Editor: I am registered as an unaffiliated voter. For most of my life, I have observed the tug of war between the two parties. Each side took a different approach, but the parties used to work together on problems such as growing our economy and fighting authoritarianism.
This is no longer true. Those who say, “Both parties are the same” are just not paying attention. The current Republican Party is no longer a party with ideas, it’s a personality cult. In order to preserve their power, the Republican Party is intent on destroying our democracy.
Republicans have mastered intentional hypocrisy, accusing others of exactly what they themselves are doing. Using the lie that the last election was stolen, they are busy setting up a system to steal the 2024 election. 54 Republican election deniers have won primaries for positions that have a role in the election certification process (governor, attorney general, secretary of state, senate and house members). They plan to replace their state’s electors legitimately chosen by the voters with a set of electors of their choosing.
If they succeed, our democracy is dead. The November election is the most important in our history.
Those of us who value democracy must get involved, whether we are Unaffiliated, Democrats, or true conservative Republicans. We far outnumber those who are trying to take our liberty.
What can we do? Volunteer for a Democratic candidate. Donate. At the very least, register and vote!
—Philip Riffe, via letters@sentinelcolorado.com
Someone’s been paying attention and actually cares. Good for you, Mr. Riffe.
The volume of your never ending comments continue to amaze me. Thank you for the entertainment both here and Nextdoor, Joe Felice.
lol
The same could more accurately be said about the democrats. By continuously opposing picture voter ID requirements, increasing voter fraud opportunities through more lax vote gathering guidelines, and other more lax voter integrity enforcement, the Democrats are the ones trying to destroy our democracy. I can give you numerous examples of Democrats doing, or wanting to do exacting what they are falsely accusing the Republicans of doing.
Oh, please do tell!
Then explain why the majority of voters who were actually caught committing voter fraud in 2020 were Republicans. An anxious nation awaits your response.
You poor thing. You’ve bought one of the ReTrumplicants’ fear and anger lines about election security! Democrats are not the ones trying to pass restrictive rules about access to voting, such as removing driveup regulated ballot return boxes.. They are not positioning ‘voting monitors’ at polling places to intimidate those waiting to vote. They are not depriving folk on line to vote from having water to drink. They are not blaming Jewish space lasers or Chinese/Venezuelan conspiracies for affecting vote outcomes, or demanding recounts from clearly majority won elections.
We’ve had two elections in which the candidate with the most popular votes was not decided as President. Did Democrats storm the Capitol and commit violent insurrection? They pursued judicial remedies and when that failed, they went through the time of the administrations and worked to do better.
No throwing toys out of the crib or throwing of tantrums or embracing victimhood. Just grown up behavior. Compare that to your models, and work to broaden your knowledge.
Just another hateful letter published by a hateful newspaper. This time the hateful message is to hate Republicans by giving time and money to any Democrat.
By the way, no off year, November election has been, will be or can be, “the most important in our history.” This statement by itself should take away any credibility that Mr. Riffe or this paper seeks.
Moore, Dick I notice you did not refute any of the points of the letter. The writer may have used hyperbole in describing the importance of the coming election, but he’s not far off. In many states, the Republican candidates can best be described as dangerous to democracy. If they are successful and elected we will have people in charge of elections who have already taken a stand that the 2020 elections were illegitimate and that the Previous Occupant was the actual winner.
They propose ‘safeguards’ that are actually means to disenfranchise many voters. As an aside, why do they hope that fewer voters will increase their chances of winning?
Arizona, Pennsylvania and Georgia are just three states with Congressional candidates who make Lauren Broebert look statesman-like. May I present as evidence Senator Herschel Walker? Or Senator Mehmet Oz?
Priola is right; at a time like this it is too dangerous to trust the Republicans to govern in the interest of democracy.
Remember in November.
As an independent, I am as concerned with the Democrats condoning looting and criminal behavior as I am about the Republicans and Jan 6th. Neither are good for our democracy. The parties, in their constant childish tearing at each other, do not represent the vast majority of people
Why do you continue with this false equivalency? I’m assuming you are referencing the demonstrations often conflated with Black Lives Matter. The often violent demonstrations and criminal behavior were wrong and needed to be punished. But it was not a carefully planned armed insurrection designed to attack the very core of our republic, and sanctioned by a President desperate to hold onto power.
This ‘what aboutism’ seems to be hardly the viewpoint of an ‘Independent’.
Gee, I must be abnormal…
I detest both political parties. I find politicians to be buffoons solely interested in their own narcissim,, lost in money grubbing and dishonesty. Let’s not forget they are human and as humans they are not divine but crawled out of the miasma of despair called the population..
Can’t we just cure the problem by sending an absentee ballot to everyone who has ever lived in the state and use the honor system to regulate the election. Maybe the State could issue all voters a number and tattoo it on our arms like license plates.