I voted for Hillary Clinton because to me, as a professional who has evaluated resumes when hiring people, she was the most experienced and qualified person for the job. Some believe Russian President Vladimir Putin would simply have rearranged his strategy whether Donald Trump or Clinton won the 2016 election. I do not think so. Clinton, who won the popular vote, was the only one who always called Putin’s game in every debate.
My husband and I are doing well in this economy. However, we could never vote for Trump under any circumstances. We could have changed our minds had he shown himself to be a decent, intelligent and respectful human being. But he is an opportunist, and the GOP knows how to use him.
Trump ran a campaign based on the idea that he was representing those left behind. Most Democrats, liberals, and late-night comedy shows pictured Trump’s voters as white, uneducated people who knew no better. A tactical mistake by Clinton during the campaign was to call them “deplorables,” and she paid the price for it. But how wrong was she? As Democrats voted to impeach Trump, his campaign and the GOP raised more than $125 million. Where did these people “left behind,” who supposedly have not prospered as much us the rest of us, get $125 million to donate? White conservatives, evangelicals and big corporations are making donations under the guise of Trump’s base.
Clinton made a mistake by calling those who really believed in Trump as a force of change “deplorable.” But Clinton was right. This is a decisive moment for this country. Those who were and are backing Trump financially obviously care less about poverty, the opioid crisis, the environment, health care, the national debt and student debt.
ZONIA WATROBA
Reading, Vt.
Who do you think is being described in these excerpts from a recent book:
■ “His down-to-earth speaking style pleased many voters.”
■ Hi skin “was paper-thin, and he seemed not to care very much whether his startling disclosures had any basis in fact.”
■ “He cast doubt on the patriotism of all who criticized him.”
■ “He was profoundly careless about his sources of information and far too glib when connecting dots that had no logical link.”
■ He was fond of superlatives, for example, warning about “a conspiracy so immense and an infamy so black as to dwarf any previous such venture in the history of man.”
■ “Many mainstream political leaders … lacked the courage to call his bluff.”
These sentences, written by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in her 2018 book, Fascism: A Warning, describe U.S. Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy. As I read Albright’s book, I realized that her description of McCarthy was all too familiar. We are seeing it in action every day from our current president. The Senate ended up censuring McCarthy in December 1954, approving a resolution introduced by U.S. Sen. Ralph Flanders, R-Vt. The vote was 67-22 in favor of the resolution. The resolution identified McCarthy’s unacceptable behavior as “non-cooperation” with and “abuse” of Senate committees. Does that, too, sound familiar?
How many current senators will have the courage to take action regarding the person who is much more powerful, and much more dangerous, than McCarthy?
JOHN MORRIS
East Corinth
President Donald Trump returns to the U.S. after being laughed out of the NATO meeting in Europe. The Europeans were not laughing at Trump, but at the U.S. for sending him to represent us. Trump has shamed the country and the thousands of brave men and women who gave their lives in two world wars to protect us and our Constitution and who are buried in Europe.
The only things Trump loves is himself and money. He will lie and cheat anyone he can bully and then throw them under the bus. This includes his Republican followers, too.
Trump is only one of the countless rats in our federal government who would sell this country out for $2 and a cereal box top. He must be removed from office before he can bring more shame upon us. Then go after the other rats.
Trump has divided this country, just as Russian President Vladimir Putin wants it. Fox News and Rush Limbaugh preach lies and Russian propaganda every day. What a shame that this country of educated people should idolize someone like Trump. Aren’t we better than that?
President John F. Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” Trump has been impeached. He should be convicted and removed from office now.
ROBERT POLLARD
Enfield