Letter: Flip the House by voting against Republican enablers

Graphic by Lori Deaton

Trump’s actions are black and white. A few are happy with what he’s doing, and many are either unhappy — or horrified. What I think both Republicans and Democrats should agree on is the preservation of democracy.

Viewing Trump through this lens, it is clear that he is destroying the democratic underpinnings of the nation. He compliments despots worldwide, jails protesters, rails against the free press, launches continued attacks against anyone with opposing views, thereby showing no respect for the First Amendment. He wants a judiciary that obeys him, and [he] insults truth by his daily use of lies and claims of “false news” — this has no place in a democracy.

He has rallied his base to hate Muslims, to hate Mexicans, to hate anyone of color or ethnicity. He is drumming up his base to hate Democrats and liberals and encouraging white supremacists to use violence against the Democratic “mob” by claiming that “violence will be the result” if Democrats succeed in challenging his agenda. …

This man is a despot and an extreme danger to this country. He is canny, exceptionally narcissistic, as his closest aides have said, and he is amoral — tearing innocent children from their families, ignoring the 3,000 civilians killed by American bombs in Syria. In my view, this man has the capacity to unleash untold retribution in any form on anyone.

The GOP is aiding this drift toward despotism and enthralled with of Trump’s destruction of our social programs, shifting the tax burden onto the middle class, granting more wealth to the rich, appointing of ultraconservative judges throughout the country. The GOP and the Republican Party are complicit in Trump’s assault on democracy by tolerating his daily stream of insults, insidious accusations and race baiting. While Democrats are concerned about health care, the destruction of environmental and consumer protections, immigration, voter suppression and gerrymandering, Trump is tearing huge holes in the fabric of democracy.

We need to vote our Republican friends away from the table for a while in order to stop this slid into despotism. They are not honoring their oath of office, they are not protecting our constitution — they’re not protecting our democracy. This is not a liberal versus conservative issue — the very foundation of our democratic system in jeopardy.

Flip the House; vote against Republican enablers in these midterms or allow this president to destroy this democracy.

— Jeff Baker
Asheville

 

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Letters
We want to hear from you! Send your letters and commentary to letters@mountainx.com

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

3 thoughts on “Letter: Flip the House by voting against Republican enablers

  1. Nicholas Wesselman

    NC10 – David Wilson Brown (D)
    NC11 – Phillip Price (D)

    Let’s do this. Vote tomorrow, November 6!

  2. Enlightened Enigma

    whatta letter! roflmao! ‘resist’ the best economy you have ever lived in! yeah, right…

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.