Letters: No respect for Pa. Republicans; Violence in Washington shouldn’t be a surprise

No respect for Pa. Republicans

A coup or coup d’état (also known simply as an overthrow, takeover or putsch) is the removal of an existing government from power, usually through violent means. Typically, it is an illegal, unconstitutional seizure of power by a political faction, the military, or a dictator.

From what I’m reading in the New York Times, that is exactly what the Pennsylvania Republican senators are attempting. I am a registered Democrat, but until now, I had some respect for the opinions of the Republicans. How can I respect people who are actively trying to destroy our democratic country? Refusing to seat a certified elected Senator, and forcibly removing the Lieutenant Governor! Come on people, get real. Just because the POTUS has gone off the deep end, doesn’t mean you have to follow!

Violence in Washington shouldn’t be a surprise

This is idiocy. And I do not care a whit if so-called “friends” of mine take offense to my speaking truth to power. I love my country much more.

Donald Trump told us nine months ago what he would do if he lost the election. He stated that Bikers for Trump, etc., would riot and keep him in power, as if everybody who ever rode a bike was also anti-democratic and stupid. He told us that we should inject bleach into our bodies, and that it was, at best, still a (your choice) multi-source hoax. That Russia/Putin had nothing to do with interfering in our elections. That he was not robbing our national treasuries through his hotels, and exorbitant 300-plus and counting trips to his golf clubs. That the media is the enemy of the country (Google Joseph Goebbels).

That! That! That!

That something wild was going to happen on Jan. 6.

Privilege? Talk about privilege. Never was it put on more display than Wednesday. The participants, all of them, would have been put on buses, transported to a stadium, and booked, before I could pen this letter. This was a planned disorderly coup that, obviously, was complicit by some police and/or commanders. Who would ever guess/believe that Trump would do something like this. Seriously? DJT’s loyalty is to money through abuse of power.

I only wish that I had editorial space.

Too little, too late from lawmakers

I hope no one is surprised at what happened at our nation’s capital on Wednesday. This has been brewing for four years, aided and abetted by our elected representatives.

Congressmen Thompson and Keller, and state Rep. Benninghoff and Sen. Corman, have all been part of the cabal questioning the integrity of our election ever since Trump lost. Their false claims have provided fuel for the conspiracy theorists who rioted in our capitol.

In the past few months, they, along with other Trump sycophants around the country, have filed 60 lawsuits challenging the results of the presidential election. Unfortunately for them, the courts hold these challengers to a very high standard: They have to actually have evidence that enough fraud had occurred that would overturn the results of the election. The courts have rejected every one of these lawsuits with the judges repeatedly saying: Where is the evidence?

Unlike these politicians, our judicial system demands proof when someone brings charges of illegality. Allegations are not proof or evidence.

What is especially ironic is that these representatives claim fraud only of the presidential election. They are not claiming their election was a fraud, even though they were on the same ballot with the president.

You can be sure we will be hearing expressions of outrage about the riots from the same elected leaders who were responsible for starting this. They are like someone whose trash burning accidentally starts a wildfire that burns down his neighborhood, and now expresses sorrow.

Too little. Too late.

Horrified at actions of Thompson, Keller

I am horrified that our Congressman Glenn Thompson, at 12:30 a.m. Thursday morning, continued to follow President Trump’s lead in casting unfounded doubt on Pennsylvania’s votes for the presidential election, not 12 hours since a mob rioted in the U.S. Capitol. After one of the darkest days in our democracy in a long time, Thompson doubled down in the dead of night. A woman died because of these conspiracy theories. He and his Republican colleague Fred Keller — and those Pennsylvania state senators who have encouraged Trump, and have now tried to apply his antics in refusing to seat Democratic Sen. Jim Brewster — are no longer just playing with fire. They’re sacrificing the democracy that also elected them for a failed demagogue’s doomed ambitions.