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The Trump wrecking ball

To the Editor,

Trump could win the Republican nomination but lose to Clinton in the general election. He might severely damage the Republican Party, and adversely impact Republicans in congressional and state races. His un-American campaign of political violence and hooliganism is reminiscent of 20th century Nazi and Communist dictators.

In the Republican primaries, Trump is averaging 35 percent of the vote. If Trump was up against one other candidate, polls show he might get another 10 percent of the vote. History reveals primary candidates receiving less than 50 percent of the vote will lose the election for president.

The U.S. electorate comprises 26 percent Republicans, 30 percent Democrats, and 44 percent Independents. Polls show Trump garnering 70 percent of the Republican vote, or 18 percent (30 percent voting other); 5 percent of the Democratic vote, or 1.5 percent; and 40 percent of the Independent vote, or 18 percent, giving him 37.5 percent of the total vote. Clinton will receive few Republican votes; 95 percent of the Democratic vote, or 28.5 percent; and 60 percent of the Independent vote, or 26 percent. This gives Clinton 54.5 percent of the total vote, Trump 37.5 percent, and the remaining 8 percent are write-ins or blank ballots.

It is a Trump wrecking ball. The integrity of the Republican Party and the dignity of the presidency is at stake.

– Donald Moskowitz, Londonderry, N.H.

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Lammons has solid experience

To the editor.

I am writing to share my support for Ben Lammons, who is running for district attorney.

As I have had the pleasure to get to know Mr. Lammons over the years, it has become clear that his experience and attention to detail will serve our area well. 

Ben has a very fair and balanced approach to criminal prosecution. He knows how to use the powers of the district attorney appropriately to serve the community and crime victims. He also knows that it is important to offer alternatives to incarceration such as counseling and community service to nonviolent offenders. The number of criminal cases that he has personally handled in his career provides the foundation for solid decision making and application of the law.

Ben has the level and type of experience we want in our district attorney. I encourage you to vote for Ben Lammons in the June primary.

– John Wells, Durango

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Black-eyed Shine

There, up on the electric pole

the old crow caws its calling.

Wings stretched, shielding

himself from the heat, he waits.

Slowly beating the air in

a fan-like slower motion,

he begins his ritual.

Shining sleek, raven-black,

his wings taunt erratically,

anything in his realm;

the preening image of a darker presence.

Bending his bearded beak downward

he gazes upon my presence and angled shadow.

Stretching his neck he calls downward

as if in defiance.

Under my arm shaded light, I look up

at the presence of his foreboding.

My only ally, the pale, azure moon

reflects in his turned, deliberate eye.

This tiny disk of blue,

a lesser god, has its own mana.

 

Days later, I hear the crow’s cackling caws,

apparently an argument amongst adversaries.

Wings among wires, an excruciating scream and

thud.

There he lies, old Black-eyed Shine

waiting to be scavenged.

I slowly went to get a shovel

in respect of darker acceptations.

– Burt Baldwin, Ignacio  

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Cowardice in high places

To the editor,

Jeb Bush endorses Ted Cruz. So do Marco Rubio and Mitt Romney. Chris Christie endorses – in fact, practically fawns all over – Donald Trump. Ben Carson suddenly thinks Trump would make a great president, in agreement with Vladimir Putin of all people. Paul Ryan bemoans the sorry state of his party’s campaign, but refuses to name names and implies he’ll endorse whoever wins the nomination. The chairman of the Republican Party likewise indicates unhappiness with the candidates, but says he’ll endorse whoever wins.  John Kasich appeals to reason, but nobody is listening. Who will he endorse when he finally drops out?

These guys are cowards, pure and simple. They have no principles, no scruples, only a skewed sense of party loyalty. Rather than refuse to endorse either of the frontrunners, they abide by a bizarre tradition of accepting their fate, holding their noses and supporting candidates they have called – and who have called them – every name in the book. Sure, they say, Trump and Cruz are “con artists,” bigots and bullies, but at least they are loyal conservatives.

I’m not so naïve as to believe that the endorsers really mean what they say in support of their suddenly wonderful candidate. Nor do I believe fence-sitters like Paul Ryan when they say that we need to “raise our gaze and aim for a brighter horizon.” All of them are self-serving, jockeying for position, probably with an eye on winning or keeping a job in the next administration. They are desperately trying to show that even though they have some problem with Trump and Cruz, they have an even bigger problem with Hillary Clinton. So they content themselves with supporting the “lesser evil,” or opting for neutrality.

Let’s not leave this sorry lot without also noting that Trump and Cruz are cowards too, though they mask their insecurities with bravado. They will never acknowledge their race- and gender-based hatreds, their moral deficits, their constant lying, or the real impact of their policies (or what passes for policies) on everything from military strategy to social programs and the environment.

History will record that when the Republican Party disintegrated, undone by two demagogues who represented depraved values and dangerous ideas, no one in the party dared to directly challenge and repudiate them.  Instead, party leaders pretended that the demagogues’ views might somehow be toned down by wiser advisers or by the realities of power. Now that’s naïveté!

– Mel Gurtov, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Portland State University, blogs at In the Human Interest