There’s a leadership vacuum in the Dem, GOP parties. China and Russia are watching.

A leadership vacuum

Reading recent Forum letters, it’s fair to say that no amount of cheating on your wife will sway certain voters. The real missed point here is the vacuum of leadership voters now confront.

Many voted for President Obama because Sen. John McCain was not a viable alternative. The same can be said for President Trump as Hillary Clinton was not a viable alternative to many.

My hope is that both Republicans and Democrats will raise up better leadership.

Our country depends on better leadership than we’re currently offering. China and Russia are looking at us, mouths watering, as we fail to promote and develop better leaders for this country.

Every day I pray that both parties will do better for the sake of our country.

J.D. Howard, Raleigh

Republican voters

By attempting to undermine the integrity of the election, and calling for an “army of poll watchers,” Donald Trump is planning for confrontation and voter intimidation.

He is encouraging the potential for violence before, during and after the election.

Many former Republican elected officials and military leaders have sounded the alarm over the direction Trump is taking our country.

My hope is that other Republican voters out there are willing to quietly admit to themselves that this is not what they voted for, expected, or wanted for America.

Mark McKinney, Denton

Focus on ideology

When voting this year voters should set personalities aside.

Instead, consider how the values and ideologies of each candidate’s political party will drive our country the next four years.

Consider which party supports stringent regulations on businesses, and vote for the other. Consider which party is soft on law and order, and vote for the other.

Consider which party is stronger on religious freedom, which party supports traditional family values, and which party has done the

Michael Mills, Clemmons

Republican integrity

President Trump claims to support law and order then tells extremist hate groups to “stand by.”

Republican senators attend a COVID-19 superspreader event at the White House then hold a hearing without testing or requiring masks, all to ram through a Supreme Court nominee they think will hand Trump the election when he contests the results.

Trump runs ads falsely claiming Dr. Anthony Fauci supports him. And, the GOP in California puts up fake ballot collection boxes.

These are not signs of a party with integrity or strength.

They are signs of weakness, decay and corruption. It’s time to stand up for American democracy. Vote now.

Lynn Andrews, Durham

Pandemic response

As an expendable senior citizen living with Trump-world’s national pandemic response, I’m reminded of Richard Taylor’s classic New Yorker cartoon of two pith-helmeted explorers up to their necks in quicksand.

One comments to the other, “ ...I’ve half a mind to struggle.”

So you’ll pardon me, Thom, Run-Forest-Run, Donald Trump, et al, if I struggle down to the polls to vote you all out of public office.

Ned Gardner, Apex

Kidnapping plot

I’m waiting to hear from my senators and representative in Congress about the outrage they must feel about a right-wing militia group planning to kidnap a U.S. governor. I’m amazed by the thunderous silence of my elected representatives.

Why aren’t Sens. Thom Tillis, Richard Burr and Rep. George Holding speaking out? Would they keep silent if a left-wing group planned to kidnap and execute a Republican governor?

They must let us know where they stand.

Janice Huskey, Raleigh

School resources

Retired Judge Howard Manning’s Oct. 1 op-ed felt like a gut punch to me. I’m the mom of two Durham Public School students and the spouse of a DPS teacher.

Like most families in our state, we had been dealing with insufficient funding before schools shut down. Due to a decade of declining investments and lack of action on Leandro, our schools have never had the resources required to meet the needs of all students.

Manning oversaw Leandro for 15 years without delivering results for underserved students. His finger wagging is insulting to everyone doing the work to improve our schools.

It’s telling that he centers his rant on Read to Achieve, a failed policy that places blame on students and teachers, rather than the lawmakers who have failed to provide our schools with the tools necessary to succeed.

From Manning, it’s more of the same lip-service with no action.

Sarah E. Montgomery, Bahama