To the editor:
Last weekend, the letter "Why I left Democrat Party" by Michalene King expounded her arguments for switching from the party of Kennedy to the party of Donald Trump. (Let's face it, it's not Lincoln's party anymore.) Her reasons are, of course, hers to hold, and she's entitled to her own quest; but if the intention was a persuasive argument for following her example, I dare say, it won't win many converts.
She began by raising Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky, his subsequent impeachment trial and the Democratic Senate's refusal to remove him. Odd to hear that presidential infidelity, lying, impeachment and a party failing to remove its leader is sufficient cause to abandon said party from a current member of the GOP, I must say. I'd also note that in subsequent years, Democrats forced out such men as Gary Hart, John Edwards and Al Franken for doing far less than such lauded Republicans as Trump, Dennis Hastert and Lauren Boebert.
Next, she mentions Clinton signing NAFTA as a reason for her departure. Perhaps she's unaware that NAFTA was championed by Ronald Reagan, lobbied-for and passed under George Bush, and only signed by Clinton with the support of the Republican House. She must also not realize that under Trump, NAFTA was renegotiated but left largely unchanged with a few exceptions including stronger labor rules added by Democrats.
She proceeds to blaming Barack Obama for supporting green tech.
I have nothing to say about that. If you actually think investing in renewable energy so we can keep up with the rest of the world is bad, I can't help you.
She also accused Obama for having, and I quote, "divided our country along racial lines which continues today." Again, this from a Trump supporter.
Next up: Obama's guns-and-religion quote. In context, what he said was that he doesn't blame people who have been promised an economic revival for clinging to their guns and religion. Again, he was right. He was referencing Pennsylvania, but it could easily have been about Ohio or particularly West Virginia, where they continue voting against their own economic best-interests (vis-'a-vis coal) for Republican promises of a non-existent fossil-fuel resurgence.
She then blamed Biden for inflation -- which, incidentally, is global since COVID, is currently waning and was never so bad here as it was in the rest of the free-world, where Biden isn't president. She finishes with a long screed about the non-issue of trans-athletes; an issue which doesn't affect many people, has almost never cost a woman the W and (frankly) she's on the wrong side of.
So yeah, in summation, her letter says she left the Democratic Party because she didn't align ideologically with Democrats. Fair enough. That's part of the reason I left the Catholic church, my job with Olan Mills and it's why I've never been a member of the John Birch Society. But until this country finds a better alternative to the cult of MAGA, I'll keep voting for the big blue D.
J. David Core
Toronto