Letters to the Editor by Ralph Atchue

October 19, 2021

     Care should be taken when quoting the Founding Fathers regarding their religious beliefs and practice. I’m sure that, if and when these all white male property-owning politicians took a knee in prayer, they asked for protection for their right to enslave those considered to be only three-fifth human and keep their nosy wives from being able to actually participate in rights, liberties and freedoms they declared to be “self-evident”!

     Let’s delve into just a bit of historical context. The Declaration of Independence: “governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." The notion of government of, by and for the people was later eloquently reinforced on the Civil War battlefields. The 1797 Treaty of Tripoli (signed by President John Adams with unanimous Senate approval): “The government of the U.S.A. is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.” Separation of church and state: a phrase coined by Thomas Jefferson in defense of a “wall of separation” preventing government from promoting any religious beliefs — many subsequent SCOTUS decisions upheld this doctrine.

     The basis of the First Amendment protects the rights of Americans to believe and practice what they will. Yet, it also clearly bars the government from establishing or promoting any religion. The constitutional argument is not about any particular beliefs or faith, it is, in fact, about the very bedrock of what establishes our nation as a secular democratic republic. If we allow erosion of that premise by basing our laws on narrow religious beliefs, we weaken that bedrock and alienate large segments of our population. Opening official government meetings with prayers that promote a single religion is such an erosion and alienation. Governments that derive their authority based on specific religious doctrine are, to a large extent, those that violate many civil rights.

August 13, 2021

     Greetings to all those who referred to my previous letters regardless of your stated position — nice to see such energy, interest and engagement. Well, here we go again.

     The GOP is on the wrong side of virtually every significant issue in Arizona and across the country. The extent to which they ignore the evolving science regarding the mutating COVID explosion is heartbreaking and breathtaking. Governors like Ducey and DeSantis put conspiracy quacks above CDC recommendations. They’ve tied the hands of local authorities, school boards and colleges to prevent them from enacting basic lifesaving measures. Their actions are enabling disease spread and the potential emergence of even more deadly variants. Before you go off about freedom from mandates, think about clicking your seat belt; observing stop signs and no smoking signs; speeding, drunk driving restrictions; the eradication of smallpox, polio and other infectious diseases. Don’t let the GOP convince you that public safety and health should not be mandated — this is about saving lives!

     New revelations tell the horrific story of Trump’s attempted post-election coup. The “Big Lie Fraudit” continues ad nauseam in Arizona. GOP state legislatures are finding more creative ways to suppress the vote and steal upcoming elections. And the beat goes on.

     Perhaps the most troubling of all issues is global warming/climate change. The latest report warns that we’re reaching the tipping point much more quickly than previously thought. As we see ocean levels rise, more frequent and destructive storms, should we allow the GOP to ignore the warnings? The entire planet is ablaze right now — drought in some areas is contrasted with deadly floods in others while our forests burn. Despite these obvious existential threats, the GOP screams, “Drill baby, drill”!

I’ve had enough — have you?

     I look forward to reading your follow-up comments.

July 7, 2021

     Neither the title (A win for AZ voters) nor the content of the July 3 Donovan Kramer Jr. editorial are factual. The piece plays fast and loose with the publicly available evidence regarding the SCOTUS ruling on Arizona’s election restriction laws.

Amazingly, we’ve not seen a single Dispatch editorial condemning Arizona elected Republicans for posting racist cartoons; coordinating, encouraging and participating in the Jan. 6 insurrection; or the #Fraudit in Maricopa County. Yet, high praise when it comes to the obvious advance of voter suppression in Arizona.

     Here are facts that refute Editor Kramer:

     The attorney representing the Arizona GOP admitted during the hearing that their intent was not security but to win elections by decreasing the voter turnout of their opposition.

Justice Alito admitted that certain Democratic-leaning populations would be injured by this decision — just not enough to matter to the court’s conservative majority.

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez points out the voting difficulties facing Native Americans regarding mail service and precinct locations.

     Jimmy Carter, while asked to look into vote-by-mail issues in 2007, spoke out in May 2020 to refute the “Big Lie” allegations made by disgraced President Trump and his stooge AG Barr. Carter encouraged all states to expand the safe and secure use of voting by mail, a practice Arizona has mastered over the past two decades!

     There has never been any widespread voter fraud found in Arizona! AZ’s governor, AG and every county recorder voiced total confidence while certifying the 2020 election!

     When election results are close, even the slightest obstacles can be enough to turn the tide. That’s the intent of the GOP in Arizona and across America. Editor Kramer’s effort to indulge and encourage that effort leaves me wondering about his intent. The real winners are the wealthy getting another unneeded tax cut as well as QAnon, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers — but not Arizona voters!

June 1, 2021

     Mitch McConnell called it an insurrection, saying Trump was responsible and should be held accountable. Kevin McCarthy begged for help to save his and other congressional lives, then admonished Trump for inciting the riot. Many GOP House members frantically blocked the door into the chamber in fear for being overrun by a mob out for blood.

     Of course, in the weeks following the Jan. 6 coup, cowardly and dishonest Republicans have become disgusting accomplices of their authoritarian “Dear Leader.” The GOP wants to check ballots for bamboo fibers but not who was involved in the attack that threatened to lynch the vice president. The GOP wants to give the wealthiest among us another undeserved and unearned tax cut but won’t spend a cent to bolster the Capitol Police Force that fought to save their lives. The GOP calls the traitors who attempted to violently overthrow an American election “peaceful tourists” while characterizing legislators working to improve the lives of American families as “socialists." Fittingly, the GOP banner is now proudly carried by the bigot Marjorie Taylor Greene and the immoral Matt Gaetz.

     I believe the GOP is hell bent to protect the likes of Trump, Gosar, Biggs and Finchem. They don’t want us to know who and how Jan. 6 came about. They’re afraid of the truth because they’re guilty.

     The Republican Party is an American disgrace. The party that once claimed to stand for family values, patriotism, law and order now stands for voter suppression, insurrection and the end of American democracy. They support no policy beyond unequivocal allegiance to Trump — they allow no disloyalty whatsoever. Former RNC Chair Michael Steele correctly warns that today's GOP will destroy our Republic.

I’m not ready to give up the fight to save American values and democracy. I’m a veteran, a voter and a proud Democrat!

     White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows admitted there’s no plan to even attempt any control over the dangerously surging COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths sweeping across America — in fact, real scientists are called “idiots." With no new plan whatsoever, the GOP is counting on its unethically seated SCOTUS justice to undo health care and preexisting condition protection for millions of Americans. The only immigration strategy under the Trump administration has been to rip children from their parents and throw them in cages or to block admittance based on race or religion. Our nation’s crumbling infrastructure is met with nothing more than GOP photo ops. Racial injustice reform gets either denial or meaningless suggestions.

     Other than debt-exploding tax cuts, even the most ardent Republican/Trump supporter cannot cite any legislative accomplishments from the first two years — during which the GOP controlled all of the federal government. We heard promises on a wide range of bills but none ever saw the light of day. So, Americans were left with millionaires gaining more millions while working families got pennies per month — nothing more. They were too busy confirming ideological judges and incompetent agency heads.

     To be sure, beginning in January of 2019, Democrats in the House passed well over 400 bills dealing with the most serious of issues. These measures were ignored by the GOP Senate, and Americans were left wanting. Today, the GOP is still blocking COVID relief!

The GOP of 2020 is no longer a governing political party at any level. Their collective response to every problem facing America is “lower taxes"; they are incapable of offering any real solutions. As a party, they have no platform, no plans, no sense of direction and no concern about the struggles of hardworking American families. Our nation will be stronger if voters end this iteration of the GOP that has become nothing more than a cult of personality.

     Typically, political endorsements leading up to elections don’t get a lot of notice. For the most part, they’re from members of the same party or from organizations that are somehow tied to the candidate’s agenda. 2020, however, is a whole new animal.

     Never before have so many members of the incumbent president’s own party publicly come out for the opponent. We’re not talking fringe folk here; those who are denouncing another Trump term are prominent and high-ranking Republicans. Former governors Kasich (Ohio), Snyder (Michigan), Whitman (New Jersey); four star Gens. Mattis, Powell and Kelly; U.S. Sen. Hagel; 26 other elected federal and state officials plus over 70 career professionals from the Departments of State and Justice. Most recently, there have been concurring public statements from members of the intelligence community, HHS, CDC and the White House COVID19 Task Force. These are not “never-Trumpers," nor are they RINOs (Republican In Name Only) — they are what’s left of the once proud GOP who are putting country above party. This isn’t a trickle, it’s a full-blown tsunami!

     To a person, those speaking out are telling America that they are not abandoning the Republican Party, instead, they feel they are being abandoned. They’re warning us about an incompetent and dangerous president and a political party that has devolved into the cult-like Party of Trump. They’re deeply concerned about the total disregard for the Constitution. They’re frightened by the demolition of democratic norms, decision making without any scientific, expert or experienced input, thereby putting American lives at risk.

     I ask you to take heed. America is seeing warning signs and signals of what perils would come from another Trump term. America needs to heal, America needs to re-unite, America needs leadership based on we the people not what’s in it for me.

      What is it with Republicans making racially crude remarks on an almost daily basis? How many have we seen get publicly eviscerated and finally come up with some lame statement like: “Oh, no, I didn’t mean to hurt anybody — my comments were taken out of context." Wouldn’t you think they’d learn to just stop doing this?

      LD11’s state Sen. Vince Leach has not learned to stop — he can’t help himself — it’s in his nature. His latest Facebook cartoon posting is racially insensitive, insulting and disgusting. During a time of widespread protests that in some cases have turned violent, Leach has decided to pour gasoline on the fire. The cartoon features a stereotypical Black woman with an infant on her hip in an apartment strewn with trash as she tells us there’s no way to improve her lot without being on the government dole. Leach has proven, over time, that communication with his constituents is his opportunity to be sarcastic and evasive. Now, however, he has moved into the realm of bigotry and hatred. Now he makes it clear exactly what he thinks of African Americans — he believes they live like trash and are incapable of self-reliance! It’s obvious that to Leach, Black Lives Matter only is a punch line to a disgusting joke!

      I’m not all that surprised by Leach’s FB posting. As a staunch supporter of a president who traffics in racial divisiveness and dismissiveness, Leach is a card-carrying member of the Party of Trump. While the state Senate has been asked to expel Vince Leach because of his blatant race baiting, it is unlikely any action will be taken by a GOP majority.

     The required action to expel Vince Leach will come this November. 2020 is a year like none other. 2020 must be the year we rid the state Legislature of all the Vince Leachs!

Ralph Atchue - Chairperson, Democrats of Casa Grande

EDITOR'S NOTE: The syndicated cartoon referenced here challenges African Americans' loyalty to the Democratic Party.

     Does the Republican Party still exist? What was once the Grand Ole Party (GOP), seems to have morphed into the Party of Trump (POT). Please let me explain.

     It’s the POT that thinks blue states should be forced into bankruptcy, failing to acknowledge that those blue states are net “givers” while red states (including Arizona) are net “takers." It’s the POT pushing workers back into unsafe jobs, risking their lives while shielding corporations from any liability. POT loyalists continue to pay homage to the daily COVID briefings filled with bragging, lying and suggestions of self-poisoning. Trump’s rhetoric is encouraging violent protesters, characterized by many as terrorists, across America with no POT pushback! Arizona’s POT chair, Kelly Ward, attacks our heroic medical professionals for wanting to keep Americans safe and healthy.

     Amazingly, the CDC has listed fact-based guidelines for reopening state economies while the president encourages governors to violate them. As of today, not a single state has met those federal guidelines. No POT outrage can be heard despite Trump ignoring all the early warnings and nearly two months of inaction to lessen American infections and deaths. In fact, the POT publicly celebrated passing the 60,000 (and climbing) death mark as “a success”!

      Why isn’t the POT questioning where the $500 billion in corporate bailout money is going? Why are the truly small businesses pushed to the back of the funding line? The POT no longer seems to give a damn about fiscal responsibility or accountability.

     Many give Ducey credit for trying to take the right steps in safely reopening our state. Yet his careful approach is being undermined by POT state legislators like Kelly Townsend.

Yes, the way I see it, the GOP has gone to POT. If we give Trump another term, I’m afraid our nation will go to pot!