Suggestions for the Herald-Leader and Mitch McConnell

Publicly finance elections

It’s sadly interesting the Herald-Leader rails against candidates who receive money from people the paper thinks buy their votes. We all should oppose buying votes. But it’s sadly interesting that the candidates the paper supports are bought as well.

We all should demand public financing of elections, taking money out of elections and stopping the buying of elected officials. All the voters get are glossy mailers proclaiming beautiful thoughts and photos, but no substance. We also get ridiculous yard signs for name recognition of candidates.

In some cases, newspaper, radio and TV ads flood us with phony messages, all an expensive waste to anyone but the media, printers, publishers or owners of marketing businesses.

Yes, we need something better. Maybe the Herald-Leader’s editorial board should stop endorsing any candidate who doesn’t advocate progressive election reform.

Bring democracy back — no, bring back democracy better than we’ve ever had it.

McConnell must act

Congress has a responsibility to hold the president in check, and Sen. Mitch McConnell, the majority leader in the Senate, has the responsibility to facilitate this accountability process.

Why is McConnell failing to rein in President Donald Trump's outrageous, irresponsible, destructive behavior? The dehumanizing lies about the immigration realities; closing the government to appease his racist ego; Ann Coulter, and Rush Limbaugh; undermining the character and wisdom of former Secretary of Defense General Jim Mattis; alienating our international allies; endorsing and appeasing Russian President Vladimir Putin and other totalitarian regimes; and endless inappropriate, false, unprofessional and foolish tweeted comments, are clear indications that accountability is way overdue. Failing to act is undermining the integrity, security and dignity of our country. Trump is a disgrace, and McConnell’s failure to act follows suit.

Time for McConnell to put aside his partisan, power-driven politics and do what he was hired to do — govern this country with integrity. Open the government. There is no excuse for this shutdown.

Without serious, immediate action, McConnell will go down in history as a partisan, power-hungry, cowardly fool and someone who greatly diminished the character and strength of our nation.

2020 approaching

Because Sen. Mitch McConnell seems to be bound and determined to back this pitiful excuse for a president, he better get him under control and reopen the government. Why is he so afraid of this so-called “base”? There are other thinking Republicans out there who know President Donald Trump’s temper tantrum over the slat, aka concrete, wall is a ridiculous solution to border security in the 21st century.

2020 is coming fast and if McConnell thinks that little bill to support growing hemp in Kentucky is enough to get him re-elected, he needs to think again. It’s obvious to most thinking voters in Kentucky that he does nothing for our state and only thinks about the Republican Party.

Furloughed government workers who are not getting their paychecks are going to remember in 2020. And so are the rest of us.

Surefire solution

We must have federal legislation making it illegal to shut down our government. I do not care whose fault it might be; shutting down our government is wrong. I am sure some politicians will tell us why this is not practical or possible. If or when they do, let’s tar and feather them, or better yet, let’s reintroduce dueling for our elected officials with a provision to not replace the loser.