Letters to editor: presidential race

McMullin for president

Evan McMullin provides a refreshing and competent alternative to the vacillating, dishonest, self-serving and generally untrustworthy standard-bearers of the Democratic and Republican parties.

Kentucky is fortunate to have McMullin on the presidential ballot. Over nearly a decade with the CIA, he has helped to track down and protect American troops and our allies from terrorist networks. His wartime service in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere has equipped him to understand the horrors of war and provided him with the keen insight required to effectively fight the enemy.

His education at Wharton Business School and work in investment banking have given him an appreciation for the economic machinery that keeps America strong. It doesn’t hurt that he speaks Portuguese, a language he learned while serving as a missionary in Brazil.

McMullin offers exactly what America needs in a president: thoughtfulness, perceptiveness and respect. I urge fellow Kentuckians to cast their vote Nov. 8 for a competent and honest candidate. You will wake up with a clear conscience the next day.

Don’t worry, GOP

Dear Republicans: The polls are rigged. The election is rigged. Why bother voting? Relax. Stay home. See how it turns out.

Dear Democrats: It is important to vote to make sure Hillary Clinton wins and wins by a large margin in order to have a strong mandate. See you at the voting booth.

Trump U courseload

Here are some courses in Republican political science:

▪ Astronomy — Toward the end of life, the party expands into an angry red giant, stretching the boundaries of decency until it bursts, collapsing upon itself until becoming an infinitesimally dark hole that emits no light but plenty of hot gas.

▪ Geology — The party separates from the mainstream and aggregates in the lowest reaches of America before eventually sliding under the tectonic plate called democracy.

▪ Calculus — GOP math turns a 33-percent representation in registered voters into a 66-percent lock on gerrymandered House districts

▪ History — God wrote the Second Amendment. President Barack Obama invaded Iraq and started the Korean War.

▪ Psychology — The sudden and rapid evaporation of members’ primary cognitive skills.

If you can pass (and cough up $40k), you might receive a genuine facsimile of a master’s degree from the incredibly well-accredited Trump University. Just sign where it says “sucker.”

Clinton despicable

As a well-educated woman, I find Hillary Clinton despicable. Her top advisers, including Huma Abedin, seem to believe that women should be submissive to men and that a woman’s only purpose is to have children.

Clinton also supports some partial-birth abortions and she has stood by a husband who repeatedly cheats on her. What kind of example does that set for young women in America?

Furthermore, Clinton claims to support animal rights but she is always wearing animal products, like leather. To me, that is the epitome of a hypocrite.

I will be voting for Donald Trump, because actions are more important than words. Trump’s private words over a decade ago may have been tasteless, but Clinton’s actions are despicable. Women who support gender equality should vote for Trump. Clinton will give women the same thing she’s given us for the past 30 years — nothing. Women for Trump!

Guess who’s rigging?

Donald Trump is right about one thing: People are trying to rig the election. Just not in the way he claims.

It’s not people trying to elect Hillary Clinton and other Democrats. The real rigging is being done by state officials, legislators and Republican Party officials. They are trying to steal the election by keeping millions of Americans from voting. It has been empirically proven that the fewer people who vote, the better Republicans’ chances of winning.

So they are putting on a full-court press by requiring new and difficult to obtain forms of voter I.D., by cutting the window of time for early voting, by cutting the number of polling places, by arbitrarily culling people from the voting rolls due to matches (or mismatches) with other databases, and so forth.

So yes, they are trying to rig the election. But “they” are the Republicans.

Little work, good pay

To all Republican voters: We have worked to block President Barack Obama’s every move, cut taxes for the wealthy, gerrymandered and suppressed the minority vote in every district we could. We sought to appeal Obamacare 51 times and shut down the government, taking an estimated $24 billion out of the economy.

We didn’t pass a single jobs bill, blocked immigration reform, background checks, minimum wage and equal pay. We made abortion much harder to get and we are winning the war on women. We cut food stamps, even to veterans and prevented the extension of unemployment benefits.

We have angered women, blacks, Hispanics, senior citizens, gays, unionzed teachers, police and firefighters. And this year, we’ve only worked 97 days. (Vote Republican.)

Protect your future

Young voters frustrated with current candidates or their issues should think about voting only for the world in which they and theirs will live.

Climate change is guaranteed to impact their future.

Forget the denialist politicians and fossil-fuel barons who distort this issue because of their willful ignorance, greed or partisan politics.

Realize that a worldwide, massive scientific consensus concludes that climate change is and will impact your generation the most. Also realize that consensus scientific expertise also created the internet, modern health care, transportation, agriculture and other modern comforts and needs.

Many politicians only act to impede it and maintain the status quo. Pay attention to national, state and local candidates who have positions that set the stage for mitigating and adapting present and continuing climate change. Then, vote your conscience.

Ignore the ‘two evils’

In an election cycle that has resulted in a “lesser-of-two-evils” approach to voting, I submit that there are more than two options in this race.

Quietly and without major funding or fanfare, independent candidate Evan McMullin is laying claim to Utah and will likely be the first third-party candidate to win a state’s electoral votes since George Wallace in 1968.

He represents a new conservative movement that moves us away from polarizing platforms into a middle ground where discussion and progress can be made.

He believes in the sanctity of life, not only as it applies to a pro-life standpoint but also in regards to protecting the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” for all citizens.

We do not need to settle for the unapologetic corruption or the reckless egotism of the two major party candidates. Make your vote one of principle; vote Evan McMullin.

Vote your values

In response to the final presidential debate, the Dominican Sisters of Peace believe the current election poses a serious moral threat to our nation, and we share our charism to preach truth with hope in God’s promise for our future.

As the election may be seen as a challenge, we encourage all to examine their own values formed by faith and conscience. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has created the Forming Consciences For Faithful Citizenship guide for information on how to be both faithful and politically responsible.

We treasure the wisdom of the Catholic Church’s social teaching which aims to create a just environment where all are treated with dignity. Through this election and beyond, let us create environments of peace, promote justice through solidarity, and foster God’s web of life by advocating and supporting just policies. Let us hold our cherished country and religious values as we make an informed decision for the next leader of the United States as well as leaders for all elected offices.

This story was originally published November 2, 2016 at 8:02 PM with the headline "Letters to editor: presidential race."