Dear Editor,
I am a Republican who will be voting for Joe Biden. To all who are planning to vote for Donald Trump, including people that I know and love, please read on. You and I probably get our news from different sources and, as a result, we may have a different understanding of various issues. But the following are facts that I don’t think you would dispute and I ask that you consider them.
Why do you suppose that five of the President’s hand-picked advisers have been found guilty of crimes, some of whom are in prison as you read this? (Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Michael Flynn, and Roger Stone.)
Why do you suppose that well respected military and intelligence leaders have taken the unprecedented step of publicly opposing the re-election of the President? (John Kelly, Retired Marine Corp General; Jim Mattis, Retired Marine Corp General; Colin Powell, retired General and former Secretary of State; John Brennan, former CIA Director; KT McFarland, former Deputy National Security Advisor.)
Why do you suppose that 300 members of the Bush administration or campaigns are publicly backing Biden? Or that 100 former staff of McCain’s congressional offices and campaigns also endorsed Biden for president.
Why do you suppose that Trump’s cabinet has had more “acting secretaries” than any of his predecessors?
Why do you suppose that norms long held in our government have been ignored since 2016? (No presidential tax returns, no medical records, no compliance with the Hatch Act, no regularly scheduled press conferences, no party platform.)
Why do you suppose that Bob Woodward, having written extensively about 9 presidents has, for the first time, felt compelled to express a personal opinion about this president? His conclusion: “Trump is the wrong man for the job.” (Rage, page 392)
Why do you suppose that prominent Republican and Conservative writers oppose the president? (Bill Kristol, George Will, David Frum, and the late Charles Krauthammer.) In October 2016 Mr. Krauthammer wrote: “This election is not just about placing the nuclear codes in Trump’s hands. It’s also about handing him the instruments of civilian coercion, such as the IRS, the FBI, the FCC, the SEC. Imagine giving over the vast power of the modern state to a man who says in advance that he will punish his critics and jail his opponent. It takes decades, centuries, to develop ingrained norms of political restraint and self-control. But they can be undone in short order by a demagogue feeding a vengeful populist.”
I’m guessing that the Republican Senators who have not asked these questions of themselves (Lindsay Graham comes to mind), were acting in their own self-interest. They didn’t want the president to “primary” them; they want to keep their jobs. You have no such reason to not consider these facts. Please, in the privacy of your mind ask yourself, why?
Bess Mosley
Portsmouth, N.H.
Bess,
We’ve come to believe that politics in this country have become uncoupled from…well, from politics. Politics are, eventually, about governing, and Republicans these days aren’t interested in governing. If one party in a duopoly forfeits, the other party can’t play even if they try.
Rich Republicans are interested in tax cuts—more tax cuts—so they can get even richer. They’re monomaniacs, or, more accurately, moneymaniacs. For non-rich Republicans, politics is a sport—a sport you play by hating someone.
Rich Republicans bought exemption from that hate by literally spending billions on propaganda to divert the blame from themselves—they are the true culprits, of course, through the rigged game of capitalism—to the Democrats.
Rich, powerful Democrats? Poor, powerless Democrats? It doesn’t matter. That’s the beautiful thing about hate—from a certain perspective. Jack your victims’ hate dials up to 11, and they can’t think straight even if they try.
The Editor