Dear Editor:
In May 2016, South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham stated: “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed… and we will deserve it.” At the time he was referring to the Republican Party. While Sen. Graham would now disagree, since he has since transformed into a loyal Trump disciple, his prediction has come true. There is very little left other than its name and the elephant symbol that represents the old Republican Party. For example, imagine the party of Eisenhower and Reagan supporting Vladimir Putin over a democratic Ukraine and our NATO allies. Or imagine the once law and order party nominating a twice impeached sexual abuser and convicted felon for President. Unthinkable, but here we are.
In a matter of weeks Americans will vote in what will be the most consequential election in our history. An election where what is at stake is much larger than the destruction of a political party. Knowing everything we now know about Donald Trump and the clear existential threat he poses to our Constitution, the rule of law, our governmental institutions and to democracy itself, the choice should be very clear. To paraphrase Lindsey Graham’s 2016 prediction, if we elect Trump, we will get destroyed… and some of us will deserve it. But in the end, we will all be left to suffer and mourn the failed great experiment in democracy
Hon. Rich DiPentima
Portsmouth, N.H.
Rich:
Calling this “the most consequential election in our history,” risks uttering the most hyperbolic statement in history—but who’s to say you’re wrong? Not us.
In 60 days, the most powerful nation in the history of the world may or may not entrust our vast nuclear arsenal, and with it mankind’s future, to a felon whose family, if they cared for him at all, would have had him committed long ago.
Current polls say this election is a tossup. Yes—and it seems like Anton Chigurh is the one who’s tossing the coin.
The Editor
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When It’s Wrong to Go Right
To the Editor:
Please support Chuck Morse for Governor and Russell Prescott for Congress in the First Congressional District. Morse and Prescott have done what so many candidates fail to do: fight for and deliver on their campaign promises to make the lives of New Hampshire citizens better.
Morse has spent more than a decade fighting to make New Hampshire citizens more safe, more prosperous, and more free. Learn about Chuck Morse here: https://www.chuckmorsefornh.com.
As U.S. Senator, Kelly Ayotte didn’t fulfill her campaign promises; she increasingly voted with the Democrats, for example: she voted to start funding illegal immigrants (HR 240), restrict Second Amendment rights (HR 2578), and against eliminating wasteful Government agencies (HR 2028).
It’s too bad we can’t count on Kelly Ayotte, she is a good speaker, knows how to appeal to voters. But she hasn’t explained why Republican voters should trust her this time.
In his 14 years in office Russell Prescott fought to fulfill his campaign promises; he remained true to N.H. voters and his conservative beliefs. Prescott is also a winner, having won seven elections, including against, now U.S. Senator, Maggie Hassan twice.
It’s vitally important to elect people who have demonstrated commitment to their promises in the face of strong opposition since Washington seduces so many politicians into abandoning their promises, e.g., Ayotte. Learn about Russell Prescott here: https://www.prescottforcongress.com.
We must support the candidates who have proven they will fight for their campaign promises to make our lives better. If we don’t reward them, why should they fight so hard to govern for the people rather than just go along like many politicians do?
Please support Chuck Morse for Governor and Russell Prescott for Congress in the First Congressional District.
Don Ewing
Meredith, N.H.
Don:
We are not surprised you support Chuck Morse. Listening to him being interviewed on NHPR, we were struck by the depth of his commitment to the fictional hellscape that is MAGA-world. Compared to the weathervane that is Kelly Ayotte, Morse appears to embody the rock-solid certainty that conservatives seem to find so irresistible.
We use the weasel words “appear” and “seem” here because this insatiable thirst for certainty is so foreign to us. We see a fetish for certainty as a feeble defense mechanism. If we’ve learned anything from life, it’s to accept, and even embrace, ambiguity.
As for Prescott, he is a Republican who has not renounced his party’s presidential candidate. He is therefore unfit for any public office.
The Editor
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Defending and Supporting Warmington
To the Editor:
With the September primary election for the New Hampshire governor’s race just a few weeks away, negative campaign advertisements have started to make the rounds on television and social media.
One recent ad targets Cinde Warmington for lobbying work she did 22 years ago for Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin when she was employed as an attorney for Shaheen Gordon. While it does not take 20/20 hindsight to see the harm this drug has done over the years to thousands of Granite Staters and their families, it is critical to remember that at the time there was legitimate concern in the medical community about taking legislative steps that would curb access to the drug for those needing it for legitimate pain relief.
Representing her client, Warmington testified against a bill that eventually passed that required that patients try three alternative medications before being given OxyContin. When questioned for a 2023 Keene Sentinel article, former Sen. Sylvia Larsen said Warmington’s testimony was appropriate for a person acting as an advocate for a pharmaceutical company and for a drug that many in the medical community at the time considered to be a step forward for people suffering great pain.
“A lobbyist has the role of representing a client in the best light possible,” Larsen said.
The bottom line that two decades ago, Cinde Warmington did what every attorney who swears an oath promises do. She represented her client ethically and professionally, did not allow personal feelings to cloud her professional judgment, and presented her case within the best of her abilities—and ultimately still lost when the legislature passed the bill anyway.
Since that time, she has spent nearly two decades advocating for expanding substance use disorder treatment services and increased access to telehealth services. She has also served on the boards of the New Hampshire Professionals Health Program, Riverbend Community Mental Health, and the Lakes Region Mental Health Center, where she served as Chair and also won an award for her advocacy on mental health issues.
As a two-term Executive Councilor, she’s often been the lone voice of sanity during times when her Republican colleagues were busy trying to reject federal COVID outreach funding, rubber-stamp Governor Sununu’s extreme judicial and departmental appointments, and inexplicably vote down family planning funding. A trained litigator, she has never been shy in her work on the Executive Council when it comes to being a strong voice for those who don’t have a seat at the table—from people trying to obtain basic reproductive health services to families in need of rental assistance. In short, she is persistent, persuasive, and speaks her mind concisely, pointedly, and with impact. She also does her homework and, whenever pushback is justified, always gives her colleagues—and Governor Sununu—all they can handle.
Bottom line, Cinde Warmington would be an amazing addition to the growing group of female Democratic governors committed to expanding economic and health care opportunities in their states, while pushing back hard against Trumpism and Project 2025.
She will have your back—and she has our strong and enthusiastic endorsement.
Rep. David Meuse, Rep. Joan Hamblett, and Hon. Peter Somssich
Portsmouth, N.H.
David, Joan, and Peter:
Thank you for providing our readers with some crucial insight on this matter.
Rep. Marjorie Smith [D-Durham] shares your view. In an August 31st letter to the Portsmouth Herald, she added a telling detail: “Cinde argued that physicians—not insurance companies—should be able to decide which medications were most beneficial and appropriate for their patients.”
The Editor
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Who Do You Trust With The Economy?
To the Editor:
Which party is better for the economy, Republicans or Democrats? Do tax cuts for the rich spur job creation? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 51,825,000 jobs have been created since 1989.
Of those, 1,840,000 jobs were created under Republican presidents. George H.[H.]W. Bush was responsible for 2,602,000 jobs in his four years, his son created 2,130,000 in eight years and Donald Trump’s presidency lost 2,892,000 jobs in his four years. Each of them promised cutting taxes would create jobs. They did not.
Bill Clinton created 23,218,000 jobs in eight years, Barack Obama 10,562,000 in eight years and Joe Biden has already created 16,205,000 in less than four years. In total 49,985,000 jobs were created by these Democratic presidents. Each raised taxes during their term. Each democratic president came into office when the economy was slumping and left it booming.
If taxes affect job creation, then cutting taxes on the rich, businesses, and allowing multinational businesses to avoid taxes on their foreign profits cost jobs and raising them on the rich and big businesses creates jobs.
Walter Hamilton
Portsmouth, N.H.
Walter:
The simplistic notion that there’s some button in the Oval Office that a president can push to create jobs makes us want to bang our editorial head against the newsroom wall.
Some facts are undeniable, though. Democratic administrations work for workers. Republican administrations work for bosses.
Large numbers are notoriously difficult to grasp, particularly when making comparisons. These employment figures are even more startling when seen as percentages. Of the 51.8 million new jobs created since 1989, Republicans created two percent. Democrats created the other 98 percent. Yet much of the public—and the media—swallow the old, unfounded assumption that Republicans are better at creating jobs. And don’t even get us started on the deficit.
Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to pound another dent into the newsroom wall.
The Editor
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Yearning for Imaginary Better Times
Dear Editor,
Some people support trump [sic] because they remember prices for gas and food were lower four years ago. They were. But so were wages. Then covid happened; the economy collapsed. Trump disparaged medical science and encouraged followers to go maskless, causing 300,000 avoidable deaths, out of the one million Americans who died.
Under trump [sic], government aid checks were sent to keep people in their homes, and food on their tables. When Biden became President, Congressional Republicans voted against extending the covid aid, but Democrats prevailed. Biden’s aid saved millions from hunger and homelessness, but also caused inflation. Now, 3 ½ years later, inflation is coming down, prices are returning to normal, 15 million new jobs were created, and wages are rising faster than prices.
Yearning for imaginary better times, when science was dismissed and relatives died because a power-craven, boastful narcissist couldn’t admit he was wrong, isn’t the path to a better future.
Bruce Joffe
Piedmont, Calif.
Bruce:
Perhaps the past thirty years have engendered a prejudice in us—Thanks, Newt!—but Republican voters, do not seem overly fond of thinking too deeply.
“Make America Great Again,” the supposed savior bellows. His minions roar their approval. To what date would they like to set the Wayback Machine? We suspect the 1950s.
That was when a man—a man—could have one job, own a home, feed his family, send his kids to college, and take an occasional vacation. In other words, the brief golden age created by organized labor.
Ah, yes… the “good old days”—when women were expected to stay home and raise kids, and southern Blacks were restricted to “colored” water fountains.
The Editor
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Who Did What at Maidan Square?
Dear Editor,
In order to understand the war in Ukraine one must consider the violent change of government in February 2014. The government had financial problems, like many European governments at the time, that likely stemmed from the U.S. mortgage-backed securities debacle. The Ukraine president and the opposition clashed in 2013 when the government decided to accept a loan package from the Russian government instead of the International Monetary Fund’s loan package. Protests occurred in Maidan Square in Kyiv for many months, until the president was forced to flee in February, 2014, following what is described in the Western press as a violent confrontation between protesters and the police. But in order to understand the events that transpired later one must understand who perpetrated the violence and why.
Please find below the URL for a peer reviewed paper on the subject of the Maidan Square violence. This violence initiated a series of events that resulted in the Ukraine Civil War and the Russian Limited Military Operation. The events that transpired following the violence were not inevitable but those who were responsible for the violence assumed important roles in the new government. They showed themselves to be unwilling to use diplomacy to solve disagreements.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266855828_The_Snipers’_Massacre_on_the_Maidan_in_Ukraine.
Your Loyal Reader,
Gregory Kalkanis
Berkeley, Calif.
Gregory:
If we knew more about this we might be tempted to make a more detailed reply. We don’t, so we won’t.
The Editor
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The Old Blowhard
To The Editor:
Donald Trump as a campaigner reveals a great deal about his personality, cognitive ability and style. His staff has worked hard to keep him focused on the issues facing the country to no avail. He misunderstands and/or exaggerates them, quickly veering off-script to his own concerns. He recites repeatedly his long list of grievances, and he relishes the game of finding the most noxious insults to his rivals. Or, he retreats to Mar-a-Lago and pouts.
Trump’s field is entertainment, not government. His strongman bluster is a pretense to hide his insecurities in that area. He is apparently unable to research, absorb and analyze information, so he makes it up. He ad libs and acts impulsively rather than making informed decisions. Rather than strong, he is old, weak, and vulnerable to praise and flattery.
Does that sound like presidential material for the richest, most powerful country in the world?
Sounds downright frightening to me. And to our allies, by the way.
Vote for Kamala Harris to save the day… and our nation!
Cynthia Muse
Rye, N.H.
Cynthia:
Einstein is supposed to have said, “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”
We would argue that there is now a third thing: Trump’s unfitness for the presidency.
The Editor
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Character and Truth Matter
Dear Editor:
The American Legion Magazine (August, 2024) devoted two pages to the “border crisis,” stating: “The American Legion stands firm: Secure the borders.” Conspicuously missing from the article; Congress DID frame a bipartisan bill addressing well-known border problems but former President Trump instructed his devotees in Congress not to let it pass. Oversight by the American Legion… ? Hardly. They correctly conclude: “This is a national problem requiring bi-partisan solutions and actions by our Congress, president and governors.”
The Biden Administration has endlessly (and wrongly) been accused of opening borders to every person on the planet, giving them iphones, credit cards, transportation to cities of their choice, hotel rooms, food, medical, education, even Social Security. It’s claimed “veterans have been pushed aside while illegals get top notch medical care.”
Veterans have a right to know whether VA resources are being diverted to illegal immigrants and the American Legion did, emphatically, refute those lies. “Do illegal immigrants receive VA health care? No.” VA claims agents process claims on behalf of other federal agencies. This includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which has a contract with the VA Financial Services Center (FSC) to process medical claims. However, the agency doesn’t incur any costs for the claims that come from the ICE program.
According to VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes, “no resources meant for veterans are used as part of this agreement. FSC provides administrative functions for ICE, using ICE funds, having zero impact on veterans health care or benefits.”
I passionately believe that veterans organizations should feel duty-bound to speak to these outrageous lies and, unashamedly, reveal the sources of these lies.
We are but days away from an election that could alter the course of history, determining whether our Republic remains or is unceremoniously tossed upon the ash heap of antiquity alongside other great civilizations that withered and perished from within.
My generation will soon be gone from this earth. We will die comforted by the knowledge our fathers risked their lives preserving freedom around the globe and so that we could live in a world where character and truth matter, and in a country that symbolizes enduring hope and provides an unending haven for all who seek peace and friendship.
This in contrast to those who choose to idolize and support a lying racist xenophobic, climate-change denying, twice-impeached narcissistic conman, convicted felon and tyrant, an unprincipled man who incited an armed attack on his own Capitol in an attempt to overturn an election he knew he’d lost.
This former president has chosen for his running mate a self-described “never Trumper,” a man who once believed Trump “unhinged, toxic, cultural heroin,” and whose policies range from “immoral to absurd,” a man who once opined, “Trump could become America’s Hitler.”
Donald Trump is unquestionably a threat to our national security, world peace and stability. Every clear-thinking, right-minded, sensible American voter must recognize Donald Trump and J.D. Vance plainly unfit to lead our nation.
David L. Snell
Franklin, N.C.
David:
The American Legion Magazine’s reticence on assigning responsibility for the demise of the border bill is disappointing but not surprising.
That organization has always shied away from the truth when it might offend its more rabidly right wing members.
The Editor
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The Truth Matters
To the Editor:
Donald Trump has always played fast and loose with the truth, but now at age 78 he would not know the truth if it slapped him in the face.
He claimed that no one was killed during the Jan 6th assault on Congress, when one was shot dead and three died of medical conditions. He claimed that his rally on Jan. 6th, which had at most 25,000 people, was larger than the 200,000 at Martin Luther King’s march on Washington.
He frequently claimed that Nicki Haley was in charge of security at the Capitol on Jan. 6th when she was not even in the government. She had been his ambassador to the United Nations, which has no authority over security for Congress.
Trump is not just lying, he is hallucinating, like saying the thousands who showed up to see Vice President Harris did not exist and the crowds were generated by artificial intelligence. He claims democrats are responsible for rising violent crime, when violent crime has been lower than when Trump left office, every year, and has dropped every year.
He gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to a billionaire’s wife for donating to the Republican Party. He then said the Medal of Freedom was better than the Congressional Medal of Honor because most Medal of Honor recipients either died or were wounded, while this rich woman wrote checks without harming herself. For Trump, risking your life to defend your country makes you a sucker and a loser.
Please consider his state of mind when casting your vote in November.
Walter Hamilton
Portsmouth N.H.
Walter:
Some people apparently find it hard to grasp the theory that there may be multiple universes.
Perhaps it might help if they tried a thought experiment: Can you imagine Donald Trump and the truth both existing in the same universe?
The Editor
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Why Cinde?
To the Editor:
While serving four years on the New Hampshire Executive Council, learning the governor’s role, Cinde Warmington became the best-qualified Democratic candidate.
She got to know the inner workings of every aspect of our government—where the money comes from and how it gets spent.
She developed a working relationship with every department and the commissioners.
She learned about all the issues from every corner of our state and she developed strong working ties with the State Legislature.
Looking forward, past the primary to the general election campaign, the Republican nominee will run on issues—crime, drugs and homelessness—that will make Joyce Craig vulnerable. Think, Manchester!
In the case of a Republican running against Cinde Warmington, it is a different story. Reproductive rights, education and the environment will be the issues—and are winners for Democrats.
Let’s occupy the corner office with Governor Cinde Warmington! Vote September 10th in the Primary. Vote November 5th in the General Election.
Salme Perry
Rollinsford, N.H.
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Let’s Not Elect a Madman
Dear Editor:
Donald Trump has stated many obscene and fantastical lies over his career including that Democratic states allow the killing of babies after they are born, but his recent claim before the Moms for Liberty last week might be his most unhinged lie ever. While discussing transgender issues Trump stated, “But uh, the transgender thing is an incredible thing… your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation the school decides what’s going to happen with your child and you many of these child’s [sic] 15 years later say “what the hell happened, who did this to me?” To suggest that somehow schools are performing surgical operations on children to change their gender is nothing short of lunacy and a complete break from reality.
If there is anything to worry about when sending your child off to school, it is not that their gender will be changed. It would be that they may never come home because of some lunatic with an AR-15 decides to kill as many children as possible. Of course, Donald Trump cares little about those children but is deluded enough to think that Democrats kill babies and that schools are changing their gender.
These insane comments by Trump demonstrate that he has lost touch with reality, and he should never be allowed to be put in a position of power in our government. His own words clearly reflect an individual who represents an existential threat to our nation and the world.
Rich DiPentima
Portsmouth, N.H.
Rich:
A surprising number of people seem ready to put more power than evolution ever prepared us for into the hands of a full-blown lunatic, but we are not among them. We’re with you.
The Editor