Editor, Times-Union:
The election was a success for democracy. Democrats had lied so much about Trump that they thought for sure people would reject him. What they weren't counting on was the ability of the voters to look up the facts and all the bad things associated with Kamala that would doom her campaign to failure. Democrats also thought people would hate Trump so much that they could run a clearly inferior candidate and she would win.
The Democrats said Trump would end democracy while they ran a primary election in the same way Communists ran elections with one selected candidate that the voters were expected to vote for. But unlike what dictatorships do, when the selected candidate looked like he was going to lose in the general election he was replaced in a coup. Democracy had nothing to do with Kamala being the candidate. Trump, on the other hand, won outright in the Republican primary against several people who wanted to be the candidate.
Democrats called Trump a fascist which was ridiculous. Fascists believe the government should control the people which Democrats believe. Many think Trump will put his enemies in camps or prison. If that were the case, which prison did Trump send Hillary to in 2017? Democrats say he only cares about himself and not the average citizen. If Kamala had been elected she promised to do away with the tax cuts most Americans benefited from that Trump wants to make permanent. If Kamala had been elected she promised to pack the Supreme Court so the new Justices and liberal ones on the Court could approve of her unconstitutional actions. She also wanted to do away with the filibuster if the Democrats maintained control of the Senate so they could act like totalitarians to push their agenda.
Democracy allows the people to have freedom of speech, association, movement, religion, and the ability to act stupidly without being punished. Maybe the reason why people who pray in front of abortion clinics are thrown into jail is because Democrats think they are more powerful than God and need to be worshipped. During the holocaust those who opposed it were considered courageous. Today, those who oppose the prenatal holocaust are considered criminals.
People didn't want to consider things that used to be condemned like mutilation of children, boys being treated like girls in sports, pornography in public schools, the invasion of America, criminality being decriminalized, and lies being considered the truth becoming a fact of life.
I expect a lot from Trump during the next four years. Not everything will be corrected immediately. Some things will require more than that. Maybe if Trump can reduce the flood of illegal immigration to a trickle, reduce crime, allow Musk to slash government spending, lower prices, make us energy independent again, and make America respected again, we might experience a new era when democracy flourishes.
Rick Badman
Warsaw, via e-mail