‘The Coup Continues’

May 22, 2023 Editor, The News-Gazette: A coup is the attempt by a minority to overthrow the will of the majority.

Across America, Republicans are using statehouses to restrict the voting rights of vast numbers of Americans.

Republican Ann Coulter suggested women should not have the vote, while others claim to protect against nonexistent fraud by making voting harder: demanding IDs difficult to obtain if one lives far from government offices or has no transportation; eliminating mail-in ballots, though election officials verify mail-in signatures; removing ballot boxes; reducing the number of polling places to increase wait time and discourage voting; proposing legislatures or governors be authorized to cancel election results. Republican lawyer Cleta Mitchell complained that college students had access to voting that was too easy.

Why this rush to restrict voting? Servicing grievances of the minority within their minority party to ensure their nomination, Republicans in office have abandoned ideas and now peddle fear: of women, foreigners, the young and minorities. Some evangelicals propose their sect(s) alone run the government.

Watch Fox for code words. Republicans seeking reelection cynically court a “base” that is perhaps 25% of the electorate.

Former law-and-order, pro-defense, globalist Republicans now attack the FBI, the Department of Justice, intelligence agencies, the military, international commitments, praise Putin, are silent on George Santos, describe the attack on the capitol as a “tourist” event and dodge questions about Trump’s civil conviction for sexual assault by a jury of his peers that included six men, and a die-hard female MAGA supporter. That Trump won’t say Putin is a war criminal doesn’t disturb pro-life Christians — who cares, if Republicans serving the base can be reelected?

When, to protect America, Trump cancels elections and installs his children to pardon and succeed him, will Republicans in Congress continue to disapprove of him “in private”? They should remember if Trump is elected, critics of his pal, Putin, “a strong leader” routinely fall out of windows.

While Trump-orchestrated violence failed, this time, the coup continues. JOE PETITE Rockbridge County