DON’T DEMONIZE OTHERS
Stop blaming Kamala Harris. She did her job. Joe Biden did his. Big donors made their choice by pulling out funds from the DNC. They pulled the plug on 2024. Democrats that voted not just for the president, but for all down-ballot races, will be what saves this country. The GOP is the party of millionaires – just look at the nominees for cabinet positions. If you are anything but white, male and Christian, there isn’t a place for you.
Now is the time to take a stand. The U.S. wasn’t built based on a religion. It was formed based on an idea. Now is the time for some good trouble. We can prove that we are a nation of laws and that the Constitution matters.
Democracy will die in darkness. Now is the time to speak out. Stand up. Let your voice be heard. If you don’t, they will come for you. They will start with migrants, then move on to the other people Trump hates. We know who those are, just look at who he attacked: Doctors, military members, teachers, the poor, lawyers, anyone with an advanced degree, anyone of color, LGBTQ people, Muslims, Jews, anyone who was more successful that he was – the list never ends.
Anne Hofferkamp
Springfield
DON’T DEMONIZE GOP
I have some advice for Democrats as they contemplate the results of the 2024 election and plan for the future.
For starters, they need to recognize that not all women are obsessed with getting an abortion. Tens of millions of women find abortion to be problematic or even morally repugnant. There used to be room in the Democratic Party for these women, but now they are persona non-grata. These women have legitimate issues with abortion-on-demand and need to be heard. Women can be concerned about crime, inflation, the economy, foreign policy and a host of other issues. To run on the premise that women care only about getting abortions is insulting.
The First Amendment is non-negotiable. Despite the claim of Tim Walz and many other Democrats, the First Amendment does indeed protect so-called “misinformation” and “hate speech.” Censorship, whether direct or through private sector proxies, is incompatible with democracy.
Catholics matter. In 2020, Joe Biden and Donald Trump split the Catholic vote in swing states. This year, Trump won swing state Catholics by 15%. You cannot be openly hostile to the nation’s largest religious denomination and expect them to vote for you.
Men, particularly working-class men, need to be valued. They are not a bunch of women-hating, racist troglodytes. They have legitimate concerns about social and economic issues, and if you continue to ignore them, you will continue to lose.
No child should ever be sterilized and/or mutilated as a treatment for mental illness. The fact that I have to point this out shows just far to the left the Democratic Party has gone.
No one cares what actors and singers think about politics. Tell your friends in Hollywood to stick to performing.
Finally, your next candidate needs to come up with specific ideas and be able to articulate them. He or she cannot respond to every question by saying they’re from a middle-class family and the Republican is a Nazi.
Robert Huck
Springfield
TOO MUCH SPENDING
That’s because of all the free crap that this governor hands out (“Early results show Democrats likely to maintain supermajorities in the General Assembly,” Nov. 6). The bad part is, the taxpayers are picking up the bill.
Ron Parton
Via Facebook.com/illinoistimes
CUT PROPERTY TAXES
So the solution to lower property taxes is not to decrease public spending on programs, initiatives and handouts, but to punish people who earn more than $1 million per year (“Vote yes for property tax relief,” Oct. 17)? Something tells me that the additional tax revenue collected by this immoral and corrupt state would not lower my property tax bill by one penny. But the funds would find their way to illegal aliens, mental health whatever, abortions, drug abuse support/counseling and a myriad of other Democratic-funded nonsense.
Lower property taxes by lowering property taxes. Start cutting, and the hard-working citizens of Illinois would see their bills trimmed by more than half.
Isaac Taylor
Chicago
This article appears in Springfield grapples with increased crime.
I’m just gonna say I’d love to talk to this Robert Huck IRL and tell him exactly why he’s a regressive doorknob. To preserve a tolerant society, the society must not tolerate intolerant ideologies or behaviors when they threaten others’ rights or the principles of tolerance itself.
“I will only accept the results of the election if I win” IS THE DEFINITION OF AUTHORITARIANISM. I don’t care if its ‘just joking hahaha’ Oppression is unyielding unless met with resistance.
Honestly I’m disappointed the Illinois Times would publish such obviously bigoted anti-trans rhetoric and disinformation. This guy obviously has never even talked to a trans person in real life or he wouldn’t be saying this kind of drivel. Being trans isn’t a mental illness and nobody is ‘mutilating kids’.
Hi PhilGray,
You wrote, “Being trans isn’t a mental illness”
Did you know that from 1980 to 2013, the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders) listed “Gender Identity Disorder” as a psychosexual disorder?
Then, in 2013, for political reasons, “Gender Identity Disorder” was renamed to “Gender Dysphoria” in an attempt to remove stigma from those individuals who were questioning their gender?
You also wrote, “nobody is ‘mutilating kids'”.
Did you know that right here in Springfield, there are multiple physicians who will give a child puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones?
Did you know that giving a child cross-sex hormones can lead to lost fertility and lost sexual function for life?
Did you know that giving a child puberty blockers can irreversibly alter the physical development of their sexual organs, bones, and brain?
Did you know that there are lots of doctors who will perform a double mastectomy on otherwise healthy females under 18, leaving them permanently unable to breastfeed their future children?
You should Google the name Chloe Cole. I know you won’t, but you should.