Democrats set the morality bar for themselves: Readers sound off
From Virginia's Democrats issues to Trump's SOTU message to the US possible intervention in Venezuela, our readers sound off on recent headlines.
Letter to the editor:
The Me Too and Black Lives Matter movements have become a central theme of Democratic rhetoric and status quo resistance efforts in the past few years.
Don’t get me wrong, this indeed is a good thing, drawing long overdue attention to the important issues of racism and sexual harassment in our country. As we are witnessing, however, these concerns have not been without political costs. With the increasing number of politicians being accused of racist and sexually inappropriate behavior (three cases in Virginia in just a few days: Gov. Ralph Northam, Attorney General Mark Herring and Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax), Democrats are placed in a precarious rhetorical position.
Related:Why Gov. Ralph Northam should not resign: Former Virginia congressman
The challenge is how to recruit candidates and win political races, which is necessary to promote these worthy causes, while simultaneously avoiding moral hypocrisy. Though it is debatable about how far back we should go in examining the personal lives of candidates, one thing is clear to me: For both Democrats and Republicans, morality and principle must be placed above concerns for winning and losing.
Richard Cherwitz; Austin
Racism must be called out anywhere
Letter to the editor:
The right thing to do is clear. Condemn racism and hold leaders accountable for racist acts. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s racist act must be condemned, regardless of political party. But when Republicans side with Democrats asking for Northam’s resignation, both parties also can’t ignore racism elsewhere within their own ranks.
Talker:Virginia Democrats can't claim ignorance of blackface
For example, President Donald Trump saying some “very nice people” marched with neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia, must be condemned. Trump claiming a federal judge was biased because “he’s Mexican” was racist. Trump failing to condemn white supremacists in his campaign and advisory staff is wrong. Yet where is the apolitical condemnation of Trump’s generalizations of minorities? And we’re not even mentioning his misogynist and xenophobic behaviors.
If Republicans and Democrats agree Northam should resign for a 1980s photograph, then Republicans should agree that Trump resign for his racist acts since the 2016 election. Racism must be called out anytime, anywhere and by anyone regardless of political party.
Jeff Akins; Highland, N.Y.
We reject Trump's divisiveness
Letter to the editor:
Watching a vacuous, willfully ignorant fraud use the State of the Union as a platform to make a mockery of our traditions was akin to theater.
In his address, the president asked us to “reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution.” No. More than resist, we should wholly reject this president. We’re ready for every lawless member of Trump’s family and administration to be indicted. We’re a nation of laws; we reject the idea that the rule of law be considered retribution.
More:Readers' best comments on Donald Trump's State of the Union
The state of the union is divided. Trump divides us and will continue to do so. We will never be ready to accept the dismantling of our democratic norms and institutions. We reject his message and his calls to greatness.
We need a president who doesn’t speak to our darkest angels, but rather lifts us and inspires us to work together. Trump’s America is a dark place, a place where people turn to crowd-funding to pay for cancer treatment. A place where we enact policies that traumatize children and families drawn to the U.S. as a beacon of hope.
I am ready for the next joint address and the next president who will return us to that lost, shining “city on a hill.” We will get through this together.
Claude Taylor, founder of Mad Dog PAC; Washington, D.C.
US should back off Venezuela already
Letter to the editor:
We should all be ashamed at how our government adds to the suffering of Venezuelans. Most of their suffering is due to corrupt political leaders. Some is due to sinking oil prices affecting 95 percent of their exports. But a major factor are the crippling U.S. sanctions designed to rid the U.S. of a socialist regime. U.S. propaganda hides our mendacity and the truth about Venezuelan governance from the American people. Trump’s new round of sanctions in 2017 pulled $6 billion from its economy the first year. Former United Nations special rapporteur Alfred De Zayas studied the crisis that year, determining U.S. sanctions constituted “economic warfare,” and recommending the International Criminal Court investigate U.S. sanctions as “crimes against humanity.”
Most Venezuelans just want removal of cruel U.S. sanctions, access to international credit and an end to criminal threats of military intervention.
Walt Zlotow; Glen Ellyn, Ill.
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