Democrat messaging needs clarifying

Democrats need to clarify their message in two misunderstood and important areas — foreign policy and the economy. They are blowing their foreign policy advantage over Republicans by failing to pin the blame for our two major international debacles where it squarely belongs — on the Trump Administration. First, Democrats are meekly responding to Trump’s assertion that the Russian invasion of Ukraine happened on Biden’s watch. They should be shouting continuously that the true reason for the invasion is the false impression Trump gave Putin of a weakened, crumbling NATO, possessing little interest in maintaining Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Trump’s irresponsible trashing of the agreement of European nations which has kept the peace in Europe for most of my 79 years has led to the worst violence since WWII.  Trump’s withholding aid to Ukraine; making it dependent upon Zelenskyy digging up dirt upon private citizen Joe Biden; added another layer to Putin’s false assurance of an easy conquest.

Trump’s second foolhardy, self-serving blunder was bowing to pressure from his financial backer, extreme zionist and Netanyahu backer Sheldon Adelson, among others, to cancel the Iran Nuclear Deal. The deal was originally created to bring Iran into the community of nations, which had been meticulously put together by foreign policy professionals from a broad array of nations. This was a primary cause of the present explosive situation in the Middle East. Foolishly moving Israel’s capital to Jerusalem at Adelson’s behest inflamed Palestinian resentment.

The second misconception Democrats need to articulately correct is that Trump can handle the economy better than Harris. Except for inflation, which is a natural function of a heated up economy (including increased overall demand) and higher interest rates which are also a function of higher demand for credit, the overall Biden economy is strong by all empirical indicators. The U.S. is still leading all of the major world post-pandemic economic recoveries. GDP growth, employment, wages and stock market are all higher than any time in history. Trump’s ignorant obsessions, including tariffs on all imports and getting rid of Obamacare, will throw our economy into freefall. Billionaire, oligarch and fascist wannabe Elon Musk says Trump’s policies will cause dislocation and suffering in the beginning but will be better in the long run. Of course, the suffering part won’t apply to him and his huge cushion of wealth. And all this will happen under the guise of the Heritage Foundation’s plan to diminish separation of powers and hand total authoritarian control to the executive branch of government. An angry, resentful, demented old man, controlled by billionaire oligarchs, most of which are themselves immigrants, will have the power to replace our constitutional republic with a fascist regime which will determine our future. How did we come to this?

— James Saleeby
Salisbury

Rebuttal to democracy must prevail

O.M.G. The writer of the letter on Oct. 27 went to great lengths in composing a wild diatribe of all things anti-Trump and proclaiming his support for Harris. His arguments are completely bull hockey, and shallow through and through.

His “striking examples” are not based in truth. Let’s go: 1) citing the Biden-Harris border bill as a “good bill” proves he did not read it. It did nothing to secure the border. He failed to mention five Democrat senators also voted against the bill that still allowed illegals to enter the country. 2) The writer wants to blame Trump for holding up military equipment and money for Ukraine in October 2023 to protect its border with Russia. So, his message is American taxpayers should pay billions and billions for Ukraine and its corrupt government, but leave our citizens to fend for themselves with illegals.

Finally, he invokes biblical references for supporting Harris calling her “God-fearing.” I would be laughing so hard and loud by now if his words were not so profoundly wrong and lies. Harris is the opposite of “God-fearing,” and her policies confirm it. Thankfully, anyone can verify what a politician has said and done at any time. The writer failed to do so on all accounts.

— Floyd Prophet,
Kannapolis

Non-responsive elected officials

The people we have sent to Washington to act on our behalf don’t appear to be doing their job. I have written numerous times to my Senators and Congressmen and rarely receive any response. While Sen. Thom Tillis has responded to 49 percent of my letters, Sen. Ted Budd has responded to only 33 percent and Rep. Dan Bishop has responded to only 8 percent. When I say responded, I mean I received some sort of written or verbal communication from their offices but not once have the questions and concerns expressed in my letters been addressed. Most “responses” are merely the office holder’s position paper on the topic one is forced to select from a list when submitting an email on their website.

Here is a typical closing sentence of their written responses: “if any legislation regarding ……. comes before the full Senate, I will keep your views in mind.” In most of my correspondence I have asked these politicians to introduce legislation and all they want to do is wait for someone else to take the initiative. Just what are they doing? Why do we keep sending these folks to Washington? Last I knew, every legislator can propose legislation for consideration by their entire body. Recently, I sent all three of these gentlemen an email containing only the following question: “Since the United States is only one-third as densely populated as EU countries, why do we need to limit immigration?” So far, Sen. Tillis has responded with a 304-word position statement that in no way answers my simple, straightforward question.

I’ll end by noting that I have never received a response from state Rep. Harry Warren or state Sen. Carl Ford. I will point out that I am a registered unaffiliated voter, not a member of the opposing party of these gentlemen. They simply seem bent on ignoring the thoughts of the people who elect them. Let’s just stop electing them!

— Thomas J. Strini,
Spencer

Redmond for county commissioner

Alissa Redmond is ready to be the next Rowan County commissioner. She graduated from Duke University, served overseas for the U.S. state department, runs a successful local business and serves on numerous boards and commissions all while being a single mother.

Alissa Redmond has the experience, understanding, compassion and drive to help take Rowan County to the next level.

During my tenure as executive director of the Rowan County Literacy Council, I had the opportunity to work closely with Redmond on efforts to improve literacy in Rowan County. Redmond works tirelessly to get books into the hands of children and create a culture of reading in our community. I have not seen any such efforts from her opponents.

We need high energy on our county commission. I whole-heartedly endorse Redmond for Rowan County commissioner. Please vote early between now and Nov. 2 or on Election Day, Nov 5.

— Laurel Harry,
Salisbury

Pro growth

Salisbury, North Carolina is a great place to live but we could make it better. It’s only a matter of time before growth comes to Salisbury. As citizens of this county, we should be behind making our community safer and bringing retail stores and restaurants to Salisbury.

For decades, people and big money have held Salisbury back. Now it’s time to bring jobs and quite simply, make our streets safer. Salisbury will never be able to afford a Sam’s Club, but opening up new jobs would be a start.

— Sterling Pless,
Rockwell