An Open Letter on Politics

October 14, 2016

An Open Letter to my Friends,

Linda and I are working hard on this most critical campaign. We are the Precinct Captains in our community, the Cascades. We have 50+ volunteers, who are making calls, vetting Democrats and Independents, and leafleting their separate villages, which we did this morning. They will be working at early voting sites (15 in Palm Beach County), and will be handing out palm cards at our polling place. In between, Linda has been handing out applications for vote by mail (VBM) ballots, and encouraging people to “early vote.” Vote by Mail has started in Florida. Early voting begins October 24^th and lasts two weeks.  In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, the Governor refused to extend registration. By court order, reflective of a suit by the LWV, the registration period was extended by six days. It was another effort, in the long litany of voter suppression, authored by the Republican Party, in state after state.

This isn’t just an effort to an elect another Democrat. This isn’t just a contest between both parties and two mainstream advocates for their philosophical positions. This is not even a contest for the “heart and soul,” of America. This may be the most important election since 1860, which decided whether we would dissolve as a nation or 1940, whether we would remain an isolationist nation, and allow the fascist brigands in Europe and Asia to enslave all of Europe, Africa, and Asia.

This is a struggle against a person, who is neither a Democrat, nor a Republican. This is a contest between Hillary Clinton (aside from one’s personal feelings), who is one of the smartest, most experienced and most exceptionally qualified individual to run for office, since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Hillary Clinton has the patience, fortitude, experience, the strength of character, and the judgment we can trust. She faces an opponent, who has no personal barriers, who has no political philosophy, except self, who has no knowledge of the domestic needs of our people, who has trashed our Allies, our treaties, our trade agreements, our trading partners, our armed forces and the leaders of his own, so-called, party. Anyone who gets in his way; hundreds of former members of Republican administrations, going back to Nixon, women who have accused him of improprieties, and thousands of partners, investors, vendors and customers, have felt his anger and wrath, through verbal abuse and threats of litigation. He has been threatening people into silence for generations. But, his reputation as a con man, draft-dodger, tax cheat, swindler, serial adulterer, and a sexual predator are well known. What is really dangerous about this man is that he is unprincipled, unfit, unqualified and unhinged. Therefore, to place this man in charge of our Justice Department, near the nuclear button, or to make an appointment to the Supreme Court, is not only dangerous, but frightening. He has courted the support of American Nazis, the KKK, White Supremacist hate groups and dangerous elements of the gun community. He is now making allusions to a conspiracy amongst International Bankers, code words for age-old anti-Semitism. He has fostered hatred and violence towards minorities, immigrants, women and religious groups around the world. He has no answers of plans for job creations, healthcare, education or our infrastructure.  He has two ideas; tax cuts for the wealthiest, and that he alone can solve all our problems! 

I hope that all of you would write a personal letter to 100 of your friends and colleagues and tell them the criticality of this election. I would also suggest that in your letter, you ask these friends to send out a letter to their own circle of friends and colleagues. The choice is clear, the danger is great, and the time to act is now.