In Trump era of Washington, ignorant are celebrated, not the butt of jokes

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18 hours ago

It looks like Republicans are going for a trifecta.
In past elections, the Republicans won by promising fiscal responsibility and middle class prosperity. They proceed on what I call the trifecta of issues, which not only increase the national debt by larger amounts per election cycle than the Democratic presidents who preceded them, but also increase income disparity.
The first idea is tax cuts that go mostly for the wealthy, which is a major driver for increasing the national debt.
The second is the aim to cut health care and to make cuts to areas that provide avenues of social mobility, like education. Any program that benefits the poor and lower middle classes becomes a target. The justification is we cannot afford it. If the wealthy actually paid their fair share, what could we afford?
And the third issue, which not all Republican presidents have had the opportunity to start, is another never ending war in the Middle East. President Donald Trump is flirting with this, as he bombed Iranian nuclear sites and gives blanket support of Israel, even when they block food aid to Gaza.
The Republican's promotion of fiscal responsibility seems to die after elections. The last fiscally responsible president was Bill Clinton.
Joseph Geck, Waukesha
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When our president, a convicted felon, promises tax savings, wow, how encouraging. It is heartening to know that it will be used to investigate such threats to democracy as Bruce Springsteen, who apparently made a comment that hurt his feelings.
My childhood was full of TV shows where politics were discussed, from Dick Cavett to "All in the Family." Those shows were places where a criminal like Richard Nixon was treated as the embarrassment that he was as a president. Archie Bunker was a character on "All in the Family" and was the butt of many jokes for supporting Nixon, as he was the ignorant person in the room.
Here's to the days when dialogue was appreciated and effective. Shame to the days, such as today, when it has been replaced with disingenuous, feckless, feculent diatribes.
Mark Majchrzak, Cudahy
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The most pressing needs of low income and working-class people in this state seem to be affordable housing, lower child-care costs and lower family medical costs. Neither version of the federal budget resolution, House nor Senate, addresses any of these core needs.
If Wisconsin employers really want to have more workers to replace all the migrants that President Donald Trump is deporting, they should pressure the state's GOP delegation to put real solutions for working parents in a final bill.
Knocking more people off Medicaid, when many people rely on it as their primary healthcare, is totally illogical, especially to support more tax cuts for those making over $400,000 a year.
Daniel Anderson, Madison
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bill Clinton America's last fiscally responsible president | Letters