Letters to the Editor by Larry Pazier

June 10, 2022

     How can any United States patriot continue to support the Republican Party? Have they any integrity (moral or ethical values)?  

     The Republican Party really claims to be pro-life. How can they be pro-life but against common sense lifesaving gun reforms; against lifesaving masks and vaccines; for the life of a fetus but against getting baby formula for sick American babies? So much diverse corruption in the Republican Party has been demonstrated for the last decade. They elected Trump, a known scoundrel, as the leader of their party. Many high-positioned representatives of the Republican Party were convicted of various crimes against the U.S. and then pardoned by that same unscrupulous president. He with the help of other leaders in the Republican Party attempted to overthrow the free and fair election and sparked and condoned the Jan. 6 insurrection, labeling it “legitimate political discourse."  

     The Republican Party still supports Trump, who perpetuates the "Big Lie” and is known to have made over 30,000 false or misleading statements during his four years as president. He was accused of and impeached twice for proven crimes against the United States but his conviction was blocked by his Republican Party senators. Then he refused to conduct a peaceful transition of governmental powers.

   The Republican Party still refuses to accept the results of a lawful election and now condones taking away individual rights, even professing that they are for them. This party continuously blocks attempts to help America move forward on numerous issues including gun reform, just because they don’t want to support the Democratic President Biden and the Democratic Party.  

     Why can’t Republicans see what they are doing to our country and have the “integrity” to stand up for righteousness? Independent voters, please vote accordingly.  

April 8, 2022

     I really am at a loss with some of the recent Republican letters. The one on April 5 used many negative adjectives to describe President Biden (calling names — sad) and also mentioned negative things about the Democrats that were not really true (nothing new here). 

     The Democrats in power in the Executive Branch have been doing yeoman work considering the non-existent transfer of power that caused months of delay coming up to speed their first year. To say that the Democrats are responsible for everything that is happening in our country or the world today is like saying that former President Trump is responsible for everything that has happened because of the “Big Lie." No, he had a lot of help and especially from our state.  

     Then one letter writer ended by saying that he and Republicans are for “less government intrusion” in our lives and more freedom.  Please help me understand why most of the activity (and laws) that congressional Republicans are promoting (at both federal and state levels) are “against” individual freedoms like: women’s rights; doctors' rights; LGBTQ rights; the right to equal pay; the rights of people of color; the right to read books in school; the right to teach our kids about American history; the rights of teachers to even teach; and the “big one” on voters and voting rights, just to name a few.      I guess I’m confused about what they consider the definition of governmental intrusion on individual rights and what individual freedom really means.  

     Know the truth, not the spin, before voting.  

February 26, 2022

     In his 1925 "Mein Kampf," Hitler began to imagine plans for broad exploitation of public education as a means to control the German people. Those plans were actualized with his accession to power in 1933. The Fascist totalitarian government began a campaign to impose ideological control over every institution from the press to the classroom. They stoked anger through fear, hatred and misinformation, exploiting the minds and hearts of unsuspecting Germans. Today, we see these same tactics utilized across America by the Republican Party as well as the same ploy used by the Russians against Ukraine.  

     The free and independent press has been labeled “the enemy of the people” by those who use the nonstop Fox News propaganda machine to spread misinformation. Public education is being attacked for teaching students how to think objectively. The coin of today is anger, fear and hatred. CRT and thought-provoking books and education that mention racial or gender identity issues are being attacked and/or removed. There’s no coincidence that we are seeing a steady rise in hate crimes directed at non-white, non-Christian and non-heterosexual people (even police).    

     This is no longer a Trump-specific dynamic. Radicalization has taken a grip on today’s mainstream Republican Party. Some of their objectives are aimed to curtail the rights of women, LGBYQ+ to fully function in society and hamper citizens the ability to access voting. The GOP has officially endorsed violence as “legitimate political discourse” and continues to sow unsubstantiated doubt about election integrity.   

     Following the playbook above, they’re spreading their “Big Lie” ideology through our federal and state government as well as public institutions like news media and classrooms. The difference is the American people are forewarned and should not be surprised. The Independent Voting Group will play a big part in our next election. The question is will American democracy survive?