Time to leave Trumpism behind
The defeat of Donald Trump has repudiated his discriminatory, chaotic and non-directional tenure, but the 71 million votes he received shows the country has a long way to go to live up to the principles of its founding documents. Rampant racial bias has been recognized by those, who, along with their ancestors, suffered it for over three centuries.
They voted in margins approaching nine to one for Biden. Of course all who voted for Trump are not racial bigots, but by their vote they tolerate it for whatever reason, which enables it, so they are complicit. The Republican Party, that of emancipation, will now, at the least, be suspected by many of the other 76 million voters of being hypocritical about racism. It’s time for the party to reform itself and leave the Trump era in the rearview mirror.
John Kuisti
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West side
Two pieces I actually agree with
Re: the Nov. 9 opinion piece “Democrats just do not understand minorities.”
Thank you for two articles that I actually agree with.
First, “Democrats just do not understand minorities” by Fareed Zakaria. I would only add that the same can be said about many of us. We try to separate people into monolithic groups which do not exist. We are all individuals.
Second, “Election reveals there is room space for a third political party.” I could not agree more and I hear more people who feel that they have been forced to choose the lesser of two evils or give their vote to someone who had no chance of winning.
John Cioffi
North side
Mayor Walkup was a great leader
Re: the Nov. 8 article “Catching up with Tucson’s can-do former Mayor Walkup.”
David Fitzsimmons’ homage to former Mayor Bob Walkup on Nov. 8 took me for a stroll down memory lane. Some years ago, when I was teaching Arizona Social Studies to middle schoolers, I invited Mayor Walkup to talk to my students. With some trepidation I wondered as he took over the class: How would a mayor relate to 7th graders?
I needn’t have worried. Walkup was a pro. Rather than going on about dry governmental matters, he turned the tables and directed an important question to them. “How can we make Tucson a better city?” Hands shot up immediately. I remember one boy advocating for a new skateboarding park. Others brought up their own concerns.
Whether that skate boarding park idea or the other suggestions were discussed at City Council, I have no idea. I know Walkup made students feel that their ideas mattered and that they were important. That rare quality is one of the hallmarks of a great leader.
Barbara Russek
North side
Civics, voting reforms needed
This past election shows urgent need for election rule changes. There is a need for education of citizens on basic election laws. Rules and regulations must be standard throughout federal, state and local elections. Start with a complete, bipartisan review of the laws and procedures. Make them fair and standard statewide.
Educate the citizens with training of new and improved election rules and regulations. This can be done with mailing from election officials, secretary of state and recorder office mailings. Demand that this education be part of the process.
Make mail ballots the first method of voting, as it is the safest and least expensive. Next, train poll workers from the high school, colleges and universities for the job of on-site poll workers. The senior citizens will always be ready as back up workers.
Demand that changes be made to the outdated and very partisan current system. These change must be made by independent minded citizens. We have many folks who will be ready to answer this call. Demand actions!
Kenn Block
Oro Valley
Ranked Choice Voting brings diverse candidates
Re: the Nov. 9 article “Election reveals there is space for a third political party.”
One argument against additional parties is that it would be difficult for candidates to receive a majority vote. This problem could be easily solved by the wide implementation of Ranked Choice Voting. With RCV, voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots.
If a candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, they are declared the winner. If no candidate wins a majority, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated, and the second-preference choices of their voters are added to the remaining candidates’ tally. The process is repeated until a candidate wins an outright majority.
With this system, candidates will strive for broader appeal and foster more compromise, which has become rare in today’s political landscape.
The technical aspects of RCV are easily solved electronically. Maine used RCV for this year’s presidential election. If more states adopt RCV, we will see more diversity in our candidates.
Lee LaFrese
East side
Trump’s tenure was a failure
America has survived four years of chaotic administration under Donald Trump’s rule. Democracy has survived!
Inspiring and positive messages by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris gave us hope and made us proud to be Americans. Americans have spoken.
Donald Trump, your form of a autocratic style of government as a would-be dictator is dead. Your accusations of voter fraud baseless. Get over it, you have lost.
You have been the greatest threat to our Constitution, the rule of law and democracy. You have failed America in so many ways. Your failure to keep America safe is most alarming by doing nothing to prevent the spread of coronavirus, now at over 10 million cases and approaching 250,000 deaths.
You have blood on your hands. This is a dereliction of duty. You have been unfit to be president of the USA. You are hereby fired; don’t ever come back.
Herman Klap
Sahuarita
Take your ‘L’ and move on
Who hasn’t lost something important? It’s painful. Four years ago, when many of us were devastated by the outcome of the presidential election, we were called “snowflakes” and told to “get over it.”
It was inevitable that Donald Trump would refuse to accept defeat and Joe Biden as the president-elect. Trump is a notorious manipulator and lying is one of his tools. He knows that although the election was fair, his supporters will believe his lie that it was rigged.
At this point, spreading the lie is just pathetic. The loss hurts, but resist being the snowflake. If you love your country, you will move on.
Elizabeth Beyrer
Green Valley
It was a legitimate victory
The election was legal and legitimate. Donald Trump lost: he’s a loser. To those who doubt the legality of the election, I want to ask, “Why are you believing Republican lies about Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and the Democrats?”
Just about everything that the Republicans said about them were lies, more lies and demonizing stereotypes (stereotypes are always inaccurate and unjust). Go online and check out the MSN newsfeed and read all the articles that show that the election was legal and proper.
There has been NO election fraud. The election was not “stolen.” Biden and Harris won fair and square.
Flora Frederick
Midtown
Republicans have been sore losers
I would like President Trump, Mitch McConnell and all their enablers to answer a question: Would you be making your allegations of fraudulent/rigged voting if Mr. Trump had won the election? I hardly think so. What a very poor example your hypocrisy sets for the youth of the The United States!
Never mind what other nations must be thinking.
Ann Litsas
Foothills
Can the media stop talking about Trump now?
Americans tend to vote for the people they see or hear the most about. For six years the media has subjected us, on a daily basis several times a day, to the antics of a man who thrives on publicity and will do anything to get it. I blame the media for his popularity. I realize that news is not news unless it is sensational and grabs the reader’s or observer’s attention.
People who act outrageously get a lot of attention, to the detriment of serious and important issues. There is so much we need to learn about so many issues. Can we stop with all the stupid, outrageous behavior of someone who cannot survive without constant attention at all costs?
Media, please get over this guy. I hope never to read the name “Trump” again. Enough already.
Bette Richards
Northwest side
Cancer of division requires a moderate solution
Our country has been suffering from a cancer of division for a while. Our immune system used to be balanced by moderates who were willing to compromise. We also had traditions of decorum and fairness.
Newt Gingrich took the first blows to decorum by rising to power encouraging Republican candidates to demonize their opponents as sick, pathetic and traitors. McConnell took down all sense of fairness when he refused to allow the Senate to vote on Barack Obama’s pick for the Supreme Court eight months before the election. It no longer needed to look fair. It was all about winning.
Then the cancer of division led to a tumor. This tumor has been destroying the health of our country for four years. We just had surgery. Even though the surgery was a success, there is an infection that has not been removed.
Removing the tumor is not curing the cancer. The only treatment to the cancer of division is to bring back moderates and compromise.
Jonpaul Barrabee
Oro Valley
