Biden should mirror a GOP president’s yesteryear answer
To the constant question of whether he believes the number of Supreme Court justices should be increased by a potential Democratic majority in Congress after the inauguration, former Vice President Biden should respond with an analogy to the famous George H.W. Bush response to a similar hypothetical scenario: “Read my lips, no new taxes.” Changed circumstances later caused Bush to believe he needed to renege on that promise. Biden should correctly point out that any response about “court packing” should await the exigency created by circumstances at the appropriate date for resolution. It could depend, for example, on how the potential new justice votes on issues during the lame-duck period or some subsequent period, or whether the need arises to replace any other current justice, deceased or retired, during that interim period. This analogy would clearly point out the hazards of trying to answer hypothetical questions before all relevant facts are known.
MIKE SHELDON, MARIETTA
Perdue dishonors Ga.'s legacy of great statesmen
Years ago, when I took the Dale Carnegie Course in Effective Speaking and Human Relations, one of the first things we learned was that a person’s name – to that person – was one of the sweetest sounds in the English language. With that in mind, we set out to learn the names of everyone in the class, knowing we would be working together for 14 weeks. Now comes Sen. David Purdue intentionally mocking the name of Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris, all to gain the glowing approval of his prince, President Trump. What a debased, low-rent thing to do. I would expect that kind of behavior from one of the Proud Boys or a proponent of QAnon, people who don’t know any better, but from a United States Senator? Johnny Isakson, Sam Nunn and the late Zell Miller, men who served this state with distinction, would never have stooped to this level. Shame on you, Sen. Purdue. You are ill-fit for leadership.
GARLAND WATKINS, COLLEGE PARK
