Need a new strategy
I'm one of those people who agrees with former President Carter. If the Democrats want to win over that one third of the population who constitute the swing vote, they are going to have to come up with something other than just that they hate Trump. The one third of the American voters who hate Trump are not enough to win an election any more than the one third that love Trump.
Additionally, they need to get the party back in the middle of the political spectrum. The average American is not a socialist and has no interest in subsidizing people who are too lazy to work. Neither do they want our country overrun with people from Latin America who are only seeking better economic conditions.
We are also tired of hearing them whine about the 2016 election. I have contended since 2016 that the Republicans should have gotten behind one of their moderates when they saw that Trump was beginning to run away with the nomination process. I also feel that the Democrats should have gotten Joe Biden off the bench when it was obvious that an unknown socialist from Vermont was giving Hillary a run for her money.
JOE WHALEN
North Little Rock
Clichés everywhere
Bernadette Kinlaw is right on in her recent column about clichés in politics, but they also abound in everyday life.
Consider the following: People always "quit" smoking, never cease or stop. Children go "back" to school, but do not return or resume. Communities "come together" in a crisis instead of meeting or gathering. Some poor soul "went" missing instead of being reported missing. Hearing-impaired individuals wear hearing "aids," not devices or instruments. News is reported as "breaking" which could be reported as current or happening now.
I guess I have too much "time on my hands" (available) in retirement, but as they always say variety is the "spice of life," even in our language, or maybe it is the "flavor" or "zest" of life instead.
LARRY FLOWERS
Benton
Politically motivated
Regardless of where you come down on the Brett Kavanaugh sexual-assault allegations, it is hard to deny that the timing was politically motivated. If the accusations can stand on their own in September, they certainly could have in July when Sen. Dianne Feinstein received the letter.
It is noted that Dr. Christine Blasey Ford did not want to initially be identified. This is understandable given the politically volatile climate but, on the other hand, those accused of such a crime have the right, regardless of gender, to be able to defend themselves according to longstanding judicial procedures and standards.
I am the mother of two daughters, but also the grandmother to a grandson, and I want to ensure each have equal protection under the law.
BARBARA GAROT
Little Rock
Take assault seriously
In my experience being an ordained pastor or otherwise employed by the United Methodist Church, I have learned the sobering truth that our culture does not take sexual assault seriously. I developed this observation over several experiences at domestic-violence shelters, jails, and prisons, working both with victims and abusers.
One day at a previous church appointment in another state, I was called in to one of our community partner organizations to help a young woman and her son in need. We were short-staffed that day, so I was asked to take notes on her case. Her boyfriend had attempted to rape her, and in the process slammed her head in a car door and threatened to shoot her newborn baby in the head. Luckily, she escaped, but had absolutely no one to turn to.
Gut-wrenching stories like this one taught me that sexual violence should never be taken lightly.
I truly hope Senators John Booz-man and Tom Cotton have the same approach to Supreme Court nominee Brent Kavanaugh's potential history of sexual violence. Attempted rape and assault are not allegations to immediately dismiss. For this reason, I think it is appropriate to have a full investigation by the FBI. Even if one suspects this all to be a grand political conspiracy, why not look into it further through nonpartisan, independent means? The cynical answer to this question is that, tragically, many people treat these issues as simple political games of wins and losses.
America can and should do better.
BILLY McMAHON
Cammack Village
New party paradigm
I am fed up with the hackneyed "right" and "left" classification of the two parties. May I suggest another, more precise, pair of labels?
When investigated at depth, this dichotomy is the crux of the matter: One pole is those who yearn to live "by a/the rulebook"; the other pole are those who desire to "burn a/the rulebook" (LRB and BRB, respectively).
The seeds of both ideas' destruction are embedded in them; as in all grand ideals, those who need a rulebook are willing to coerce (even if it calls for force) to have others subsume themselves to their beliefs. And those who are compelled to burn the rulebook secretly long for a "leader" to take away the onus upon them--to be responsible for their own lives. Now call them Red and Blue, if you will; but this coding has meaning and weight.
BILL STORMS
Maumelle
Editorial on 09/26/2018