Where or where did my party go?
For some of us, struggling to remain Republican presents a Sisyphean challenge. The party I proudly joined 40 years ago, the party of Goldwater and Reagan and Buckley, is scarcely recognizable.
Polling depressingly suggests that three fourths of Republicans falsely believe the media "makes up" stories about the president. In fact, it is hard to recall a significant revelation that proved to be false. Yet they shrug off Trump's insatiable predilection for manufacturing or repeating falsehoods (averaging around 5 untruths per day).
Republicans should despair that there are few prominent conservative intellectuals who remain inside the tent. Virtually every influential thinker has either left the party or stands in opposition to its degrading Trumpification. Does it bother any other Republicans that the brains of the outfit now reside within the troubled skull of Steve Bannon, or that Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan have morphed into zombie conservatives mesmerized by the siren song of tax cuts to the exclusion of common decency and intellectual honesty?
How many of us bothered to reflect upon last week's stirring address by John McCain or the patriotic homily of George W. Bush? Anyone? Bueller?
Here's hoping it's not too late.
Christopher A. Hopkins
Both parties have a role in bipartisanship
I read with interest the comments of the gentleman who accuses the Democrats of bad will in resisting bipartisan agreement, thus "sabotaging our constitutional system of government." Conveniently he neglects to mention that immediately upon Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration, the Republicans embarked on a strategy of deliberate obstructionism, made clear by Mitch McConnell's, "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president." While the Republicans failed to achieve this objective, so successful was their "vote no on everything" policy that it soon earned them the title of "The Party of No."
True bipartisanship can be achieved only when the parties stop blaming each other and nominate candidates who are truly interested in the good of the country and not special interests.
Jean Farmer
Corker, Trump could not be further apart
I have known Bob Corker since the mid-1960s. Although I don't always agree with him, he is a fair, hard-working man of his word. He has proven himself to be a man of impeccable honesty who built his company and his personal and professional reputation through hard work and personal integrity.
I have known Donald Trump from a distance for only a few years. He has proven himself to be a petulant, misogynistic, fundamentally dishonest, con man and self-confessed sexual predator who shows no personal integrity. He demonstrates only personal greed, complete lack of accountability and a total disregard for any level of personal or professional responsibility.
Hank Hill