The real party's silent
There is still a Republican Party. You can recognize the leaders of the party by watching them wet their pants every time Trump looks their way. You can recognize the party members by their silence. It is deafening.
There is also a Trumplican party. You can recognize the leaders of the party by their continuing words and actions spreading the huge lie. You can recognize the party members by the orange-colored glasses through which they view events, their ability to see only alternative facts, and their living in a strange reality.
My question: When will leaders and members of the true Republican Party find the backbone and voice to take their party back?
Over the last 50 years I have voted for many Republicans. I may be a Democrat, but I voted for what I felt at the time was the best person for the job. Today I find myself unable to vote for any Republican candidate, especially those here in Arkansas.
Republicans: Take back your party!
FRED FISHER
Conway
Spending's way to go
Besides setting up to destroy our democracy after the next election, it seems the Republican Party has done a very bad job managing the economy.
There are basically two ways the government can stimulate the economy: taking out less in taxes, or spending more. Republicans have opted exclusively for tax cuts.
Since 1980, the Republican Party has argued that their series of tax cuts would pay for themselves by stimulating the economy. Economists are in general agreement that tax cuts had little effect on the economy, but did run the national debt from under $1 trillion in 1980 when Ronald Reagan was elected president to over $25 trillion by the time Biden was elected. The problem was that Republican tax cuts went primarily to the richest Americans who did not spend the money. We'll see if Gov. Asa Hutchinson's tax cuts work any better at the state level. Doubtful.
Republicans take the position that tax cuts don't count when looking at our debt, but any spending adds to it dollar for dollar. This is an understandable position for a party that represents the rich and intends to do nothing for ordinary citizens, but both assumptions are false.
The Democratic approach is to spend directly on infrastructure and social programs. Since Biden became president, a covid relief bill was passed through the reconciliation process and Republicans have allowed one infrastructure bill to slip through. Both have had a positive effect on the economy.
If they survive Republican obstruction, more ambitious Democratic spending bills would likely add little or nothing to the debt since they include tax increases on the wealthy to pay for the spending. The real upside is that Democratic spending could not only pay for itself, but make a profit as recipients recycle the money.
Most economists think spending is the way to go.
ROGER WEBB
Little Rock
Traditionalists quiet
Who are the traditional Republicans? They are the country-club types who graduated from college, got safe, secure jobs and now occupy leadership positions in their chosen fields and in their communities. We would all like to be them.
But most of us were not born with a silver spoon in our mouth. Most of us had to work or take out large loans to put ourselves through college. We did not have time for courses in 17th century French poetry.
So what has happened to the Grand Old Party they grew up with? It has been taken over by Trump’s base, a mostly low-born rabble made up of poor white working people who love Donald Trump because he talks like they do, “from the heart.” They just love it when Donald sticks his fingers in our eyes.
Did Donald get a college degree? Anybody with a billion dollars can buy a degree. Most university presidents would graduate a goat for a billion dollars. We want to see his college transcripts. Apparently, his college grades, like his diploma, are closely guarded secrets. Somebody should bring suits against Fordham and the University of Pennsylvania to release his college transcripts.
I believe we are facing a national emergency if Donald Trump is elected president in 2024. Like Hitler was to Germany, he is an existential threat to our democracy, meaning, we will have a dictator for life instead of a president. Traditional Republicans have to take back their party or work with Democrats to defeat him in the next election.
At this point, traditional Republicans have no party. We Democrats should invite them to become the conservative wing of the Democratic Party. We have more in common with each other than with Trump’s base. Think about it.
RUUD DuVALL
Fayetteville
Not Electoral College
John DiPippa wrote that the Electoral College enabled the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. He stated that the bizarre nature of the Electoral College encouraged the president and his allies to try to manipulate the system to overturn a fair election that Trump lost. I believe Mr. DiPippa is dead wrong.
The culprit is the Electoral Count Act, a 19th century act that allows Congress to disqualify a state’s electors after the Electoral College had voted. This encouraged rioters to storm the Capitol. If we are concerned about stealing elections, the Electoral Count Act must be fixed, not the Electoral College.
RUSSELL BAILEY
Little Rock