Dear editor,
In all the years I have been on this earth, I never thought this country would be where it is now. The year 1968 comes close. Cities burning down and the assassinations of Sen. Bobby Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
We were divided then, as we are now. The issues then were racism and the Vietnam War. I maintain racism is still with us today, especially when you consider racial profiling by ICE agents, affording those they pick up no due process. It goes against our Constitution and the rule of law.
Last summer, I stated our country was like a train heading for a disaster. The only thing keeping that train on the tracks now are the lower federal courts, which seem to abide by the Constitution, established precedent, and the rule of law.
Yet we now have a Supreme Court that seems political in nature. Their 2024 decision that presidents have absolute immunity for official acts means our chief executives are now unaccountable for what they do in the White House. 250 years after our country declared independence from a king, we are closer than ever to having another one.
Then we must consider our elected Representatives and Senators in Congress. The House and Senate are currently controlled by the Republican Party.
I believe they have bowed down to President Trump and not held him accountable for so many things — too many to mention.
I’m voting for Don Coover for the 2nd District seat of the U.S. House of Representatives currently held by Republican Derek Schmidt. It was refreshing to hear him explain issues point by point in a recent Register article.
The Republican Party of today is not the party of Lincoln or Reagan. It is the party of Trump. So why not just call it what it really is, the Trumplican Party?
We have what our forefathers and President Washington were afraid of: an all-powerful executive and no separation of powers in our three branches of government, right here in the United States of America.
As always,
Bob Franklin
Iola, Kan.
