Prolific writer draws responses.

Byline: Mark Baker The Register-Guard

Who is this guy?

There was no one on our list of frequent letter-writers who we wanted to meet more than James T. Bryant, perhaps the most recognizable name to recent regular readers of The Register-Guard's editoral pages.

The 62-year-old Eugene man had seven letters published during the past year, resulting in 21 printed responses.

"And that's just the tip of the iceberg," says associate editor Jim Godbold, who handles letters for The Register-Guard's editorial department. "If I printed them all, that would fill the whole page for two weeks."

Some readers have speculated that the seemingly arch-conservative Bryant must be a liberal just having fun. But no, he is a prolific letter-writer awash in a land of left-wingers.

Bryant declined to be interviewed, saying, "If you've read my letters, you know what I think of liberals. Nothing personal, but I just wouldn't trust you to get it right."

Bryant actually worked at The Register-Guard from 1966 to 1978, the final 10 years as an advertising salesman. He's also a former private investigator.

Although the newspaper has a policy of printing only one letter per month, Bryant sometimes has one coming in every day, Godbold says.

Or he'll just clip out a piece by liberal columnist Molly Ivins - as he did with her Feb. 15 column on Vice President Dick Cheney, "Talk about shooting an endangered species" - with the words "She's fat, she's dumb, she's dishonest; a liberal!" written on it.

Here are a few excerpts from recent Bryant letters, with some of the responses they brought:

"We've always lumped politicians and used car salesmen together at the bottom of the trusted list. I suggest that there is a group even sleazier and less trustworthy than this stellar duo ... journalists and report- ers." - From "Liberal media can't be trusted," April 11, 2005

A response:

"Many letters in The Register-Guard label it as a liberal paper. The fact that Bryant gets published so often proves otherwise." - From "Journal- ists are liberal; so what?" Frances Fischer, Springfield, April 21, 2005

`It seems that our president, who all the libs think is dumb, received better grades at Yale than Kerry. ... Of course, the libs' action wing, the abusively liberal mainstream media, never calls them on this, so they go merrily along doing their Mortimer Snerd impression. I say let them proceed." - From "Bush beat Kerry's grades at Yale," July 18, 2005

A response:

"Did I get James T. Bryant straight? President Bush is dumb and Sen. John Kerry is dumber? Wait a minute. That's a movie: 'Dumb and Dumber.' I am glad Bryant clarified that. I feel so much better about the direction we are headed." - From "Maybe Hollywood has an answer," Jim Martinez, Coos Bay, July 26, 2005

"News flash for liberals and their dishonest mainstream media: Iraq is a stunning success! Let me reiterate. Iraq is a stunning success!" - From "Iraq is a stunning Bush success," Oct. 23, 2005

A response:

"James T. Bryant's Oct. 23 letter - wherein he describes the Iraq debacle as a 'stunning success' six times in six paragraphs - leads me to believe he must have played contact sports as a youth. It is possible to be stunned more often than is good for a person." - From "Maybe 'stunned' is a better word," James L. Whetstine, Eugene, Nov. 1, 2005

`Thank God for George W. Bush, with more integrity in his little finger than the entire festering cesspool of ignorance, deceit and corruption that has become the American left." - From "Thank God for President Bush," Jan. 1, 2006

A response:

`We should cheer good King George and his royal court for setting democratic ideals back to the Dark Ages. I mean the Constitution, like the Geneva Conventions, is a quaint document and evidently outdated - at least it is according to Bryant and King George W." - From "Bush must be above the law," Leo Blum, Eugene, Jan. 6, 2006

"Our abusively liberal mainstream media, including The Register-Guard, remembers very well the success they had in turning the American people against the Vietnam War. They think they can do it again ... How, you ask, could anyone with even a shadow of a conscience suggest this disastrous course? Their only reason is to destroy President Bush, a man morally and mentally their superior in every way." - From "Media hope for failure in Iraq," June 18, 2005

A response:

" ... at least Bryant must have a good sense of humor when he refers to 'President Bush, a man morally and mentally their superior in every way.' Now, that's real humor!" - From "Praise of Bush was humorous," Ken Molly, Eugene, June 26, 2005

"As usual, our idiot liberals in the mainstream media overreacted, overstated and tried, as usual, to blame everything about Hurricane Katrina on President Bush ... Idiocy on this level is excused only if it comes out of the mouths of liberals, the source of almost all idiocy." - From "Liberals hope for more deaths," Sept. 17, 2005

A response:

"In response to James T. Bryant's hateful and confusing letter of Sept. 17, I can only say 'What?' - From "Time to let Bush go," L.J. Sellers, Eugene, Sept. 26, 2005

"George W. Bush did make one horrible miscalculation in his planning for success in Iraq ... He had no idea that our abusively liberal mainstream media and our morally bankrupt liberals would lie relentlessly and then accuse the Bush administration of lying. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Any questions?" - From "Bush made one miscalculation," Dec. 14, 2005

A response:

"... I would personally request that Bryant be allowed on the letters page twice a month. It's refreshing to read conservative views presented with so much humor." - From "Once a month is not enough," Jim Showker, Eugene, Dec. 21, 2005