But it was a nice one ...
It was the day after Election Day. All the losing candidates in the hotly contested statewide elections accept defeat gracefully with very cordial congratulations to their opponents. All recognize that an unbiased, critically thinking, informed public has weighed all the issues carefully and elected the very best person for the office in question.
All leftover campaign funds are deposited into the account of an organization trying to bring about term limits for all federal public offices, which is truly the only way to take politics out of governing.
Everyone declares that America has again performed admirably the cardinal procedure of its democracy: free and fair elections.
Then I woke up! What a dream!
Ted M. Moore, Dallas/Preston Hollow
Not what they campaigned on
During the campaign for the recent midterm elections, Republicans consistently hammered the Biden administration for allegedly creating the problems with the economy, inflation, crime and the border. And it was certainly implied that they would resolve these issues if they gained control of the U.S. House and Senate.
Well, Republicans did win the majority in the House and immediately began meeting to determine what their priorities will be when the new Congress convenes in 2023. You would assume the priorities would be plans to help resolve the problems they complained about so loudly during the campaign. Wrong.
What they gleefully announced were investigations into Hunter Biden’s laptop, the FBI and the Justice Department. And Dr. Anthony Fauci, for Pete’s sake. Oh, and impeachments of President Joe Biden and some of his cabinet members.
These are not the kitchen-table issues they campaigned on and that concern the American public. This Republican overreach and spitefulness and its obstruction and failure to address real problems will result in another Democratic victory in 2024.
Fred R. Neary, Far North Dallas
Few wins for Trump
We the people may finally have had enough. The cumulative effect of an insurrection, an attempt to subvert democracy and the idolizing of an ex-president under investigation for several crimes appears to have triggered a resounding defeat of his handpicked candidates for key state offices.
In Arizona, incubator of nonstop voting-conspiracy theories and spurious recounts, GOP darlings lost in many races. In Michigan, where the Republican nominee for attorney general is under investigation for tampering with voting tabulation, the top three GOP candidates lost by a total of 1.13 million votes.
In Wisconsin, the GOP nominee for governor who vowed “If I am elected, we [the GOP] will never lose another election in this state,” had his nefarious zeal thwarted by 90,000 votes.
To paraphrase sportscaster Howard Cosell’s famous call of boxer George Foreman’s blow to Joe Frazier’s noggin: “Down goes Trump! Down goes Trump! Down goes Trump!”
Bill Halstead, Far North Dallas
Disappointing
Congratulations, Texas. You’ve voted in a slate of do-nothing-for-Texans politicians, including an indicted individual. I had hoped Texas would have seen the power grid failure, the school shootings and mass killings in El Paso, a woman’s agency and the way education is treated to be enough to make a change after 27 years. The disappointment is palpable.
Irma Myers Donihoo, Plano
This threat was dodged
Kudos to the American voters — Democratic, Republican and independent — who voted to preserve our republic and democracy. At a critical time in our experiment in democracy, most of the midterm election voters realized our democracy was in peril from autocratic forces and voted to prevent any further deterioration of our government.
Today, we can answer Benjamin Franklin’s challenge in the affirmative as to whether we could keep our republic and democracy. We dodged this threat, but eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, and we must be ready for future assaults on our democracy.
Tony Torres, Garland
Now, the revenge politics
Every post-midterm poll indicated that the top five issues the citizens of America voted on were abortion, inflation, the threat to democracy, gas prices and personal finances. Nowhere did I see the American people voice any need for an investigation into Hunter Biden, any attempt to impeach President Joe Biden or any need to dissolve the Jan. 6 committee investigating the greatest threat to our Constitution since the Civil War.
This seems to be revenge politics at best, and at worst, it’s just one more reason to divide our country. Where is the pledge to work on bipartisan legislation to solve the abortion issue? How about a bipartisan team to work on inflation? How about a meaningful, bipartisan conversation about the growing threat of white nationalism and racism in this country?
Where are the policies that will move us forward and not just ones that will attempt to anger us about what happened in the past? There is so much work to do, and yet it seems there is a focus on getting even. Focus on what the majority voted for!
Phil Ruffini, Rockwall
Don’t forget the good things
During this Thanksgiving weekend, there’s no doubt in my mind what I am most grateful for: that when faced with a dangerous threat to our freedom, the nation turned away from the deniers and dividers who put their own self-interests ahead of the voters. And that when push came to shove, the American people remembered Jan. 6, 2021, and punished some of the politicians who would like us all to forget the tragic events of that fateful day.
I’m even appreciative of the scoundrels who lost in the recent midterms because when faced with defeat, most didn’t call for political upheaval and insurrection.
And though inflation has proven to be a burden for most families, I’m grateful that food and shelter is still plentiful in our homeland, unlike so many war-torn countries across the globe.
At a time when there seems to be little if anything in the news that’s positive, I’m thankful that the holidays afford us all the opportunity as a family to share pleasant memories.
Bob Ory, Chicago
A few requests
Now that Republicans have secured power for the next four years in Texas, can I kindly request that Republican voters ask your team to leave trans kids and their families alone? Perhaps give them just a little of the freedom you demand for yourselves? And could you just stop with the ridiculous protesting of drag brunches while you take your kids to places like Hooters and Twin Peaks? (And I hope you never have the opportunity to see a genuine British Pantomime because you’d probably want to shut all those down as well.)
And maybe, just maybe, could you find enough compassion in your heart for incest and rape victims and ask your governor to not further traumatize them with absurd abortion bans? Please? After all, you get to keep as many military weapons and ammunition as you want and carry them pretty much anywhere. Hooray for you!
Rachel Deering, Dallas
Seriously, again?
Can someone please explain to me why Texans made the same mistake by re-electing an attorney general accused of multiple crimes, including indictment for a felony and state securities fraud, seven years ago.
Since he was elected top lawyer of Texas, he has managed to finagle his way out of going to trial or receive any other repercussions. Ordinary folks like me would have been slapped in jail so fast our heads would spin, and before we were even elected the first time.
Texas, why do you want someone like that as attorney general?
Tanda Rasco, Dallas
About those laws
Re: “New laws didn’t cause major issues — In GOP-leaning states, fears about ballot access didn’t come to pass,” Nov. 14 news story.
This story states there were “no widespread reports of voters being turned away at the polls” and a “lack of broad disenfranchisement.” The mailed-ballot rejection rate was at less than 2% in San Antonio. A record midterm turnout for Georgia. What?
We were told again and again that photo IDs, vote harvesting bans and drop-box security amounted to voter suppression. Was that a big lie?
Ken Ashby, Dallas
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