Letters to the Editor: Politics, the Supreme Court and the 2020 election

Liberal comedy

It is always amusing to see liberals like Linda Blackford tie themselves in knots when legitimate constitutionally-granted authority is exercised by Republicans. She castigates Mitch McConnell, not only for his part in the Supreme Court nomination process, but for practically every ill in the state of Kentucky. Not only is it humorous, but also highly hypocritical to see this type of behavior. One needs only to posit this hypothetical: Putting aside the fact that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg likely would have retired early in a Hillary Clinton administration, assume the current situation only with Clinton in the White House and Chuck Schumer as Senate majority leader. Does anyone out there believe they would join Blackford on the mountaintop shouting “We must wait until the American people have had their opportunity to speak on Nov. 3”? Get a grip. So we can now prepare ourselves to watch unhinged Democrat senators again disgrace themselves in confirmation hearings. Just recall Brett Kavanaugh sitting there with that shell-shocked look on his face, while his wife and young daughters looked on in horror, as Kamala Harris viciously attempted to destroy his life on national television. How will she treat a female nominee?

David L. Patton, Lexington

Who’s for us?

On Sept. 11, 2001, I was piloting a Boeing 757 to California carrying about 130 passengers and a crew of eight. As we climbed to our cruising altitude we were advised to contact Cleveland Air Route Traffic Control. Our contact with them was delayed because they were trying to establish communications with a United flight that wasn’t responding to their radio calls. We called our lead flight attendant into the cockpit and told him he was responsible for protecting the cockpit from intrusion. As he was a former Marine we armed him with what was at our disposal and planned for a landing. I was able to devote my entire attention to preparing for landing because I knew a Marine had my back.

Unfortunately today, almost nobody that represents me in Washington has my back. They appear to be unable to tell right from wrong. We have an opportunity to replace two of them with former Marines whose motto is “Semper Fidelis” — Latin for “always faithful”. I haven’t seen a lot of faithfulness in Washington for some time. In Kentucky we have problems that need to be worked on full time. It’s time to have a senator that can devote all of their time to working to make things better for the people of Kentucky.

Kerry Kearns, Nicholasville

Replace Mitch

Mitch McConnell has a lot of nerve throwing shade on Amy McGrath about 9/11. On 9/11, McGrath was sitting in the cockpit of a fighter jet with orders to help defend the West Coast. Most disgraceful is McConnell’s attempts to stop reauthorization of healthcare compensation for 9/11 first responders.

Funding for 9/11 first responder healthcare compensations was never permanent. Each time money ran out, Congress proposed an extension. Each time McConnell stalled the extension, sometimes for months or years, until public outrage pressured him to act. So every few years extremely ill first responders had to travel to Washington to lobby Congress. “It’s absolutely disgusting that we have to keep on coming back begging, we’re beggars!” said first responder Anthony Flammia.

In 2019 Congress agreed to include a permanent funding provision in a popular highway bill that was sure to pass. McConnell asked for lifting a U.S. ban on oil exports also be included in the legislation. Congress refused so Mitch pulled the 9/11 permanent funding provisions from the bill. Only Kentuckians can eliminate Mitch McConnell from this equation.

T. Muskopf, Midway

Keep McConnell

As we approach the November election for the U.S. Senate, the question becomes which candidate can do the most for Kentucky. On one hand you have a greenhorn, Amy McGrath, whose only credential is that she served in the U.S. military. Based on that fact, any veteran is qualified to serve as a senator. On the other hand, you have a candidate, Mitch McConnell, who has proven his worth with unlimited accomplishments for the commonwealth as one of the most powerful people in America. It’s like comparing a thoroughbred to a barnyard donkey; it’s beyond reason. A better contrast could be found in the 2012 NCAA championship game when Kentucky won its eighth national title. In that contest one of Kentucky’s greatest basketball players, Anthony Davis, controlled the game, made key contributions and carried Kentucky to victory. Can one imagine taking Davis out of that game with so much on the line? No! The 2020 election is much more serious and we need a strong leader for Kentucky. President Abraham Lincoln made it more pertinent in 1864, during the height of the Civil War, stating, “I think it best not to swap horses in midstream.” Enough said because voters know the answer.

Robert Adams, Lexington

Baffled by ads

Mitch McConnell has TV ads that feature veterans expressing their indignation over Amy McGrath comparing her feelings about the election of President Donald Trump in 2016 to the attacks of 9/11. One of the veterans says the events aren’t comparable, because the events of 9/11 resulted in the deaths of 3000 Americans. He’s right. The election of Trump was much worse.

Over 200,000 Americans have died due to Covid-19 and are still counting. Many of those wouldn’t have contracted the disease if Trump had not lied about the danger of the virus; refused to wear a mask; and held rallies where supporters did not social distance nor wear masks.

More importantly, the election of Trump was a much greater threat to our democracy than 9/11 was. This is a man who says he is above the law; encourages the support of white nationalists, Nazis, and the KKK; spreads false rumors and conspiracy theories; and seeks to divide the country at every opportunity. This is a man who is doing everything he can to make a case for declaring the 2020 election invalid if he loses.

Why any veteran would support Trump is a mystery to me. Shame on those veterans for supporting him and McConnell.

Greg Kring, Lexington

Prove our sanity

The most sacred right America bestows upon us, after freedom, is the opportunity to vote for our leaders. Yet many treat it with near contempt. In 2016, the average American probably knew more about Kim Kardashian than Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. Almost 40% of voting-age citizens did not vote, and many of those who did defaulted to party line voting rather than researching candidates and issues. Insanity is often described as doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result. Nowhere is that more clear than Kentucky. In 2008, Mitch McConnell received 61% of the vote, then performed so poorly that his approval fell to 36% by 2014. But Kentuckians re-elected him with 56% of the vote. Again he performed so badly that he entered the 2020 election with around 26% approval, yet he is favored to win again. Mitch is a known performer and his performance has never been about Kentucky, or U.S. citizens. It’s about Mitch and his thirst for power. Please take your civic duty seriously and show the world Kentucky is sane. Vote for Amy McGrath because only you can save us from “Moscow” Mitch.

William Ritchie, Florence