To the editor: The midterm election results were extremely disheartening to me. A 40 percent voter turnout is hardly a referendum on anything other than apathy, yet those who voted deserve to be heard.

If I were to consider the elections a mandate or referendum on anything, it would be on conservatism. Most of the high-profile Democrats claimed a conservative platform, although I would question whether most ran with any platform at all. It remains to be seen if they truly are conservative or if they just said what we wanted hear.

Contrary to my assertion that conservatism won is the hypocrisy of our state results. It boggles my mind that Missourians passed Amendment 2 with the stated intent to use government-funded stem-cell research to find cures for diseases while simultaneously disapproving a proposed amendment to increase tobacco taxes on the very substance that causes many of the diseases we hope to cure with Amendment 2.

It further boggles my mind that we elected to power a party whose leadership had called our troops uneducated murderers and rapists. And that we elected to power a group that doesn't support the Patriot Act, NSA wiretapping nor the Military Commissions Act.

I guess I must discern that the election results were nothing more than a vote for change. Time will tell if that change was good for the country or if our economy, citizenry, troops and security will suffer. For the sake of the country, I hope the change was good.

CHAD CRAFT, Jackson