Coming home to roost
Election night the chickens came home to roost. Trump’s unprecedented victory proves that hate is a stronger emotion than love. That anger won out over happiness. And, conservative, reactionary ideas won out over progressive ideals. Laissez-faire over regulation of business. At their core many Americans are racist and misogynist. Trump’s victory is a repudiation of the Democratic establishment. The blame for Hillary’s loss falls squarely on her campaign and the Democratic establishment for disenfranchising Bernie Sander and his voters. This proves the old maxim that Democrats fall in love and Republicans fall in line. Men could not bring themselves to vote for a woman for president and how women could vote for Trump is unfathomable. Maybe, it was a matter of a self loathing women voting against Hillary because one thing that trial lawyers know is that women are harder on women than men are. It is likely that America will never elect a woman president.
Andrew J. O’Connor/Lafayette
This year’s political system is rigged
I cannot believe that Donald Trump won the presidency fairly. I definitely believe that it was rigged. Trump loved to use that word throughout this race. Now it applies to him.
Here are questions that Americans should ask themselves: Why is it that everyone is astonished with the outcome of this race? No one thought for a second that he would win. Even his own party was against him. How is it that the political pundits and the polls were so wrong unless it was rigged? Something smells rancid. How could Trump take such battlegrounds as Florida, Pennsylvania and other states so easily when they were considered sure bets? I am of Hispanic heritage and it blows my mind that Hillary did not win Florida, a state with a high percentage of Latinos.
Are we going to let this situation happen without questioning this crazy outcome? Considering the kind of person we have been dealing with, it appears to me that we accept too easily this obvious wrong without first verifying if it is true. How can Republicans have complete control of our government? Are we to allow this scurrilous fascist to run our government? Where is “we the people?” Have we given up our rights and our freedom so easily? Where is our backbone? Do we need to rise up and have an ongoing rebellion in order to humanize our society?
How do other countries see us? Do they seriously want to work with such a selfish and dangerous demagogue? How safe are we with his presidency? Actually, I feel quite comfortable using this language since Trump has taught us how to use defamation of peoples’ characters to get attention and make other people feel less.
The divide in our society has expanded a hundred fold. It may be the beginning of a civil war between both factions. ISIS and Russia should be very happy that he won the race. What are his plans for improving America? We never heard any of them while he was a presidential candidate. All we heard was conspiracies and threats.
Why is it that we are all confused about the outcome? I question Trump’s inner circle: Bannon, Ailes, Russia and others. I feel that this was planned from the start and so they knew the outcome ahead of time. That is why Trump surrounded himself with those that are used to infiltrating, abusing standards, maligning others and using every opportunity to scheme their way into prominence.
Dumping Hillary’s emails and the FBI examining them close to the end of the race so her integrity could be questioned is abominable. How can we call Hillary corrupt when Trump and his associates are so corrupt that they could get away with this planned ruse? Take the blinders off. We need to have an investigation.
Hillary Clinton, Democrats and “we the people” should stand up for a change and request that the votes be counted before we accept Trump as president.
Rachel Gonzalez/Boulder
Trump as president and leader
To those who refuse to acknowledge Trump as president, I say that he’s as much my president as have been all others who have held that office since I was first aware of there being such an office (Kennedy was my first president). However, with Trump as president, I will live with whatever social disruption he instigates, but I will not follow his lead when it comes to how I treat others. I will live with the impacts of whatever regressive science Trump champions, but I will not follow his lead when it comes to pursuing knowledge and understanding the world I live in. I will live with whatever sham declarations of charitability Trump sells, but I will not follow his lead when it comes to supporting charitable organizations or working with my neighbors for the betterment of my society. I will live with fallout from whatever immigration reform or big stick foreign policy Trump creates, but I will not follow his lead when it comes to him pushing international isolationism, jingoism and fear-mongering. I will live with the decisions of whatever collection of judges he causes to become members of the Supreme Court, but I will not follow his lead when it comes to individual, social, corporate or political rights and responsibilities. I will live with the hypocrisy that Trump and his political associates demonstrate, but I will not follow their lead when it comes to maintaining my sense of decency and character.
So, yes, Trump is my president, but he is not in any way a leader that I will follow. And for those who will criticize the behavior of people who view him with the level of disdain and repugnance that I do — learn to live with us.
Paul Atcheson/Longmont
Not my president
On Wednesday, November 9, I led a peaceful protest in Chautauqua Park. I am a conscientious objector. I love my country. I am a patriot.
Donald Trump will never be my president. He is on tape bragging about being a sexual predator. Bragging about assaulting women. Were he a young man in high school or college in Boulder, his life would be ruined for far less. He would be listed on sexual predator databases. He would be forever branded as a sexual predator. Instead, perhaps because he is a billionaire, he has been rewarded with president-elect; the highest office in our country.
What becomes now of the women who bravely came forward. Will they be silenced? Ignored? Discredited?
This man lost the popular vote. He attacked every minority group, made no secret of his hatred for women, lied about president Obama, lied about Hillary Clinton. He claims to care about labor, yet closed a casino in Las Vegas costing over 3,000 local people there their jobs. He would say anything to get what he wants. He will never be my president.
He claims to care about American steel workers, promising to restore jobs and prosperity in Allentown. How is he going to do that? He bought steel for his buildings from China. There he could take advantage of exploited labor and cheap prices. So he is caught in another lie.
Let us each take action. Action that is positive, action that makes our country a little bit safer to live in. Let us find action that is healing.
We can support our country as patriots, support each other, and not accept Mr. Trump as president. If he truly wishes to contribute to our country, he could be appointed to an advisory role in the government, perhaps. He could also start buying American-made goods the next time he builds a building.
Let us rally. The Electoral College has a chance to restore human decency. We should honor the popular vote and give the presidency to Hillary Clinton!
Valerie Wedel/Boulder
A climate realist
[Re: “Denouncing Trump’s election at U.N. climate talks,” Nov. 10]
The truth about President-elect Donald Trump’s position on “global climate justice” is that he is clearly a ‘climate realist.’”
On July 26, Trump told Fox News, “I say it [man-made climate change] could have a minor impact, but nothing, nothing to what they’re talking about.”
In his response to questions posed to all the candidates for president by ScienceDebate.org, Trump said, “There is still much that needs to be investigated in the field of ‘climate change.’”
The reports of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC at www.climatechangereconsidered.org), which reference hundreds of research papers published in the world’s leading science journals, demonstrate that Trump’s climate skepticism is well substantiated. The NIPCC shows that much of what we thought we knew about climate is either mistaken or highly debatable.
Trump was right to maintain that, rather than wasting money trying to stop hypothetical man-made climate change, our focus should be to “protect clean air and clean water,” things we know we can affect.
Tom Harris, Executive Director International Climate Science Coalition/Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
