Letters: Grandstanding on the border; Consider history before voting

Grandstanding on the border

On border security Trump is placing himself and politics above the good of the country. Consider: Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Senate came together in a rare compromise bill to address the crisis at the Southern border. But Trump told his MAGA cheerleaders in Congress to kill the bill because Trump wants to rob Joe Biden of credit for solving border problems! There you have it: the typical Republican playbook. First cry wolf about some terrible problem facing the country. Then block sensible efforts to solve the problem! Worse: the border security bill is tied up with aid to Israel and Ukraine, and so the Trump grandstanding on the border is meant only to give him talking points for the election. The failed funding to Ukraine benefits Trump’s crony and America’s enemy, Russian President Vladimir Putin. All this just demonstrates that neither Trump nor any Republican can be trusted to govern America.

Consider history before voting

I was totally shocked when I read, in the letter to the editor by Julie Giddings in the Jan. 28 CDT, that Trump will not sign the pledge required of candidates for political office in Illinois — that he refuses to promise “not to advocate the overthrow of the government” in the 2024 presidential election.

“What? Is this happening in my country, the United States of America?” That was my first reaction after just having viewed the second episode of Ken Burns’s two-part series about the life of Benjamin Franklin the night before on PBS. In it Ken Burns, whom I regard as a national treasure, traces the decades that Franklin spent working with the British King and Parliament, General Washington, his Army, the Patriot Leaders; Louis XVI, General Lafayette, Polish General Pulaski, and anyone else who could aid him to establish a “Government of the People, by the People, and for the People” — the first government of its kind in the world.

I don’t understand how any American could consider trashing almost 250 years of United States history, values and accomplishments that we won’t be celebrating if Trump wins in November, because he will begin to abolish them all from day one, as he has promised.

As you get ready to vote in the next presidential election, I suggest that you watch this program on PBS, then think about just what you’ll be affirming or throwing away when you cast your ballot for our next president.

Biden the best bet for the future

Our octogenarian radical — yes, that’s President Biden. Should we reelect him?

He ‘s done well in his first term. In fact, he’s gotten better and better. Our octogenarian, radical president is “on a roll.”

Biden became the first president to walk a picket line when he joined striking car workers near Detroit last fall. He’s one of the most pro-union presidents we’ve ever had. Critics claim he is anti-business, but it may be time to care more about people than profits. Biden has portrayed a level of empathy long overdue in politics.

He also reduced Black child poverty by half, revitalized early childhood education, invested in manufacturing facilities and green-technology and generally inspired faith in government.

Biden has and will continue to increase taxes for large firms and the wealthy, in order to pay for priorities of his “Build Back Better” campaign. A second term will reinforce these priorities and many others.

It is likely that Trump‘s courtroom actions will attract much of our attention during the campaign season, and recent polling suggests that 40% of voters, today, are neither Democrat nor Republican. In a world at war with itself, President Biden is our best bet for a good future.