Trump would be a better president than Clinton
I would like to address the authors of the four letters-to-the-editor published in the July 31 edition of the Herald-Standard; Mr. Sloan. Mr. Spiegler, Mr. Lefevre and Mr. Giannamore.
As a disclosure I am a registered Republican and will be voting for Mr. Trump. I will attempt to present some intelligent reasoning as to why without resorting to insinuating those of you that disagree are either a monkey, a racist, mentally ill or grossly misinformed of the facts.
As a veteran of both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army Reserve I took an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States which guarantees free speech therefore you all are entitled to voice your opinion as am I.
I was raised by my parents that the virtue of honor is a critical measure of one’s character. This also was strongly reaffirmed in the military. For that reason there is nothing that could sway me to vote for someone as morally bankrupt as Hillary Clinton. Ignoring the facts that both Obama’s and Clinton’s policies led to the fiasco of Benghazi to brazenly lie to the parents of those who died concerning the cause for solely political reasons is forgivable but not forgettable.
Mr. Giannamore, please research the events of Benghazi and the biography of that man that you feel was inappropriate standing in Arlington National Cemetery. He is indeed an American hero who served honorably in combat and was one of the survivors of Benghazi.
I do admit that Mr. Trump was not my first choice during the Republican primary, but I also felt that any of the 17 Republicans with three exceptions running would serve this country as president much better than a liar that is in this for no one but herself. The three exceptions were Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz and John Kasich. Mr. Kasich is in hindsight since both he and Mr. Cruz have also demonstrated that they have no honor and their word means nothing. I was never a strong supporter of Mr. Cruz since he repeatedly has demonstrated that he is unwilling to work with people to accomplish his goals. With respect to Jeb Bush I believe that he and the Bush family have served this country well and he would most likely make an excellent president, but this country in not a monarchy and multiple family members should not serve in the highest office of the land.
To demonstrate why I believe that the rhetoric of the Democratic Party rings so hollow to me I would like to address a couple of current issues. First, there’s the discussion in this country on the Second Amendment granting the right to bear arms. The Second Amendment was made not so much to allow the average citizen to defend themselves against criminals as it was to defend themselves against a corrupt federal government. It is a common practice in business that when you are confronted with any issue or problem you do not address the symptoms of the problem but you address the root cause of the problem. Gun violence is a symptom and not the root cause of senseless murders. Is it not already illegal to kill someone in other than self-defense? Are not the penalties for murder much more serious than breaking current gun laws? If this is true then how could anyone argue that more gun laws would curb murders in this country? The only way to eliminate the murder of someone by a firearm in this country would be to confiscate all firearms. Not only would this not eliminate senseless murders it would most likely result in another revolution. To curb violence the root causes of violence must be addressed such as mental illness.
Second, there’s the current state of race relations, I personally believe that our country has been taken back in this area. I also believe that the Democratic Party is largely responsible. I found it very amusing that the theme of the Democratic Party convention was “Strong Together” since they take every opportunity to divide us based our status in life, the color of our skin, our religious beliefs, etc. Has not the American dream always been that everyone is entitled to advance in life as far as their God given talent and personal hard work will take them? If so why do the Democrats so demonize those that have worked hard and succeeded? What they do not say is that many of their policies are those that intentionally hold many Americans back. As an example which party is against charter schools where a parent can send their children to a school which will provide them with a good education and the tools they need to advance in life?
In closing I believe that if the authors of the referenced letters want to be taken seriously they should do two things; one stop placing derogatory labels on those who don’t believe as they do and second before stating an opinion on a political advertisement do some research to educate yourself on the individual’s background. The individual you questioned has as much if not more right to present his political opinion in Arlington National Cemetery since he has friends that he served with that are buried there and he actually shed his blood to defend your right to make statements such as you have.
Anthony V. Covato is a resident of Uniontown.