Speaker Johnson on wrong side of proxy voting
Re: “Speaker’s effort to block proxy voting rejected,” April 2 news story
I find it painfully ironic that the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, is so outspoken and combatively negative on the topic of allowing new parents in Congress the limited right to vote by proxy. That should be given an easy pass.
The Republican Party proudly touts its adherence to “family values,” however, with a few brave enough to defy the party’s stand, it is once more rejecting any bipartisan proposal, no matter what. The excuse given by Johnson, the third most important person in the government, is “I believe it violates more than two centuries of tradition and institution.” He needs to listen to himself and focus on the innumerable glaring overreaches and defiant unconstitutional executive orders, mindless firings of qualified workers by his self-appointed minions, and constant shows of obsessive self-promoting narcissism by our commander in chief.
When will this defiance of the Constitution and common sense end?
“Liberation Day” will not be when announced by — and when all powers are absorbed by — the executive branch; it will be when we are again governed by people who are elected to work for the people and the nation — and not themselves.
Eric M. Hanson, Broomfield
Boebert’s “telephone town hall” a one-way call
I attended Rep. Lauren Boebert’s “telephone town hall” last night. Rather than being anything that resembled democracy, it was merely a forum for Boebert to practice reading her briefing books without any real interaction with voters.
Boebert started by droning on for 10 minutes about every cultural issue in MAGA’s agenda. Her playbook says that presenting cultural issues will insulate her and her MAGA colleagues from legitimate criticism. It will not.
I reckon that very few of the 8,000 attendees were there in support of Trump administration policies. The town hall was so well-attended because many people oppose Trump’s systematic dismantling of our democracy. A casual listener (or a casual member of the House of Representatives) might not sense the opposition that existed in Boebert’s town hall, but that is because she designed it that way. There was zero opportunity for follow-up or comment because she knew what such follow-up and comment would sound like.
Boebert opined, “We are winning big, y’all.” What planet is she living on? The framers of the Constitution built an amazing system, supported by ideas of federalism. One of the foundations of our federal government is that the work of a bicameral legislature must be approved by a president for something to become the law of the land. Well, “winning big y’all” has already included many instances of one person single-handedly eradicating the law of the land. That doesn’t sound like a republic to me, or like “winning big.”
Erik Kerzee, Littleton
Violating the Social Security promise
Social Security isn’t a handout — it’s a promise that millions of us older Americans have paid into with every paycheck. This administration is dismantling an essential program, closing offices, cutting hotlines, and spreading misinformation to justify these attacks. As elders, we deserve dignity, not broken promises.
This is insane. For half of Americans, Social Security represents half their income. For a great many of our friends and neighbors, it’s all they’ve got.
Robert Renfro, Denver
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