Trump is getting it done (even with one hand behind his back)
It is obvious Gene Nichol dislikes President Trump by the way he criticized him in his column. (“The NC GOP is now of, by and for Trump,” Oct. 24). In a scant two years, with his hands restricted because of the Mueller witch hunt, he has accomplished much.
The economy is booming, all-time lows in unemployment. Wages are going up. He has helped our vets get better care and is improving the VA. He is building the southern border wall, and trying to reform immigration to bring in people who can really help our country.
Our defense is strong again. ISIS and the Caliphate are essentially gone. He has gotten us out of the climate accord. He got us out of the deal with Iran, and is putting severe restrictions on Iran. He also has severe restrictions on Russia and China. He is keeping the restrictions on North Korea as we work with them for a denuclearized Korean Peninsula. He has gotten better trade deals with Mexico, Canada, South Korea, and is working on Europe and China.
Besides hating Trump, what is Nichol and the left wing cabal (which no longer is political but anarchy) going to do to make America and the world better?
Joseph J. Moyer
Raleigh
Suppressing dissent
I considered writing a long and detailed response to the many lies, falsehoods, and omissions in J. Peder Zane’s column (“Why I’m voting Republican this year”) of Oct. 24. Instead, I’ll just say that if his beloved Republicans really believed they could win elections on their ideas, policies, and record, they wouldn’t be doing everything they possibly could to restrict voting.
Gerrymandering, purging voters, restricting time and locations for early voting, writing vaguely worded amendments about voter ID — all are attempts to limit the votes of non-GOP voters. If you are really better at the game, you don’t need to cheat.
Charlene Reiss
Durham
Principal difference
The principal difference between right and left is evidenced in this debate. The right makes its case based on facts and the left on emotion. J. Peder Zane makes the case for Republicans based on the facts of economic gains made since Republicans came into power. Gene Nichol makes the case on emotion using the same vitriol that The News & Observer has reproduced from the Washington Post since Election Day 2016.
They say Trump is a racist, sexist, homophobe, Islamophobe, and is likely insane. We saw this during the Kavanaugh hearings with the paid leftist mobs running amuck yelling and screaming in the halls of Congress and clawing on the doors of the Supreme Court.
At the same time Republicans were trying to examine the evidence searching for the truth. Nichol nowhere makes the case for anyone to vote Democrat other than hating Trump. And that is because the Democrats have nothing to offer except punish the productive and reward the incompetent.
Andy Maholick
Raleigh
Hypocritical right
Having read J. Peder Zane’s, “Why I’m voting Republican,” Oct. 24, I am left wondering if Zane understands the meaning of hypocrisy. Commenting that Democrats have allowed the left to take the party over completely ignores how the Republican party has been co-opted by Donald Trump and his right-wing nationalists.
There has been little to no push back by our Republican Congress to the excesses of Trump. Trump attacks every institution and there is nothing but blind loyalty and fealty. What ever happened to equal branches of government?
Zane mentioned divisive identity politics, which is extremely laughable considering that Trump is the master of such politics. He names Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid as the drivers of our deficits. Complete hogwash! Go back read your history and look up “starve the beast.” Under Republicans there has been one tax cut after another fueling this massive debt. That is truly voodoo economics. So much for good Republican stewardship.
Michael Matthews
Cary
Christian nation
What does the Lord require of us?
Hylton Lawrence’s letter, “Outside Funding?” Oct. 25, does not evoke the “Christian Nation” label that many have given to this country. In Matthew 25: 34-40, Jesus speaks of loving your neighbor. Verses 41-46 cite examples chastising those “who did not feed me when I was hungry or take me in when I was a stranger, or give me drink when I was thirsty.”
Instead of spending billions on a border wall, maybe we should spend that money on helping those Central American countries provide a safe place for their people to live. I would say that those in the caravan really don’t want to leave their homes but feel they have no choice. Our country takes in fewer refugees than most any other developed nation in the world. What are we scared of?
Daryl Bowman
Raleigh
What flags
If one were so abused by a country that he were forced to leave to find sanctuary in another country, what flag would you be displaying? Would you be displaying the flag of the country that tossed you out of your home? Or the flag of the country you want to take you in?
With the obvious answer being the flag of the country you want to give you a home, I ask why so many of these caravan people are flying the flag of the country that tossed them out of their homes? Could it be that this is really a total setup? I would think so!
Dave Eger
Newport
Demand for drugs
I agree with the opinion expressed in the Oct. 25 letter to the editor titled “Asylum seekers.” Our market for drugs is indeed the root cause of a host of problems. If there were no demand for drugs, there would be no need to satisfy the demand. There would be less addiction, less drug-related crime, less gang violence in the U.S. and Central America, and consequently fewer people fleeing the violence in their home countries to seek safety here.
Building a wall along the southern border does not diminish the demand for drugs. Instead of wasting resources on such a project, the money should be used to eliminate or at least curb the demand for drugs here at home. Let’s not blame the refugees approaching our border. They are not an invading army that must be met with military force. They are innocent victims of circumstances that our demand for drugs helped create.
Bill Grothmann
Raleigh
This story was originally published October 26, 2018 at 4:16 PM.