Letter to the Editor: Don’t need a replay of Bush-Gore
Prior to the 1990’s, the Democratic Party (with a few exceptions) controlled Congress for three generations. The majority of Americans wanted absolutely nothing to do with the Republican Party. Since Nixon, Republicans are infamous for their massive corruption, bank failures, economic depressions, wars, environmental destruction, funneling tax dollars and tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations, and defying the US Constitution.
Republicans never pass any legislation that helps the middle class. In the last 50 years, Republicans have only passed tax cuts for the fabulously wealthy and corporations, removed protections (i.e. regulations) that safeguard the people and our fragile environment, and stack the US Courts. Can anyone name one piece of legislation authored by Republicans with majority Republican support and signed by a Republican president that helps the middle class? Right – there aren’t any.
But it doesn’t stop there. Republicans are also destroyers of anything that is good for the middle class. Republicans are ending the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) with their stolen stacked Supreme Court. Republicans have always wanted to end Social Security and Medicare and that is next on their list. But they sure do take the bribes from corporations and the wealthy and that’s why they remove protections and are ending programs that help the American people.
So, what happened in the 1990’s? The Republicans can’t win most elections honestly, so they had to resort to cheating and stealing elections. They gerrymander districts that end up looking like salamanders that favor Republicans. Republicans purge hundreds of thousands of legitimate voters, i.e. Democratic voters, thus invalidating their votes. Republicans will place only one voting center for thousands of voters and thus the lines that can result in voters waiting 8 hours to vote. Republicans hack the voting machines and/or the tabulators. The Republican stacked courts rule to end voting rights protections. And, the latest – Republicans have virtually destroyed America’s favorite institution, the US Postal Service, in order to slow or prevent mail-in ballots from reaching the elections offices in time.
We are a democracy and the Republican Party wants to end it. Beware: the Republicans will replay the Bush-Gore Supreme Court tactic to illegally stop the vote count and hand Trump the presidency. We as Americans must not allow this to happen.
Mark Mihevc
Graeagle, CA