Fooled again?
The outcome of the Nov. 6 election immediately brings to mind a number of old sayings, perhaps the foremost being:
“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”
“As ye sow, so shall ye reap!”
JOHN “GUNNY" MOSHER, Kooskia
GOP paid back for suppression
Post-election, the right wing of the Republican Party has about as much appeal as an old worn-out pair of tightie-whities with indelible skid marks. The rank stain of racism persists in this country, ditto bigotries against gays, feminists, teachers, unions, immigrants and environmentalists, artfully provoked by hate merchants such as Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter. Despite $400 million from sinister right-wing billionaires like the Koch brothers, a massive turnout of patriotic American voters succeeded in defending our democracy from their depredations.
Did we cast those winning votes because we want handouts, or because we want to take people’s guns away, or force anyone to have an abortion, or limit anyone’s freedom of religion? Of course not. We cast those votes because we love our United States of America fiercely, and emphatically reject the claim that we are a nation of selfish lazy mooches who won’t stand up to defend our democracy.
Americans are a freedom-loving people. But that doesn’t mean the freedom to pick and choose who can vote, and whose vote gets counted. Republican voter suppression efforts backfired beautifully. You tell me I can’t vote, and guess what it makes me want to do?
CHRIS NORDEN, Moscow
Time for some GOP soul-searching
The sole reason Republicans lost the election was their push to take away rights from other people. Millions of other people. But it seems they are taking absolutely the wrong lesson from defeat, and still can’t see what they did wrong.
Instead of reaching out to growing demographic populations that might be swayed by the grand old philosophy of small government and fiscal conservatism, they morphed into an American Taliban repressing women’s freedoms, and let loose some ruthless efforts to bust other people’s rice bowls. That is a no-no, worthy of a timeout.
In Congress and every red state, Republicans went after people’s jobs, women’s rights, gay rights, voters’ rights, collective bargaining rights, and health care. They resisted immigration reform and help for veterans and the unemployed, while sticking their noses into everybody’s bedrooms, doctors offices and workplaces. They stalled the jobs stimulus bill and would let the auto industry go bankrupt, because their hatred for the president was more powerful than their patriotism.
Shameless voter suppression finally got them sent to the woodshed. Patriots stood in line for hours come hell or high water to protect their American right to vote. Time for some soul-searching.
SHERRIE GOFF, Pocatello
