Republican primary for the 7th District Congressional seat and will face Democrat Warren Stewart in November. Style regrets the error.
