I am disappointed (a mild word) that Ohio Senator JD Vance suggests a president can defy the United States Supreme Court and he would have allowed Congress to consider alternate slates of electors in the 2020 election. This assertion is wrong for a variety of reasons. The former President’s allegations of widespread voter fraud in 2020 have been rejected by numerous election officials and judges across the country. Can Senator Vance produce evidence to the contrary? This continued election denying undermines our entire electoral system. In the 2000 election for US President, the US Supreme Court essentially handed the election to George W. Bush. This decision was made despite the fact then Vice-President Al Gore won the popular vote. What would have been the consequences had then-President Clinton defied the Supreme Court? Or what would have been the consequences in 1954 if then President Eisenhower chose to ignore the Court’s decision in Brown v Board of Education? The governance of our country rests upon the checks and balances of the three branches: Executive, Legislative and Judicial. I fear perpetual chaos if we follow the course outlined by Senator Vance’s assertions. I wonder if that is his goal?
- Carol Ann Roe, Miamisburg
It’s election season in the US and we will have a constant stream for the next nine months of presidential polls, senate race polls and many, many more. In theory, they will give us a snapshot of public opinion of preferred candidates in the election. I disagree. In our current media environment, we often have a dominant and polarized presentation of misinformation and disinformation full of smears and insults every day about candidates and their political parties. As a result, the political polling is really a reflection of the media source that we listen to. The political poll then measures the opinions of the distorted descriptions on their media feeds. I would like to see a breakdown poll of opinions of presumptive voters for major races, broken down by their “primary source of news”. I would suggest four main sources – listeners of BBC, of CNN, of MSNBC, and of Fox News. Maybe this might help us get to work in our “democracy” of maintaining an “informed electorate” to help choose our leaders.
- Bill Hirt, Dayton