Letters to the Editor: Scream it from the mountaintops, media -- Trump wants to be a dictator
To the editor: Columnist Robin Abcarian writes about threats to the 1st Amendment if former President Trump is elected back into office. It is clear that the public must be reminded constantly that our democracy is now at stake.
The decline of our system is already happening. People now distrust our institutions of government, journalists and universities. What we had taken for granted as the backbone of our country is now being demeaned.
Trump and his people are now completely open about their plans to remove the restraints on his power that limited him last time. They are normalizing the term “dictator,” trying to make it a joke. Reporters are already asking how authoritarian Trump might be, as if some level of authoritarianism has already been accepted.
Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat, in her book “Strongmen” and in recent interviews, warns that a country’s population is usually unprepared for an authoritarian takeover, unable or unwilling to believe that violent change can take place.
Serious news outlets such as The Times need to regularly remind the public what Trump is preparing to do and what has already happened. If little about this is reported and analyzed, the door is further opened for far-right propagandists to constantly repeat their message and have it take hold.
Margo Kasdan, Seal Beach
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To the editor: Abcarian’s column on former Rep. Liz Cheney’s new book, “Oath and Honor,” gives me hope for the future.
Cheney should run for president as an independent. She is honest, she is capable, she actually has a functioning brain, and she has experience dealing with the likes of Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.)
If she decides to run, she has my vote.
Carol Lynn Kahler, Torrance
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To the editor: Before 2016, multiple Democratic hopefuls remained in the race for president, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Sen. James Webb (D-Va.).
Webb dropped out due to a lack of funding and name recognition. Sanders would drop out due to machinations by the Democratic National Committee.
Webb, a former secretary of the Navy under President Reagan and the recipient of the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts for his service in Vietnam, would have handily defeated Trump in 2016. The three Supreme Court nominations that fell to Trump would have been filled by a Democratic president.
But the Democrats didn’t want a winner in 2016, they wanted a coronation. They have no one to blame but themselves for the rise of Trump.
Michael Murphy, San Pedro
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To the editor: Your editorial warning of Trump’s dictatorial ambitions is consistent with Cheney’s new book, which explains how America is “sleepwalking” into authoritarianism.
Reading Cheney’s book, I found myself converted from a Trump voter to a Biden voter. Still, I follow the Biden family escapades outlined in the Wall Street Journal, which, together with other newspapers, may suffer censorship or worse if Trump regains power.
Benjamin Franklin famously said our country is “a republic, if you can keep it.” Read Cheney’s book and keep it, both the book and the republic.
Phil Barnes, San Pedro
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To the editor: As bad as it would be if Trump wins, I also dread what could happen when he loses. If he foments another uprising, it could be an armed revolt and not just the Proud Boys.
If it came to that, would the very people who are sworn to protect us actually protect us?
Steve Huffsteter, Altadena
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To the editor: “It was a bright cold day ... and the clocks were striking thirteen.” Perhaps George Orwell was simply off by 40 years.
Dave Sanderson, La Cañada Flintridge
