A Message to Democrats
Re Tana Ganeva’s “The Trump Voter Conundrum” [February 17]: I am so weary of the notion that Donald Trump’s voters must be wooed. The white nationalists and those who seek to elect a president who will appoint justices to overturn Roe v. Wade (when in reality those justices are far more concerned with allowing major corporations to pollute and avoid taxes) are not persuadable! We must deliver a message that speaks to everyone who is worried about health care, education, and jobs—and perhaps to those who have become disenchanted with Trump, like the people in the story. They are listening. But Democrats must not worry about wooing; they just have to deliver the right message. If you want to know how to do that, listen to Bernie Sanders.
Sandra Miley
sherrill, n.y.
An Impeachable Offense
In his brilliant, cutting editorial “A Crowning Injustice” [February 24], Elie Mystal points out the devious strategies that a corrupt GOP continues to use in order to keep the vastly more diverse Democratic Party out of power. I would add that the Republicans have been an insurgent party since Barry Goldwater’s campaign and definitely since Ronald Reagan, who saw government as the problem. Insurgencies eventually self-destruct. But until this one does, it will continue its protofascist war against democracy through the 2020 elections.
The Democratic nominee and his or her running mate must first and foremost point out this corruption, which will also illuminate many policy differences. That should hopefully persuade a majority of Americans to vote the president and his minions out of office.
Sal R. Pauciello irvington, n.j.
When the Democrats introduced their articles of impeachment against Trump in the House of Representatives, Margaret Kimberley, the “Freedom Rider” columnist in Black Agenda Report, succinctly called it “a sickening propaganda parade,” to which I said, “Amen.” Likewise, Chris Hedges in Truthdig called it a mistake. Had the articles included a charge of criminal inaction in addressing the approaching climate change apocalypse, I would have been on board. But the deep state wouldn’t allow that, and we know that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Representative Adam Schiff are both loyal servants of the unelected power elite. Pelosi showed her true colors during this year’s State of the Union address, when she leaped to her feet to applaud one of Trump’s special guests, Venezuelan coup plotter Juan Guaidó.
The leadership of the Democratic Party is deeply diseased and will only follow the dictates of the ruling elites, which means trillion-dollar military budgets, permanent resource wars, domestic austerity, and global hegemony. Where is that in The Nation’s commentary?
Dean Guthrie kansas city, mo.
Corrections
Even before February 28, the reasons for Donald Trump’s imploding approval rating were abundantly clear: untrammeled corruption and personal enrichment to the tune of billions of dollars during an affordability crisis, a foreign policy guided only by his own derelict sense of morality, and the deployment of a murderous campaign of occupation, detention, and deportation on American streets.
Now an undeclared, unauthorized, unpopular, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran has spread like wildfire through the region and into Europe. A new “forever war”—with an ever-increasing likelihood of American troops on the ground—may very well be upon us.
As we’ve seen over and over, this administration uses lies, misdirection, and attempts to flood the zone to justify its abuses of power at home and abroad. Just as Trump, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth offer erratic and contradictory rationales for the attacks on Iran, the administration is also spreading the lie that the upcoming midterm elections are under threat from noncitizens on voter rolls. When these lies go unchecked, they become the basis for further authoritarian encroachment and war.
In these dark times, independent journalism is uniquely able to uncover the falsehoods that threaten our republic—and civilians around the world—and shine a bright light on the truth.
The Nation’s experienced team of writers, editors, and fact-checkers understands the scale of what we’re up against and the urgency with which we have to act. That’s why we’re publishing critical reporting and analysis of the war on Iran, ICE violence at home, new forms of voter suppression emerging in the courts, and much more.
But this journalism is possible only with your support.
This March, The Nation needs to raise $50,000 to ensure that we have the resources for reporting and analysis that sets the record straight and empowers people of conscience to organize. Will you donate today?
In “Eviction Inc.” [February 17], Joshua Hunt wrote that New York’s Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1997 was passed after Republicans took control of the state legislature. In fact, the legislature was divided (as it had been for years) between Republicans, who controlled the Senate, and Democrats, who controlled the Assembly.
In “The America We Want to Be” [March 2/9], Laila Lalami wrote that Donald Trump announced an expansion of his travel ban to six other countries in February. In fact, he made the announcement in January.
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