In Jay Fleitman’s most recent response on the “Medicare for All” issue in Tuesday’s Gazette, he cannot help but take potshots at some of the Democrats running for the nomination.
I cannot recall in any of his columns, Fleitman saying much, if anything, about President Trump. I find it appalling that he finds time to ridicule the Democratic contenders for the presidential nomination, but has not taken a stance on our current president.
There are other conservatives, notably Bill Kristol, George Will and David Brooks, who have put country ahead of party and who have found Trump’s kind of conservatism abhorrent and the antithesis of their conservative values. They view him as lacking a moral compass.
What is your position on a president who believes in an imperial presidency and holds himself above the law? Whose mendacity seems to know no bounds, having lied or misrepresented the truth at least 10,000 times since taking office?
Who appears to have welcomed help from the Russians in the last election to win him the presidency and sees nothing wrong with accepting help from foreign powers in the next election?
Who tried to obstruct — and continues to obstruct — inquiries into Russian interference in our last election? Who admires and panders to dictators like Russia’s Putin, North Korea’s Kim Jung Un, and China’s Xi, and fantasizes about being president for life?
Who believes Putin’s disclaimers over our own intelligence agencies? Who views the press as the enemy of the people, whereas our forefathers viewed a free press as essential for a viable democracy?
You, Dr. Fleitman, have had nothing to say about a president who has anti-democratic, totalitarian tendencies, flouts the constitutional checks and balances, and is only concerned with his own aggrandizement and amassing of more wealth while in office.
It takes courage to call out someone who is a threat to our democracy, our country, and the planet when they are from the same political party. Where do you stand Dr. Fleitman?
David Arbeitman
Florence