Honesty, leadership and integrity are missing in the Trump Party

I find it necessary to respond to the letter Aug. 9 “Preserve the America we know and love” written by Don Kaltschmidt, car dealer from Whitefish and GOP chairman.

I am a senior citizen, 91, with an entirely different view of what the United States should return to. I resent very deeply his implication that I am a lesser American than he and his crony friends because I am a Democrat.

I am the great grandson of immigrants from Germany. They came to America on the sailing ship Louisiana in 1857, homesteaded land in Wisconsin and built dairy farms. Many of them served in the military during WWI and WWII. During my childhood my grandmother told me stories about Wisconsin during the wars. They were called heine, krauts, pushed off the sidewalks and spit on.

After the beginning of WWII my dad moved us to San Diego out of fear of being placed in camps as were the Japanese Americans and the ethnic prejudice that was evident in Wisconsin at that time. The move to San Diego was an effort to “blend” and blend we did. I attended school in San Diego before entering the military during the Korean war in 1952. I took basic training in the infantry heavy weapons sustained an injury and was transferred to the U.S. Army Veterinary corps.

After my honorable discharge from the military I went back to college on the GI Bill (socialist program) where I earned an AB and MA before teaching and becoming a school administrator. With a wife and two children I could not have accomplished that without the GI Bill.

After retiring from education we moved to Montana in 1989. In my efforts to support our community and pay back I volunteered in many different areas. Chairman of the School Board in Libby, member of the Hospital Foundation Board in Libby, Habitat for Humanity and the Impact Advisory Committee and a hospital volunteer in Kalispell.

Needless to say I have lived the American dream.

Now comes the dishonest election of Donald Trump. His election in 2016 marks the beginning of his effort to divide the American people with chaos and untruth. He immediately surrounded himself with dishonest people that would be subservient to him. More than 25 of his appointees have either resigned or been fired. Some have been indicted, some are awaiting trial and some are in jail.

The latest example of this is the arrest of Steve Bannon on a luxury yacht owned by a very rich person from China. The charges on Bannon, former Trump top advisor, were funneling millions of dollars from a build the fence fund to himself.

His desire to become King Trump is evident in his meddling in every branch of the federal government and control of all of the states.

The Republican Party is no longer the party of the people and by the people. It is the party of Trump and his base the super rich and those that fly the confederate flag and watch only Fox News.

Don Kaltschmidt states that “It is not hyperbole to say that America will come to a fork in the road in 2020.” Needless to say we have already passed that fork in 2016 when Trump was elected by the minority of the people.

Mr. Kaltschmidt mentioned the importance of leadership. We now have an immoral man in the White House who has made the United States the laughing stock of the world. He is considered by most other nations to be the most dangerous threat to world peace. His “plan” for the handling of the coronavirus that has killed about 190,000 Americans is non existent. His comment on TV regarding the virus was “it was a hoax set up by the Democrats”. His denial of science and the medical community regarding solutions to slow the spread of the virus is obvious. The solution of injecting disinfectant and ingesting unproven pills is another example of his ignorance.

Trump has cost the American taxpayers millions playing golf at his private clubs while we have untold numbers of Americans out of work and becoming homeless.

There is so much more to be told about Trump’s failed leadership and the Republicans. His attack on the United States Postal Service by appointing his billionaire friend and major contributer to his campaign fund to Postmaster General is nothing more than effort to rig the election. Among his first orders were to take out mail drop boxes and sorting machines to slow down the delivery of mail in ballots. This effort would force voters to go out, during this pandemic, to stand in lines to vote. Honesty, leadership and integrity are missing in the Trump Party.

We need to look no further than Montana to observe this truth. An article appeared in the Daily Inter Lake that supports this statement. “The Republican Party financed a $100,000 signature gathering effort.” This was an effort to pay people to put their names on the ballot under the Green Party slate to draw votes from the Democratic candidates. Dirty politics at its worst.

To the Republican, undecided and Independent voters if you are not prone to become a Democratic there is an alternative it’s called the Lincoln Project. It was founded by a group of Republicans who wish to prevent the re-election of Donald Trump. The list is growing. Check it out on the internet for more information.

Let’s go forward, not back, to the America we can be proud of with honesty, integrity and respect for all of our citizens. I quote President John F Kennedy “ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country”.

—Jerry Reckin, Kalispell