The Republican Threat to Democracy
Dear Editor:
I strongly agree with the title of Rabbi Schonfeld’s recent article: “Republicans: A Serious Threat to Democracy.” I am surprised, however, that Rabbi Schonfeld omitted some of the clearest proofs of this claim. Surely, very strong confirmation of the threat can be found in the events of January 6, 2021, and in the Republican response to them.
According to some Republican apologists, the mob that descended on the Capitol consisted of peaceful tourists. Did they bring along climbing equipment to scale the Capitol walls? Well, you never know when the elevators might be out of order and the staircases overcrowded. Bear spray? Just might be wild bears roaming the halls.
Other apologists would have us believe that George Soros paid to bring in pretend Trump supporters to make Trump look bad. (Soros has become the real-life incarnation of Emanuel Goldstein of 1984, the evil Jewish enemy of Big Brother; the anti-Semitism is clear.)
Still other apologists blame Nancy Pelosi for not calling up the National Guard; in fact, only the President can call up the National Guard in the District of Columbia.
Those Republicans such as retired Judge J. Michael Luttig (an eminent jurist and strongly Conservative) who have the temerity to say that “the Emperor is Naked” and that one should vote for Harris to preserve democracy, political differences notwithstanding, are placed in MAGA cheirem.
In the interest of brevity, I will not go into “Project 2025” and the threat posed by “Christian Nationalism.”
I hope that I have strengthened Rabbi Schonfeld’s arguments.
David Segal
Kew Gardens Hills, New York
Dear Editor:
This should probably be a cause for some self-reflection, but I think I can pretty accurately predict what Moshe Hill’s column is going to be every week. I figured he would throw out every criticism that has been circulating in conservative media towards the Harris/Walz ticket, whether valid, ridiculous, or completely fabricated, and he didn’t disappoint. You know things are tough when his complaints include that a candidate is repeating the same speech (apparently, he’s never heard of a stump speech) or that Tim Walz is being called a coach when he was only an assistant coach. Or that while he admits that candidates often run different campaigns in a general election versus a primary (which is especially true when they are four years apart and much has changed), he still bashes Kamala Harris for doing so. At least he has the decency to only generally disparage the service of Walz, who served 24 years in the National Guard and re-enlisted after 9/11, without repeating some of the specific made-up criticisms. There’s a narrow way you can attack him based on the actual facts, but of course Republicans have taken it way further than that.
Luckily for conservatives, they have a candidate that you can’t lob any of these accusations at. Mr. Hill thinks Harris is a flip-flopper and a liar? It’s a good thing then that Donald Trump is a principled man of truth. Surely no one can ever claim that he is “as bad a liar as we’ve seen on the political stage,” a charge Mr. Hill levels at Walz. I know that just from the last couple of weeks he has some new whoppers (AI crowds for Harris! Invented helicopter rides!), but that’s just Trump being Trump, so it doesn’t count.
You can also never accuse Trump of stolen valor, as he avoided military service due to bone spurs that were definitely real. And unlike Harris, he’s been willing to answer questions from the media about his proposed policies. He’s vowed to bring prices down on Day One and to cut energy prices in half. How? You’ll first have to listen to long rants about how much larger his crowds are than anyone else’s (fact check: false), and his actual answers are often incoherent and lack any nuance, but at least he’s answering questions! Maybe some detailed plans are coming once he puts out the amazing healthcare plan that he’s been promising for eight years.
Mr. Hill also mentions Harris copying Trump’s proposal to not tax tips (ignoring the significant differences that Harris articulated), but it’s not just that; Biden has also copied Trump’s vow to lower prescription drug costs. Sure, Trump abandoned that after meeting with pharma lobbyists while Biden followed through, but copying is copying.
But in all seriousness, Harris ceding the floor to let Trump be Trump is a sound strategy. Trump is massively unpopular, and every time he opens his mouth is a chance to remind people who haven’t been paying attention for four years why that is. Let’s remember that he lost the last election to an elderly candidate, and that was before he tried to get it overturned based on a bunch of lies that he just can’t quit. And it’s not just Trump’s personality that turns voters off, as many of his supporters dismissively rationalize. Unlike Mr. Hill, people remember that Trump was President in 2020 and how he handled a major crisis.
Furthermore, much of the Republicans’ legislative agenda is broadly unpopular, which is why they focus so heavily on culture war issues. There’s a reason why Trump and other Republicans, in a repeat of how they acted in 2020, almost never mention the only major legislative achievement from his time in office, the deficit-ballooning tax cut for the rich and corporations, which came with false promises that it would trickle down. (It’s notable that much of the funding for the right-wing culture war battles come from billionaires who greatly benefit from Republican tax policy.) Trump is similarly trying to distance himself from the conservative “Project 2025” by unconvincingly lying about his ties to it.
Biden was dragged down by his age and the unpopularity that every leader who had to deal with the economy coming out of Covid has had (no matter how much you can argue that he has dealt with that tough situation as well as possible). Harris is trying to win an election, not placate the media vultures and Republicans, so the best thing for her to do is just ride for as long as possible the wave generated by people relieved that they have a new option. Much of the exaggerated criticism from the right is just frustration that it is actually working. They are flummoxed that people outside of the conservative media bubble don’t see things the way they do and, like Trump, they’re lashing out.
One last point on reasons for Trump’s unpopularity. Mr. Hill has spilled a lot of ink writing about how horrible it is to have an elderly President with cognitive issues, but suddenly that doesn’t seem to be a problem for him. I’ve argued that it was not as big an issue when that description applied to both candidates, but now there’s a clear difference. While Trump’s malignant narcissism that dominates everything he says and does has always been there, at his recent press conferences and interview with Elon Musk he’s exhibited a notable deterioration from years past. You would think someone who seemingly cares so much about this issue would at least mention it. There’s still time for that, I guess.
Regards,
Yaakov Ribner
Biden Defeats Inflation
Dear Editor:
Joe Biden held a press conference this week to announce that, due to his successful fiscal policies, he has finally defeated inflation. This was remarkable for numerous reasons.
Given his current health, Biden showing up for any event at this point is noteworthy. Last week, his schedule included one phone call, an award ceremony, and yet another five-day weekend at the beach.
Biden “defeating” inflation when everything costs 20-30% more than under Trump is of course absurd. Inflation year over year “cooled” to 2.9%, which allowed Biden to take his ridiculous victory lap. If he weren’t so senile and uninformed, somebody might tell him that inflation is targeted by the fed at 2% year over year and 2.9% inflation is nearly 50% higher than the targeted rate. But why spoil the old man’s good mood with all the mundane details? The real reason this is being touted a win is so Democrats can get the coveted, pre-election interest rate cut and hopefully spur some economic growth. The pre-election rate cut, which was predicted by dozens of conservative commentators the last few months, just shows that there’s absolutely nothing in government, not even the Federal Reserve, that hasn’t been corrupted by Democrats.
When Biden holds a press conference, no one is really expecting anything coherent to be mumbled by our corpse of a President. The real allure in watching Biden at this point is seeing if he will keel over and be stretchered out of the room. That said, his handlers have been strict about adhering to his nursing home schedule. No more than two activities a week, Bingo at 3 p.m., chocolate chip ice cream at 4 p.m., and calling a “lid” on the week by Wednesday afternoon. With this limited schedule, incredibly, Biden has still managed to field more questions than Kamala Harris, who has been hiding from the press since the day she shanked Biden out of his nomination nearly four weeks ago.
Jason Stark
Kamala Is More Lazy Than Stupid
Dear Editor:
Kamala Harris is our DEI candidate. No, the “D” in DEI doesn’t stand for “dumb,” but by all accounts, she’s not very bright. And worse, she’s lazy. Months ago, the uber-left-leaning Washington Post ran an expose on Harris detailing how her staffers will prepare briefings for her on whatever issue it is that she needs to be caught up on. The article goes on to detail how Harris is often too lazy to read the briefings, will go into interviews unprepared and then berate her staffers for her unpreparedness. There’s a reason her staff has a 90 percent turnover rate: She’s a horrible person and an even worse boss.
Her laziness and stupidity extend to her policy prescriptions, which are few and far between. Her big idea this week was for the federal government to waive taxes on tips. Sounds great, except for the fact that she lifted the idea from Donald Trump who proposed that just last week. Her refusal to do any sit-down interviews ostensibly proves that she has real trouble with contemporaneous thinking, i.e. any words that were not put into her teleprompter.
Even her scripted “interview” with Tim Walz this week involved more copying from Trump as she pretended Walz missed her phone call informing him that she picked him as her running mate. For those unaware, JD Vance was in transit and missed President Trump’s call informing him that he was selected to be on the ticket.
Trump has been excoriated as a racist for calling Harris “stupid,” “low IQ” and “incompetent” on the campaign trail. Truthfully, Trump has been overly generous in his characterizations of her, as he continually leaves out her worst character trait of all: her laziness.
Avi Goldberg
The Price Of Tish’ah B’Av Videos
Dear Editor:
Now that Kamala Harris appears to be transitioning away from “Bidenomics” to “Kammunism” in the form of price controls on groceries, perhaps she can include Tish’ah B’Av videos on her list of items she wants full government control over. Last week, I saw some videos priced as high as $50. I’m all for rabbis getting paid for their talents, but $50 seems a bit excessive for a shot at being inspired on our national day of mourning. If we are to embrace Venezuela-style government control over large swaths of our economy, I think Tish’ah B’Av videos should be included.
Jonathan Goldgrab
Democrats Really Do Think You Are Dumb!
Dear Editor:
Great letter this past week by fellow letter writer, Jason Stark, outlining just how stupid Democrats and the media think we all are.
One addendum I would add to Mr. Stark’s list is the federal legislation Kamala Harris is proposing to “eliminate price gouging” on groceries. This is such an obvious attempt to whitewash the Biden/Harris record on inflation and neutralize what is arguably her largest vulnerability in this election cycle: the current administration’s decimation of the middle and lower class through hyper-inflation.
Many argue Kamala’s most consequential action as Vice President was what she did with our borders. But that was more of an inaction. Her most devastating action was casting the tie-breaking vote in the Senate on multiple spending packages that needlessly added trillions of dollars to an already inflated economy. Her current stance of taking on the fake boogeyman of corporate price gouging is an obvious misdirect away from her complicity in wrecking our economy with the ridiculous spending bills. Her brazenness in papering over her own record with the help of the willing media would never have been attempted but for the fact that Kamala thinks you’re too stupid to notice.
Mr. Stark ended his letter with the unanswered question of whether the voters will prove Kamala correct in showing how ignorant they actually are. Unfortunately, early indications are they will. For months, polling showed that Donald Trump was crushing Joe Biden on the issue of our economy. Now that his trusted DEI assistant, who in the past has bragged about her role in shaping Biden’s disastrous fiscal policy, is running for President, she has closed the gap and is within three points of Trump on the issue of our economy. That is truly insane, considering the role she played in Bidenomics and what a failure it has been.
For a developed, first-world country, it really is mind-boggling just how ignorant the average voter is on all the important issues.
Doniel Behar
How to Keep Social Security and Medicare Solvent
Dear Editor:
Happy birthday, Social Security. You turned 89 on Friday, August 16. Both the Old-Age and Survivors Trust (OASI) and Disability Trust Fund (DI) are projected to be depleted within ten years. Medicare will do the same by 2031. After those dates are reached, benefits under both SSI and Medicare recipients may have to be cut.
Here is a reasonable alternative to keep both SSI and Medicare solvent for decades more. Raise retirement age eligibility by one month each year starting in 2024 over twelve years. In 2036, you would have to be 63 years old to start collecting, 67½ for full benefits, or 73 for maximum benefits. The current payroll withholding tax is 6.2% each for employees and employers for a total of 12.4 %. Starting in 2024, raise each by .10%. Within ten years, the total payroll withholdings will be 14.4%. Both actions should preserve financial solvency for SSI and Medicare. As a majority of Americans continue to live longer, this is the best deal for all.
Sincerely,
Larry Penner
Great Neck, New York
