Letters and feedback: Jan. 25, 2020

What has happened to GOP of old?

The more I watched the impeachment trial, the angrier I became. 

The Republican Party, of which I was a member for 40 years, has become entirely devoted to assisting Trump in his cover-up of crimes. The amendment to receive documents from the White House failed predictably, but when they started voting down every amendment, even entirely reasonable ones such as allowing Chief Justice Roberts (a Republican appointee, by the way) to have the first say on witnesses, the cover-up became obvious. How can the party that once stood for the rule of law allow such blatant disregard of it now?

The Democrats laid out fact after fact after fact, interspersed with sworn testimony from numerous first-hand witnesses, while Trump’s sycophantic defense lawyers flat-out lied numerous times. For example, I heard Sekulow state that the Mueller report found no obstruction, while in reality it identified 11 examples of obstruction. If the Republican Party continues this behavior, this democracy is doomed.

In my opinion, it has been amply demonstrated that Trump broke the law by extorting Zelensky and should be removed from office.

Jerry Stein, Melbourne

Then vs. now ...

Well, we’ve got him now.

Here’s the crime. He got in the game without a ticket. He didn’t pay his dues to the Deep State or the Global Elite. If he had come up through the ranks, he would have become so obligated to them that he couldn’t fix anything.

I remember when the "New World Order" was the unfounded conspiracy of the day — or maybe it wasn’t so unfounded. It’s now called the "Global Economy." Nationalism has become a bad word and borders have become porous.

Remember when more than 12% interest was usury and a family with one breadwinner could buy a car in 36 months and still afford to go to a ball game? How about when a contract had to be understood by both parties to be valid?

We didn’t try to help raise the standard of living of Third World countries; we just used them to lower ours. All of our wealth went to the elite and our jobs went overseas.

We’ve got to get Trump out of there before he gets term limits across the board and abolishes corporate welfare. Minimum wage and food stamps might become irrelevant and there would be too many people smiling.

Tom Mahone, Titusville

The U.S. 'needs a progressive revolution'

While it's true that a majority of Americans want to see the atrocity in the White House sent packing, the notion that a moderate approach going forward is called for is misguided.

For many reasons, we need revolutionary change. What is the moderate approach to the epic issue of our time, climate change? Is it encouraging people to turn off their lights, while issuing more drilling permits? How about health care —spew platitudes about improved access, but preserve the rapacious for-profit model that will always leave millions uninsured? A moderate would surely take so much money from Wall Street that tackling obscene inequality would be impossible.

Moderation is a good strategy at the dinner table, but this country needs a progressive revolution, not a third Obama term.

John Cunningham, West Melbourne

We can express ourselves, facts or folly

I would like to commend longtime letter-writer William Alford for having the ability to espouse his opinions in a public forum. Thankfully this great country (was it ever not great?) gives us rights to express ourselves whether we be factual or not.

That he sees the Electoral College as a system to "mitigate corruption" is laughable at best. And by insinuating that Democrats will use "any means possible to gain power," it means he's unaware of — or would rather overlook — the term "gerrymandering." Republicans have been redistricting their voter boundaries to ensure election for decades. Very rarely has this been attributed to the Democratic Party. And, equally as rare: Have you seen Republicans using thousands of volunteers to get their supporters out to their polling places, often against almost insurmountable odds? If that doesn't tell you something, just keep your head in the sand and don't worry about Mr. Alford's "subversion."

Holding power of any sort, no matter how slippery the slope, seems to be the agenda for the Republicans. Not that there haven't been great Republicans, but, with backers like Mr. Alford, the party now only seems to serve itself, to the damnation of what is good for America as a whole.

Keith Huff, Palm Bay

Know the law before you're in office

This is not a particularly popular view but I’ve supported and will stick by my premise.

I believe that all representatives, senators and especially presidents should have a strong background in the law. If they didn’t actually go to law school, they should have a sound knowledge of our Constitution and our basic laws and liberties. They should be made to take at least 30 credits in law classes or have a law degree. Having a president who described the Constitution as “like a foreign language” does not make me feel as if he runs the country on laws. 

I want to see logic, sound arguments, and legal knowledge. Once elected and in office is not the time to figure it out. You wouldn’t think to hire a doctor who sits there reading a textbook before performing a tonsillectomy, but this is what is happening in the running of our country. Make these leaders pass a test — like our immigrants, so we know that they know the law.

Laura Petruska, Melbourne