On rare occasions, I am accused, semi-jokingly, of being a “liberal” — one of those labels that often have little to do with reasoned political thought. For me, it has to be situational, not partisan. I voted for Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins because they are centrists and Ronald Reagan because he projected such strength at the height of the Cold War. So I have been writing angry letters about Donald Trump because I think he’s the worst president in our history.
Instead of ideological name-calling, people should consider that Trump has: Mocked war hero John McCain for being captured; made fun of a reporter with a physical disability; bragged about grabbing women by the genitals; refused to call out Charlottesville protesters for the modern-day Nazis that they are; cheapened public discourse with petulant, rude Twitter blasts; dismissed the findings of his own intelligence experts in favor of “reassurances” from Vladimir Putin that Russia did not meddle in U.S. elections; alienated the best friends this nation has had in establishing a relatively peaceful post-World War II world, and tried hard to divide us. It’s working. Nearly half of self-described Republicans surveyed said the president can close down a newspaper if he doesn’t like its reporting.
George W. Bush was wrong about invading Iraq and I voted against him. Donald Trump is wrong about cozying up to dictators and debasing the norms of communication in the world’s greatest enduring experiment in self-rule. Calling him out on that isn’t liberal. It’s patriotic.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
