It is all about trust. The Tribune- Review printed a stunning opinion piece by Wayne Gilchrest (“Republican senators want to kill health care and now Social Security and Medicare?” Aug. 20, TribLIVE). He really let his fellow Republicans have it about cutting the payroll tax deduction, refusing to negotiate with Democrats on their 1,800-page HEROES Act, and challenging Obamacare in the Supreme Court. Now that’s a Republican we can all trust.

The problem is how Gilchrest identified himself: “Wayne Gilchrest is a former Republican member of the U.S. Congress and a member of Republicans for Integrity.” It is true he was a congressional Republican for 20 years. But in 2019 he switched his party affiliation to the Democratic Party. In September 2008, he praised the Obama/Biden ticket in a radio interview. After the election he told a Baltimore television station that he voted for Obama.

Last March, Gilchrest was quoted as thinking Joe Biden would be “in lockstep” with Maryland’s Democratic senators “and he’d be dependent on both of them.” Both senators support the DNC platform and more centralized control of American lives. Gilchrest should feel right at home in the Democratic Party and supporting Biden.

And being affiliated with “Republicans for Integrity” sounds impressive until you realize that the group is part of the Trump resistance.

It took me five minutes to find the information. I believe the tagline on this op-ed was misleading to the Tribune-Review readership.

James Kelm

Latrobe

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