Republicans chose political gain over democracy
Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election. That is not conjecture. It is not opinion. It is a fact.
Why is it so difficult for large elements within the Republican Party to accept and admit something that is so obviously true? Why do so many of the former president’s supporters continue to claim that they believe every word that comes out of the mouth of a person who has very likely told more lies than any public person in history?
How different would our situation be if the Republican Party apparatus had immediately pushed back against Trump’s totally fabricated claims of widespread voter fraud instead of supporting him in his lies?
But, of course, they sacrificed telling the truth for fear of angering and alienating the “Trump base.” This capitulation - choosing short-term political gain over the long-term health of our democracy - is indefensible. Does today’s Republican Party even qualify as a legitimate entity, or has it devolved into a personality cult?
KEN MOORE, SMYRNA
Progressive columnist gives fair analysis of GOP debate
Making it through a Charles Blow column (Aug. 27) — often a chore to digest his progressive pablum — I was surprised and shocked. Surprised at his passable, relatively even-keeled analysis of the GOP’s recent presidential debate. And shocked when he mentioned Herman Cain’s and Dr. Ben Carson’s early popularity in the GOP’s 2011 and 2015 presidential nomination processes, respectively, without screaming “GOP racism” as to why these two candidates quickly faded.
Sadly, though, Blow employed the much-repeated slight of omitting the deserved “Dr.” honorific with Carson’s name — Carson being a world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon — in contrast to the media’s slavishly affixing “Dr.” to Jill Biden’s name for her doctorate in education. Regardless, Blow deserves kudos for forgoing an opportunity to point out racism where it doesn’t exist. And who knows, my making it through a Blow column unrepelled and Blow passing up making a bogus racism allegation may be signs of the ideological divide narrowing. As Rev. Jesse Jackson used to shout: “Keep hope alive!”
GREGORY MARSHALL, MARIETTA
