Why are so many Republicans endorsing Kamala Harris? Because they know the alternative. | Opinion
Presidential qualifications
Hiring someone for a key position requires that the applicant’s references be carefully vetted. Electing a president requires even more scrutiny. A check of former President Donald Trump’s references reveals that he is not qualified to serve a second term as President.
Recently, 111 former national security officials from Republican administrations, and former Republican members of Congress, signed an open letter endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, stating that Trump is “unfit to serve again as president.” The letter acknowledges policy differences with Harris but states that those differences “pale in comparison to Donald Trump’s chaotic and unethical behavior and disregard for… Constitutional governance.” The signatories include two former defense secretaries, two former CIA directors, and a former director of national intelligence. A similar letter signed by over 200 former staffers to former President George H.W. Bush, former President George W. Bush, the late U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), and U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-MA) also endorsed Harris. That letter noted that, while they had policy differences with Harris, “the alternative is simply untenable” given the likelihood that Trump will “kowtow” to Russian President Vladimir Putin and turn his back on our allies.
The statements of these leading Republicans must be heeded. Vote for Kamala Harris.
Rena Wiseman, Lexington
Questions answered
In his letter, Wayne Burns asks a series of questions concerning the choice between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
Whom do you want to negotiate with Russia? Well, 700+ current and former National Security officials choose Harris, viewing Trump as a threat to the nation’s defense and to its democratic system. This group includes former secretaries of state and defense, even those who served under Trump. They reply the same to the question of negotiating with China.
Whom do you want to deal with border security? Not the man who sabotaged the strongest border measures in a generation because he wanted the border as an election issue.
What about inflation, Mr. Burns asks, ignoring the fact that inflation has come down and that the U.S. had the lowest inflation rate of any of our allies.
Mr. Burns treats the dislike of Trump as something one should put aside for the good of the country. He ignores or doesn’t understand that disdain for Trump arises out of his ignorance, his bigotries, his hate-arousing rhetoric towards immigrants, minorities, and women. People shouldn’t ignore or sideline their dislike: they should examine it.
“Will your hate serve you well for the next four years?” Mr. Burns asks.
Absolutely.
Joseph G. Anthony, Lexington
Grandchildren’s questions
When my grandchildren ask me about the 2024 Presidential election, please suggest answers to best explain a candidate who:
Does not know tariffs are actually taxes
Supports Holocaust deniers and Nazi sympathizers
Admires and supports the most despotic and anti-democratic leaders in the world and puts little or no value on allies
Is a convicted felon facing sentencing
Has misrepresented his positions on election results, Covid, financing the wall, Haitians eating pets, infanticide
Has referred to those who serve our country in the military as losers and suckers
Has little regard for and understanding of American history or tradition
Appoints and relies on incompetent sycophants to carry out his wishes
Is incapable of listing anything about America which is right or positive and relates problems only he can fix
Knows what is best for women’s health given a documented lack of regard for women
Has a self-serving and negative mindset with no sense of others, consensus or community
Has no appreciation for the contributions or concerns faced by minorities or immigrants
Maximizes division and diversion as strategy for decision making
Charles Myers, Lexington
Taxpayer money
As far as Amendment 2 goes, I don’t think public tax money should be funneled into private schools. If parents want their children to attend private schools that is their choice and I support their right to send their child to a private school. But these parents need to accept that private education is a choice not a right. Public schools need all the support to provide a free and public education. Public school teachers and staff should be respected and compensated for the hard work they do for our Fayette County Schools. As a recent retiree from Fayette County Public Schools I can honestly say our public school teachers and staff are the crème of the crop. So let’s support them the best we can. Keep all public tax dollars in the public-school system where it rightfully belongs.
James Jeffrey Coleman, Lexington
School choice
If Gov. Andy Beshear and the teachers’ union really cared about kids as they piously speak about, school choice would be something they support. But fighting vouchers and keeping kids in failing, dangerous schools tells you all you need to know. It’s about money and power. Beshear sold out to the Far Left long ago, and though he made a grand announcement recently outlawing certain counsel for confused kids, he has no problem with the mutilation of children in the name of “LGBTQ healthcare.” His speech at the Democratic National Convention solidified his reputation as no friend of Christians and Conservatives. He knows where his bread is buttered: Pro Abortion groups, Trump Haters, Trans Gender Advocates and Teachers Unions. A sad state of affairs.
John Mackey, Lexington
Responsible farming
In light of Climate Week 2024, sustainability is top-of-mind for consumers and beef producers alike. I am proud of the high-quality, sustainable beef I produce, but I can’t do that without caring for the land and the environment.
We have implemented new strategies such as rotational grazing to encourage plant growth. Rotational grazing is a technique of rotating cattle to a new piece of land every three to five days. Rotational grazing is not a new practice, but it is key to preventing erosion and encouraging new growth.
This type of ingenuity and resourcefulness is practiced by farmers all over the country. However, the cattle themselves naturally benefit the land and the environment through upcycling human-inedible plants into high-quality protein and increasing carbon sequestration. In fact, up to 3 percent of the world’s carbon is stored in the soil protected by cattle grazing.
We believe that cattle and climate work together to create a balanced ecosystem. Cattle have been working with the environment in a mutually beneficial relationship for centuries. With the help of farmers, cattle turn grass into a high-quality protein, beef, in an efficient and natural way.
Amanda Hall, Lexington
Progressive instincts
What is it with progressive’s reflexive instinct to always side against the American people? Regardless what is happening with pets in Springfield, Ohio, there is no denying the fact that a town of approximately 60,000 people has seen an influx of 20,000 immigrants from one of the poorest nations on Earth (Haiti), almost overnight.
This is stressing the social services of the city to the breaking point. Schools, healthcare facilities, etc., which are paid for by the tax dollars of hard working Ohio citizens, are being overrun. But if you bring this up, you are labeled as racist and hateful by the left. Why shouldn’t Americans be entitled to a good life and the just rewards of their labor?
If progressives’ lustful need for feeling virtuous requires the self-immolation of the entire society, maybe you should just take up your issues with a shrink. It would be cheaper and less dangerous for all of us.
Doug Reed, Lexington
(Editors’ Note: The immigration of Haitians into Springfield started in 2018 and was part of a program initiated by the city to help increase the workforce. The legal immigrants have jobs and also pay taxes in that city.)
Harassment definition
Anna Whites’ September 23 editorial gives the impression that sexual harassment is not illegal in the US; and that preventing sexual harassment therefore is only a matter of posting signs and giving “training.” I refer readers to EEOC-CVG-2024-1, “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace,” by the US Employment Opportunity Commission.
This is a complex area of jurisprudence that is difficult to address within the word limit of a letter. I felt that the op-ed in question implied that prevention of sexual harassment is a matter of creating policies and providing trainings, when indeed there is an entire area of case law on this topic. It’s not responsible of the writer to imply that men who sexually harass women should face no consequences in the absence of signage and “Lunch and Learn!” style seminars.
Eli Fels-McDowell, Lexington
Juvenile Justice
A recent Lexington Herald Leader article describing the incident at the Warren Regional Juvenile Justice Center repeats an often heard story about incompetence by the State of Kentucky regarding juveniles. While I voted for Gov. Andy Beshear, I find his efforts to correct leadership problems within the Juvenile Justice system to be, as they would say in Texas, “All hat and no cattle.”
A financial slap on the wrist, about a dollar an hour, to the Lieutenant who committed the act leading to the crisis. Conversely, they fired the nurse for not using resources such as cool water because there was no cool water, only hot water, because Beshear’s people had not fixed it. Competent management would have bought and positioned potable water. Things happen, and that is a primary purpose of good management, things going wrong. I am retired Navy, and heads would have rolled for front page incident like this.
Shuffling the same old management around ain’t much of a response by Beshear’s staff. Sorta like re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Governor, the person you appointed to run the Juvenile Justice System has a tough job, and he has reached his Peter Principal level.
Bennie G. Patton, Berea
https://www.kentucky.com/news/nation-world/national/article287306050.html
Blinken testimony
“It was not as though there was a Palestinian people in Palestinian considering itself as a Palestinian people and we came and threw them out and took their country away from them. They did not exist.” - Prime Minister Golda Meir, London Sunday Times, 06/15/1969.
Golda Meir’s words are a familiar refrain as even the thinnest summary of Israeli political and military history shows.
In late April, USAID and the U.S. State Department’s PRM Bureau reported to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that Israel had intentionally prevented aid from reaching the starving and injured in Gaza. U.S. law requires countries receiving U.S. weapons, must allow the delivery of U.S.-backed humanitarian aid.
Pro-Publica reported the USAID’s memo detailing the Israeli killing of aid workers, destroying critical infrastructure and medical facilities, and preventing food and medicine to the starving and injured.
Blinken, before Congress on May 10, said, “We do not currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of US humanitarian assistance.”
Is Blinken lying to Congress? Congress regulates commerce and U.S. Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) must acknowledge Blinken’s testimony and reconcile it with the USAID memo. The sixth district wants to know.
Todd Kelly Lexington
Edited by Liz Carey