Tucson Speaks Out: Nov. 14
View of 2024 election
First, to use my Oro Valley neighbor's choice of words "Ya gotta" accept the fact that Trump won in a fair election contrary to his outlandish 2020 claim of fraud. Harris accepted the result and called Trump to congratulate him. Of course, the majority of Michael's "Ya gotta" Democratic claims are patently false. As for the 2024 election result, current totals show that Harris earned 70.9 million votes while Trump earned 74.6 million votes. In 2020, Biden had 81.2 million, while Trump had 74.2 million. This means that some 10 million Americans opted not to vote in 2024 despite the outrageous amount of money spent on the campaign. Potential reasons seem to be: dislike of either candidate, belief that Trump was a threat to our democracy but couldn't vote for a woman, especially a woman of color or a Biden supporter who felt he either should have run himself or dropped out earlier to enable someone else to have risen to the top of the party.
Chuck Cabrera
Oro Valley
Chuck Cecil!
Thank you, Greg Hansen, for reminding Tucson and, all Arizona football fans, of the great No. 6, Chuck Cecil. When it comes to bleeding Red and Blue, no one else even comes close. As a player, he was fierce, explosive, physical, passionate and dominating. This is what made him great.
As a man and a coach, he had the same attributes as his mentor, Dick Tomey: passion, a love and respect for his teammates and the belief of team over all else.
In this modern era of The NIL and transfer portal in college sports, these are unfortunately obsolete principles. Tucson loves you, Chuck!
Dan Egan
East side
"It's easier to fool someone than to convince them they've been fooled" — a quote often incorrectly attributed to Mark Twain to critique human gullibility and stubbornness. It just might describe the 74,696,257 voters who voted to re-elect Trump. Time will tell.
Sheldon Clark
Our dear friend Loyal from Oro Valley obviously believes that the Constitution and the rule of law will remain strong and intact regardless of the election of the "jack-booted thug" to the presidency. He has been so blinded by the insanity that the thug brought to America that he believes that the "checks and balances" created by our forefathers will continue to protect us. It is exactly the destruction of those "checks and balances" and rule of law that the thug campaigned on. His reign of terror for the next 4 years will be all about his ascension as a new "Hitler" and destroying any rules that will confine him. The insanity of Loyal and his like has poisoned the American people, and we all should be sick to our stomach on that thought.
Jean Getek
An open letter to the Democratic Party
Observing the infighting over election results, I wonder are you so aloof you can't see the obvious.
The economy is a hot topic and in particular inflation. But Americans don't care about the CPI, CPE, PPI or the myriad of detailed data published by overpaid bureaucrats. They care about the cost of food, fuel, housing, and wages keeping up. Meanwhile, academics and elitists obsess over data, while doling out uncountable cash to corporations.
National security and Biden's management of the escape from Afghanistan was a national blot, but illegal immigration is far worse. Claims about how immigration is good for the country and not costly were absurd. Municipalities crying for help and scenes of chaos at the border gave our darkest enemies solace they have nothing to fear from us. Even illegals complained about lack of opportunity.
Stop trying to save the world and fostering special interest groups. Come down from your righteous mount and help your fellow citizens.
Thomas Szudajski
Northwest side
Trump already disobeying the law
The Presidential Transition Act is required by law. This law provides for an incoming administration to have a smooth transition, gain access to government agencies, and begin the process of obtaining background checks for security clearances.
Included in the PTA is a requirement that an incoming administration submit their ethics plan: Pledging to avoid conflicts of interest while in office. The deadline was October 1.
Mr. Trump blew past the October 1 deadline. He continues to refuse to submit this mandatory ethics plan. An amended version of the PTA requires candidates to create their ethics plan telling Americans how they would address their own conflicts of interest during a Presidential term. It was signed into law by Mr. Trump himself in 2020. The current administration cannot start critical transitioning until the Trump team signs the PTA.
Of note, during Mr. Trump's first administration the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington reported 3,400 conflicts of interest tied to Trump. Buckle up for the next four years!
Kathy Krucker
How do I blame thee? Let me count the ways
Everyone has a favorite blame. What's yours?
Kamala Harris and the Democrats lost the 2024 election because:
(Select no more than 20; contradictory selections are acceptable)
They were too far to the left
They were too far to the right
Kamala overemphasized identity politics
Kamala underemphasized her Blackness
The campaign was too short for Kamala to get the electorate to know her
The campaign was too long
The Democrats were too woke
Biden withdrew too late
Biden withdrew
The party mismanaged the campaign
The Democrats were too elite
The Democrats wrongly emphasized democracy and Trump's flaws
Kamala was untested by a tough primary season
Kamala was too reluctant to criticize Biden
It was because of misogyny
It was because of racism
It was because of transgender policies
It was because of Israel
It was because of the Afghanistan pullout
It was because of inflation
It was because of anti-incumbency
Feel better now?
Robert Varady
Being called a liberal is not an insult
I've noticed that some Republican letter-writers often feel the need to characterize Democrats with the liberal label as if it's an insulting term. It's accurate to call Democrats liberals but it's not an insult. When I see that at the top of a letter I know it's intended as a jab. According to the dictionary, a liberal is defined as someone who is "willing to respect or accept behavior or opinions different from one's own; open to new ideas. Relating to or denoting a political and social philosophy that promotes individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, and free enterprise." Republican or Democrat, what is wrong with embracing the values represented in that definition? If you are a liberal, welcome that label with open arms. Many of our great minds throughout history who have been responsible for developing advanced technologies or philosophies had liberal points of view. Just remember, when you feel the need to toss that label into your letter, you are actually paying your target a compliment.
Kyle Vance
Northeast side
The election
It has been said Trump is the Anti-Christ. Maybe, I cannot judge him on that. But he is anti-American. His latest campaign began with "revenge and retribution" aimed at government employees who had taken an oath to "support and defend" the Constitution, and were faithful to that Oath, not to him. Congressmen and women, and members of his own staff whom he felt were not "loyal" to him. He said their non-support was political. Agencies had been "weaponized" against him. (Remember in Helsinki when he stood beside a smirking Putin, and repudiated the FBI, CIA and other U.S. agencies, preferring Russian agencies?) Thousands of civil servants have taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution. He does not deem them "loyal" so they will lose their jobs. His policies defy opinions of experts who have experience in a particular area. He has no experts. Their "policies" are solely political.
Jerry Lujan
Oro Valley
Trump's victory
My preferred candidate did not win. I am not going to point fingers, call the other party's members names, or over-analyze my preferred candidate's campaign. I have to deal with the reality of the situation. Where do I go from here? I must be alert to and be aware of what is happening in Washington D.C., specifically how Trump's policy proposals evolve. I have to deal with the winner's administration and be prepared for a different America.
Toni Kane
Oro Valley
Check rearview mirror, look to the future
In World War II, the USA fought against tyranny (Hitler, his cohorts and fascism) and saved Europe and the rest of the world from those who would take away our freedoms. In contrast, now the USA must save itself from itself. Otherwise, we will become what we fought so hard against.
Stanley Curd
