OPINION — In a recent letter, “Ideological warfare will stain Fountain Hills,” Stephen Gay frames routine council decisions as bordering on ideological warfare. It is a master class in political delegitimization.
We see a predictable pattern of opposition, with policy disagreements treated as proof of moral failure and unfitness to govern. The script never changes; the goal is not persuasion but a constant effort to discredit the majority. Positive outcomes are never acknowledged.
When a governing majority enforces meeting rules, it is called repression. When it limits debate to stay on agenda, it is labeled silencing. When it votes contrary to progressive preferences, it is said to defile community values. Normal parliamentary procedure becomes “authoritarian.” Majority rule becomes “ideological warfare.”
