A recent comical farce written by a former CEO of a business located in Morton was published in the editorial section of the Journal Star. It was nothing but gibberish. The writer began by implying that elections had consequences. Since the electorate had spoken in the 2016 election when they chose Trump, he deserved the constitutional right to have his government seated unequivocally. This caused me to stop and not pursue my reading the rest of the letter.
Even though Trump won the electoral vote, he did not receive a mandate from the people regarding the popular vote. When I view a mandate of the people, I think of such elections as 1936 when FDR carried 46 of the 48 states, LBJ’s landslide victory of ’64 over Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan’s win when he carried 49 states in ’84.
Did Trump win overwhelmingly? No! His victory parallels elections such as 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000 and 2016 when the losing candidate won the popular vote. Some of these elections were settled by the House of Representatives, Electoral Commission and Supreme Court.
After the winner became President, he faced opposition. In most instances, it became known as the loyal opposition. That opposition is not expected to roll over and become a doormat. Did the Republicans do that when Obama was President?
The loyal opposition must hold a President accountable. For the former CEO to convey this vote characterizes a mandate and entitles a concession of the loyal opposition is ridiculous.
This President’s rhetoric in most cases is nothing but boisterous. Along with it, he’s arrogant. His comments are dangerous and could lead to revolution. He spouts that he is the best of everything.
Have any other Presidents acted in this manner? He needs a loyal opposition. It should come from some members of his own party. When Nixon had a loyal opposition, some came from his party.
President Trump must be kept in check.
Phil Salzer, Peoria
The letter writer is a member of the Peoria County Board and a retired teacher from Peoria Public Schools where he coached and taught history for 30 years and was chairman of the social studies department.