Letters to the Editor by Gayle Reck

October 10, 2022

     What happens if the MAGA GOP gets control of state and federal legislatures? For starters, extremists like Wendy Rogers, Paul Gosar, Marjorie Taylor-Green, Lauren Boebert, Blake Masters, Ron Johnson and Ted Cruz would be setting the legislative agenda for Arizona and America.

     Investments in infrastructure, innovative technology, climate change mitigation or water conservation would end. Consumer and worker protections would cease. Gone would be any chance of holding insurrectionists, corrupt corporations or elected officials accountable. Efforts to reduce medical and prescription costs would be tossed aside. Forget tax policies benefiting working families, let alone any DACA or immigration reforms.

     The MAGA GOP is solely interested in power and control by any means. Their agenda includes a national ban on abortion, huge cuts to Social Security and Medicare, further restrictions on civil rights for minorities, book banning and control of election outcomes based on their preference. They’d turn a blind eye to the rise of extremist militia and white nationalist organizations. Mass shootings would become more likely with gun safety restrictions erased. The American carnage Trump mentioned in his inaugural speech would be realized.

     This isn’t speculation or exaggeration; it’s literally the publicly espoused MAGA GOP plan, proven by their voting record. Any GOP candidate elected at any level enables this outcome and puts extremists in charge who do not represent the priorities of a majority of voters.

     Please consider the serious long-term impact of your 2022 vote. Choose candidates who represent your core values — choose D up and down ballot.   

July 18, 2022

     Recent testimony before the Joint Legislative Budget Committee from Arizona Department of Corrections Director David Shinn is more than concerning. One gets the feeling Mr. Shinn thinks we aren’t very smart based on the excuses he makes for keeping private prisons in place and taxpayers paying for a large number of empty beds, at $85.12 a day per bed. The most glaring statement was that Arizona communities would “collapse” without cheap prison labor. Really? I’m sure there are benefits for both prisoners and the community from prison labor, but if our communities would collapse without it then something is very wrong. Somebody is surely making money here, and it’s not the prisoners who are forced to work 40 hours a week, with some making only 10 cents an hour.

     Citing the state’s inability to run Florence West due to over 1,800 corrections officer vacancies, he states, “If the state were to take this over today, we would literally have to shut down functions and close programs. We cannot support that level of activity without our partners.” Well, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that state corrections officers were siphoned off due to privatization. And it doesn’t take much to figure out that with good planning and management these perceived personnel obstacles could be overcome. Mr. Shinn’s comments justifying the status quo of privatization of prisons in Arizona illustrate the need for drastic change in our penal system. One phrase keeps repeating in my mind: “Follow the money."

     A recent letter to the editor detailed the writer’s opinions regarding the Republican Party championing for Black Americans. I won’t embarrass him further by citing his name, but I would like to respond. His use of the term “the Negro” demonstrates an antiquated and derogatory frame of reference and his recitation of historical “facts” is in dire need of a quick history lesson. To keep it simple, there was once a branch of the Democrat Party that viewed Abraham Lincoln and ensuing political actions benefiting Black Americans with extreme hatred. They were called Southern Democrats, who would do anything to disassociate with the Republican Party, the party of Lincoln that had defeated the Confederacy. That all changed with the election of JFK, who initiated the movement toward civil rights legislation and the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 under LBJ.

     Angry Southern Democrats immediately switched over to the Republican Party, where they remain today in ruby red Southern states. To say today’s Republican Party fights for the rights of Black Americans is laughable, even more so as it has become the Retrumplican Party. Attacks on the BLM movement and efforts to suppress the Black vote are just two recent examples of a Republican Party in which many of its members are wrapped up in birtherism (still), white supremacy movements, QAnon and the alt-right. These are hardly ways to champion the concerns of “the Negro” or Americans in general.

      I completely agree with the recent letter to the editor written by Ralph Atchue, exposing the racist political cartoon to be found on the Facebook page of the state senator from LD 11, Vince Leach. It should be noted that this cartoon is not the only cartoon of that nature on his page, but is one of many that Mr. Leach so proudly displays. It’s obvious this is not a man who should be representing LD 11 or holding any public office for that matter. I am perplexed as to why the Dispatch chose to weigh in with a footnote describing the cartoon as the cartoonist’s attempt to “challenge African Americans’ loyalty to the Democratic Party." While one might charitably accept that interpretation, it is much more than that. The words and images are stereotypical, conveying misogynistic and racist “themes” from the far right.

    With this in mind, it’s time to send Vince Leach packing in November. LD 11 and the state of Arizona deserve far better.

     I don’t see how anyone can avoid being astonished by the consistent pattern of rampant corruption of the Trump administration.

    Let’s begin with Michael Flynn. Contrary to editorials that cherry-pick quotes and evidence, Flynn pled guilty to lying to the FBI. He was not coerced, he was not tortured and he was not framed. The FBI followed commonplace procedures used in criminal investigations at every level. His lies covered working on behalf of foreign governments — while becoming head of U.S. intelligence!

    Scandal and unethical behavior have become a hallmark of the Trump administration. Look at this list of Trump Cabinet members or advisers who were convicted, pled guilty or resigned under investigation:

    Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Roger Stone, Michael Cohen, George Papadopoulos, Carl Icahn, Tom Price, Ryan Zinke, Scott Pruitt. (There are others whose investigations have been stopped by Trump’s consigliere William Barr.)

    By comparison, the Obama administration had zero indictments, guilty pleas or convictions in eight years. This, despite endless congressional investigations into Benghazi, Fast and Furious and emails.

    Never before has a president leveraged his office to profit directly. Using and promoting his properties has brought in millions of taxpayer and foreign money — in direct violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. Never before has a president fired a host of inspectors general who sought to investigate and thwart administration screwups or misconduct. The latest news is that the administration’s lead scientist working on the COVID vaccine has been removed from his position because he warned about the dangers of using unproven medications touted by Trump. These public servants were on the job working for the American people — they are not supposed to be Trump sycophants.

    This pattern of corruption cannot be overstated or excused. The American people deserve better than rants, lies and corruption. 

     I don’t see how anyone can avoid being astonished by the consistent pattern of rampant corruption of the Trump administration.

    Let’s begin with Michael Flynn. Contrary to editorials that cherry-pick quotes and evidence, Flynn pled guilty to lying to the FBI. He was not coerced, he was not tortured and he was not framed. The FBI followed commonplace procedures used in criminal investigations at every level. His lies covered working on behalf of foreign governments — while becoming head of U.S. intelligence!

    Scandal and unethical behavior have become a hallmark of the Trump administration. Look at this list of Trump Cabinet members or advisers who were convicted, pled guilty or resigned under investigation:

    Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Roger Stone, Michael Cohen, George Papadopoulos, Carl Icahn, Tom Price, Ryan Zinke, Scott Pruitt. (There are others whose investigations have been stopped by Trump’s consigliere William Barr.)

    By comparison, the Obama administration had zero indictments, guilty pleas or convictions in eight years. This, despite endless congressional investigations into Benghazi, Fast and Furious and emails.

    Never before has a president leveraged his office to profit directly. Using and promoting his properties has brought in millions of taxpayer and foreign money — in direct violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. Never before has a president fired a host of inspectors general who sought to investigate and thwart administration screwups or misconduct. The latest news is that the administration’s lead scientist working on the COVID vaccine has been removed from his position because he warned about the dangers of using unproven medications touted by Trump. These public servants were on the job working for the American people — they are not supposed to be Trump sycophants.

    This pattern of corruption cannot be overstated or excused. The American people deserve better than rants, lies and corruption.