Sounding off: Presidential race top letter-writers' concerns

Think of the future when voting

For the past 7½ years, the extreme left Democratic Party, the D.C. swamp bureaucracy and its cohort mainstream media have continually attacked and weaponized government agencies to try to politically destroy President Donald Trump so they could stay in power and retain their jobs and incomes. It’s no wonder the typical TV viewer becomes anti-Trump and finds many reasons to vote against him.

In Kamala Harris, this Democratic “deep state” “created” a presidential candidate with a fresh face full of enthusiasm and “Joy! Joy! Joy!” who can promise anything and everything to get your vote. But Harris’ shortcomings, faults and lies are now being exposed.

So doesn’t it make more sense, and consequence, to decide your vote by party and policies instead of by candidate and personality? Ask yourself, are we all better off today after 3½ years of Democrats Harris and President Biden than we were after four years of Republican Trump? Also, don’t forget Harris and Biden’s aggressive efforts to eliminate fossil fuels and the spiked costs of gasoline and energy , farm fertilizers, trucking, food and utility bills, and our out-of-control inflation.

Or you could choose the party that supports safe borders, stronger police and military, lower taxes, free enterprise rather than big government controls, opportunity based on merit, fewer wars, school choice, fewer regulations, all resulting in more personal freedoms.

Whichever party you choose, your future, as well as your family’s and your country’s, are inexorably tied to your vote.

Ron Raymond

Buffalo Township

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Trump was a failure on economy

It is extremely important that the press recalls and reports accurate facts on Donald Trump’s management of the economy, 2017 to 2021.

• His tax cuts yielded $7.8 trillion in additional national debt.

• Wealthy Americans paid a net lower tax rate than middle-income Americans.

• Trump’s term ended with the highest number of unemployed in the history of the United States.

• Trump’s pandemic management program caused total disruption of the economy, manufacturing and logistics, triggering rampant inflation.

In short, Trump was an absolute failure at managing the economy.

With historical references: The previous Republican president, George W. Bush, left the nation in deep financial crisis with more mortgage foreclosures and bank failures since the Great Depression.

Following each of these financial crises, 2009 and 2021, it was Joe Biden who was responsible for cleaning up the mess, saving large corporations such as General Motors, and getting America back to work. Through leading bipartisan efforts to apply stringent bank capital requirements, stability was restored in the financial sector.

And Biden-Harris created over 14 million new jobs in 2021-24, yielding the longest period of sub-4% unemployment in over 50 years.

In 2021-23, with the Biden-Harris Inflation Reduction Act, and careful monetary and fiscal guidance, Biden-Harris steered the USA to achieve the fastest recovery of any of the G7 economies and brought post-covid inflation down to target levels.

It is a myth that the Republican Party is a strong guardian of the U.S. economy. This is aside from, and secondary to, the unacceptable moral character of Donald Trump.

Frank Wade

Oakdale

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Kennedy’s endorsement of Trump significant

One of the most significant political announcements following the Democratic National Convention was the endorsement by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of Donald Trump. Interesting that this front-page news story was buried on page B6 of the Aug. 24 print edition of the Tribune Review; I haven’t seen it mentioned since.

I doubt this type of explosive story of a staunch Republican endorsing Harris would have received such limited exposure. The fact that RFK abandoned the Democratic Party shows how far the Democratic Party has strayed from the ideology of JFK. The current socialist ideology of the Democratic Party is dangerous for the future of the U.S. These policies advance inflation, illegal border crossings, increased government regulations, taxes, uncontrolled overseas wars and climate change agendas that will further destroy our economy.

Kamala Harris is running on a policy to change things. I couldn’t agree more. Change the Biden-Harris policies of the past 3 1⁄2 years. Vote for Donald Trump.

Dr. Joel I. Last

Greensburg

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Backing a felon and the police?

Recently I’ve seen a phenomenon that strikes me as the height of left-brain/right-brain cognitive dissonance: A sign that says “I’m Voting For the Felon” right next to a sign that says: “Back the Police.” Amazing. What do the police think about that?

I’m sure the person with those signs would tell me that all the trials against Donald Trump are “rigged” and phony. To believe that, you’d have to believe in a conspiracy so vast that it doesn’t matter who you vote for; the “winners” have already been chosen, and the only way Trump will regain the White House is through a bloody insurrection. I’m not sure the police are in favor of that.

However, if you do believe in the veracity of our justice system, which the police work for, then you should be questioning why a candidate for public office, claiming he’s “innocent” of all charges, wouldn’t want his trials to proceed as quickly as possible, to confirm his innocence legally.

I like to remind my Republican friends that there are just as many Republican lawyers as there are Democratic ones … and when a lawyer sees his client is guilty, the strategy is to delay the cases as long as possible, to keep their client out of jail. In Trump’s case, there’s a possibility of his controlling the Justice Department and pardoning himself. It is evident that’s his strategy, as opposed to proving his innocence.

If I were a police officer, I’d be confused about the mixed message of those two signs. And probably a little insulted.

Thomas Nacey Jr.

Delmont

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Harris’ policies will hurt middle class

We’ve been told inflation is going down. It is not. All inflation is up. What has been coming down is the rate at which it has been going up. It has fallen from a high of 9% to around 3%. It has increased 19% since Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took office, dragging prices right along with it. B&H claim to have reduced inflation, but the Federal Reserve actually reduced it. Just the opposite, B&H have helped increase inflation and prices by increasing government spending.

Prices go up with inflation, but do not automatically go down when inflation goes down. Prices will only go down if demand goes down, supply goes up, production costs go down and/or government spends less. Despite Harris saying she will reduce prices, her policies will only increase prices. Giving $25,000 to first-time home-buyers will increase the price of housing. Increasing corporate taxes to 28% will be passed on to the consumer. The push to electric cars will result in higher gas prices.

These and other policies will hurt the middle class the most. Utilities by law have to pass cost increases to the consumer. Higher home prices will make it more difficult to buy a house. No new refineries or pipelines will be built, causing prices to go up. What company is going to invest in a dying industry?

And don’t believe proposed government financial programs or tax breaks will help. They will only serve to increase inflation. Just look at the Inflation Reduction Act. I believe Harris is simply ignorant of financial matters, and wrong for the USA.

Tom Cerra

Latrobe

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We deserve better than Trump

I’m tired of all the chaos and disrespect spewed out of the mouth of someone who wants to just hoot, holler and yell craziness. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to be yelled at, called names or to be bullied.

When the attempted coup occurred Jan. 6, 2021, I thought this would put an end to the prospect of him ever becoming president again. In my opinion, he incited the violence on that day to stop a free and fair election. It is sickening to me that anyone can still stand behind him. Don’t be fooled. Do the research. Not just through memes or bits and pieces you see in disgusting commercials or on social media. Disinformation is steering you in the wrong direction.

He doesn’t know what the middle-class people need because he has never had to experience what we have, and I think he simply doesn’t care.

He doesn’t respect our military, as evidenced by all the vitriol he has directed toward it. (This would have disgusted my father, who was a veteran.) He was a coward who deferred service to our country because of bone spurs. And then there’s the recent outrageous activity at Arlington National Cemetery for a political photo op. What a disgrace! Our military deserves better and so does our country.

Marianne Rossi-Brown

Greensburg

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Will Trump help workers?

Donald Trump congratulated Elon Musk for his willingness to fire workers seeking higher wages and better working conditions. “You’re the greatest cutter,” Trump said. “Look at what you do. You walk in, you just say: ‘You want to quit?’ They go on strike. And you (Elon) say: ‘That’s OK, you’re all gone.’ ”

Vickie Oles

Ligonier