Commentaries ‘threaten...freedoms’

After reading Paul Choiniere’s July 26 column, “Fighting a losing and foolish battle,” I conclude the following.

You irresponsibly assume that Republicans “want to make it more difficult for people to vote during an ongoing health crisis.” Despite physical and legal measures taken to curb the effects of COVID-19, facts prove that this “ongoing health crisis” is less detrimental to health (and, by extension, voting) than a number of previous crises over the last half-century, none of which were shamelessly used as political leverage to a degree anywhere near that displayed by the current political, economic, and cultural left.

Regarding the national Republican Party’s “voter suppression strategy,” do you, as a “journalist” have documentation proving such a strategy, or do you make a habit of publicly charging your political opponents with felonies? And, why do you characterize responsible voting policy (namely ensuring accurate, legal voting) as voter suppression?

You note that “larger voting turnouts tend to benefit Democrats. Making it easier to vote should boost turnout.” By your own admission

“benefit[ting] Democrats.” Thanks for the honesty…and impartiality. But, let’s take a moment of sanity and responsibility to define “easier.” To give you some (obviously badly needed) perspective on this issue, allow me to educate you on the voting policies of California, my home state for the last 32 years.

A few years ago, one of our many illustrious Democratic state legislators, Gil Cedillo, after more than a decade of failed attempts, finally was able to pass his beloved Motor Voter Registration law. This designated anyone obtaining a California Driver License automatically eligible to register to vote. Then, the government passed a law allowing “undocumented residents” to obtain a driver license. Then, they passed a law prohibiting ID checks at polling places.

I’ll leave you to do the math regarding the current accuracy of voting results in my state.

And, yet, people in your camp, from sea to shining sea, routinely parrot, “There is no documented voter fraud.” Let me ask you, Mr. Choiniere, how do I know how much money has been stolen from a bank vault if its contents were not counted prior to the robbery?

As for Connecticut politics in general, they matter not to me, specifically. I was born and raised in New London. Many of my fondest memories are from my first 18 years there. My reason for responding to your newspaper’s content is that I happen to care about the freedoms and quality of life of my fellow Americans, regardless of their political party affiliation.

However, if some of them, like you, actively threaten those freedoms and quality of life, especially with specious accusations such as those you infer (and print) on a regular basis, you will certainly get my attention, and that of tens of millions of other silent voters who generally ride the fence of combative, divisive political discourse and policy in favor of simply living their lives. But, people like you have drawn us off that fence.

Enjoy that big-fish feeling (as evidenced by the tone of your writing) you and your ilk wallow in with Connecticut politics. Given your neighboring states, your place is secure. But, please spare us any real or imagined surprise or resistance when the needless divisiveness your side of the political spectrum achieves critical mass in the coming years.