MN: Newspaper editor defends 12-year-old letter writer
12:21 PM
St. Cloud Times opinion page editor Randy Krebs says he was surprised by the reaction to a letter to the editor that backed Dem Elwyn Tinklenberg over incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann.
Mostly, I was surprised at how the articulate and ambitious words of a child could spark so much, well, venom. That's right. Each of my correspondences came with varying (but unmistakable) degrees of age discrimination and political partisanship, most of which was directed at the author, not the issue. ... I've had plenty of contact with kids this age and there are many of them whose depth of knowledge, passion for issues and writing abilities are more than adequate to match up with any elected official. ... I'd bet you dollars to doughnuts that this girl had less help writing her piece than most elected officials and candidates get with their submissions.Read Krebs' entire piece
