Be thankful for a democracy that can lift us up Trump supporters voted their disgust for Beltway politics
Good diet, exercise and feeling good about one’s nation are recommended by experts and made possible by us. The health trifecta is complete. Let us not be in denial about a good thing.
Frank Mitchell, Columbus
Fight for equality and justice remain, given country’s mood
Recent Dispatch articles regarding the presidential election solicited some stark reminders about how dangerous Donald Trump’s racist agenda has been, and will continue to be. In the Thursday Dispatch article “How Donald Trump won Ohio – yet again,” Cedarville University’s Mark Caleb Smith was asked how Trump won Ohio this time. Was it the economy? Was it the issues? Was it the wall? No, Smith said, “The No. 1 factor is that Ohio is becoming whiter.”
In his Sunday op-ed “Answers for Ohio Dems asking what happened,” Thomas Suddes said another factor is that “Ohio has a smaller percentage of Hispanic Americans than other states do.” And in the USA TO
DAY article “Some see Trump showing as sign that bigotry lives” in Friday’s Dispatch, Crystal Webster, a Black assistant professor at the University of TexasSan Antonio who specializes in race relations, added even more sobering views.
Webster said many were expecting the protest movement against racism and injustice would translate into an overwhelming defeat of Donald Trump. That didn’t happen. Webster said “It feels as though we are experiencing a backlash to racial progress. I think Trump’s base has really mobilized around that and taken up his call and embraced the white supremacy that he has unabashedly espoused.”
MAGA’S ugly remnants will last, at least temporarily. The fight for equality and justice might experience a setback, but it must continue.
Joe Downing, Westerville
The Donald Trump phenomenon seems difficult to explain on its face. How could the leader of the free world elect a crass, vulgar, egomaniacal television performer as its president?
The answer lies partly in the feelings our citizens have about what goes on in Washington, where legislation is driven primarily by lobbyists for the benefit of their clients, where members of Congress are allowed to become rich by trading on insider information. Where lack of term limits permits those in protected districts to stay in Congress as though they had lifetime appointments, where members of Congress do not have to live under the same rules as the rest of the citizens and where they receive outlandish retirement benefits while being able to raise their salaries and benefits regardless of how the population may be suffering.
Trump was elected primarily based on his promise to “drain the swamp” and try to end illegal immigration. Ask any immigrant who patiently waited to immigrate legally to this country how they feel about those who cross the border illegally, and you might find support for Trump’s wall.
Ask citizens how they feel about the unfair benefits taken by members of Congress, and you might find
support for Trump’s promises. Ask why former administrations have overlooked the unfair tariffs our allies and our enemies have placed on American exports for decades, and you might find support for Trump’s actions.
Citizens feel helpless and without a voice that can be heard crying against these and other injustices. Trump promised relief. This terribly flawed man was and is seen as a voice for ordinary people. Call it populism if you like, but America needs a voice that can be heard asking for redress of the excesses in our nation’s Capital.
John W. Hoppers, Columbus
Biden should ignore possible request for pardon
The election demonstrated that our country is more divided than any time since the Civil War. Joe Biden is determined to bridge the divide. Knowing how much he wants to unite and heal, there will be many urging him to issue a pardon to Donald Trump for any and all of his yet-to-be-proven crimes.
He must not accede to that request. No one is or should be above the law. To pardon Trump would not only be a slap in the face of Biden’s most ardent supporters, it would be divisive and stain his presidency.
Justice is not vengeance.
W.M. Goldberger, Columbus
House Bill 469 would safeguard patient’s copays
I have been on a 32-year-long adventure with psoriasis, a chronic immune disease. For me and the over 293,000 Ohioans impacted by psoriasis, affordable access to medication is critical. Before I began my biologic treatment in 2004, psoriasis covered my body. With continued access to my treatment, I can keep my psoriasis under control, allowing me to continue working and doing the things I love.
Biologic medications are expensive and do not have generic alternatives. That’s why many patients rely on copay assistance to afford their treatments. I am worried that the insurance practice called copay accumulator adjustment programs could jeopardize the livelihood of many Ohioans relying on expensive treatments.
Under these programs, copay assistance would not count toward the patient’s out-of-pocket costs but would go towards the insurance companies’ expenses. At a time when insurers are significantly increasing patients’ out-ofpocket requirements, this is another financial burden pushed back on the patient. Ohio lawmakers have a chance to protect patients through House Bill 469, which would ensure all copays count toward the patient’s costs.
I want to encourage the Ohio House to pass HB 469, providing continued relief to patients who are simply trying to manage their disease.
Michelle Zimmerman, Lewis Center
What would happen if neither side gains the advantage?
“Out of the mouth of babes.” My 9year-old grandson is not exactly a babe and he might have some things wrong, but he surely had some things right when he said: “I hope they tie so they will have to work together.”
Good job, Ethan.
Dillard Faries, Plain City
Americans can have faith in their election system
As a precinct election official in Ohio for nine years, what has impressed me is the election board’s nonpartisanship. Everything from handling the ballots to dealing with voters, etc., requires a Democrat working alongside a Republican. We work well together and it’s difficult to tell a Democrat from a Republican while working an election.
There are assurances that nothing of importance takes place without a member of one party being alongside a member of the opposite party. There are sometimes trained observers watching the operations.
This year, if you watched Ohio’s returns you would have seen Biden had the lead most of the night, but near the end President Trump overtook the lead and took Ohio. This was because the mail-in ballots and the early voters were tallied, but not reported before Nov. 3. Most mail-in ballots were sent by Democrats, and Republicans didn’t participate as much by mail because the Republican leader was against mail-in ballots.
Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina and others did not allow their mail-in ballots to even be opened and processed before Nov. 3.
Philadelphia alone had 350,000 mail-in ballots that all had to be processed at one location and could not begin until Nov. 3. This took days to process. Early returns from Pennsylvania showed Joe Biden with a strong lead because the first votes tallied were voters from the urban areas that took place on Nov. 3. Then, the rural areas were tallied, and that’s when Trump took the lead. Finally, the millions of mail-in ballots, which were predominantly Democrat, were tallied, which resulted in Biden taking Pennsylvania.
I have strong faith in our election system being honest. I have no objections to investigations, recounts, etc. But I am hoping that citizens see the reality and don’t give in to conspiracy theories and false reports.
Debra-lynn B. Hook, Kent