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I read with interest the letters posted on both on Friday, Sept. 13 and Friday, Sept. 20, as well as the “Your Turn” column by our representative Tammy Mulchi. First, I was pleased to read that Marie Flowers took the writer of the opinion piece published two weeks ago to task for erroneously making the assumption that Socialism is a slippery slope towards Communism. This viewpoint (a classic Republican talking point from the 1950’s and 1960’s) has as much credibility as Driskill’s letter from Sept. 13 on how electing Harris will bring forth “Satanic chaos, corruption and communism!” Really? These rather extreme views are representative of those who endorse a party whose Presidential candidate (according to Politico) believes that Putin is a “genius” and “savvy” for his invasion of Ukraine.

Perhaps Driskill’s perspective is not that far off from Mulchi’s assumption that those who support the Green New Deal are “the most radical of the radical.” Afterall, Mulchi questions how radical leftists like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Saunders, and Kamala Harris could support a program like The Green New Deal, a program designed to tackle climate change, boost investment in sustainable energy and reduce economic inequality. This same program is decried by Republicans as being socialistic yet according to new polling from Data for Progress, nearly half the voters (49%) view climate change as more serious than they did five years ago.

Currently, 69% of Democrats and 30% of Republicans view climate change as an important issue. Interestingly, these issues are being addressed by progressive policies enacted by “democratic socialist” countries like Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway who actually support such progressive platforms. Unlike the U.S., these countries provide cradle to grave health care as well as universal early childhood education for their citizenry and are identified by Forbes and the World Population Review as the happiest people on Earth!

The Republican Party and specifically the MAGA faction decries such initiatives and Mulchi is lockstep in line with their total lack of policies to address these issues. A point blatantly obvious during the Presidential debate when Trump did not mention policies but rather seemed more concerned with his crowd sizes, the false claim that immigrants are eating pets and his opponent’s racial identity. So, perhaps it is not surprising that Mulchi, a loyal Republican, has endorsed her party’s presidential candidate who is both a convicted felon and sex offender, an election denier, a notorious liar, and whose stated environmental position is “Drill Baby Drill,” one that will reward oil and petroleum billionaires.

So, what has happened to the conservative economic and social positions that used to inform policy? Under the leadership of Donald Trump, will we continue to support a consummate liar whose only real interest in America is self-interest, not what is good for the rest of us! Take the time to think people, take the time to really look at the policies that will help you before you cast your vote. Under President Biden, we avoided a depression, have dialed down inflation and have a much better job market since the economy has added 14.8 million jobs, more than any other president in U.S. history. Don’t listen to the rhetoric but look at the facts.

Chapman Hood Frazier
Rice