Letters: KC readers discuss Trump’s success, McCaskill’s wrong take and KU sorority rules
Trump’s good work
Donald Trump lost. Joe Biden won. I think many votes were not cast for Biden but against Trump. I get it. As a conservative, I cringed when he won the Republican primary. I held my nose as I pulled the lever in his favor.
Much the same way he won because the votes cast in his favor in 2016 were actually against Hillary Clinton, he now must concede defeat. For the good of us all.
I don’t blame him or my fellow conservatives for being sore losers. Trump had the deck stacked against him from Day One. Congress and the media incessantly attacked him during his entire presidency. There was a daily drumbeat of baseless charges of racism, incompetence, his diet or just being a jerk. Of that, there is no doubt.
The media’s biased coverage of Trump was a stain and one that I hope they are embarrassed by and learn from. History will reveal that he was actually a pretty good president.
Now is the time to heal. Biden has a big job ahead of him. I’m willing to support his efforts, and I’m big enough to accept we lost. My question to you: Are you big enough to accept victory?
- Jim Cunningham, Odessa
The real leaders
Former Sen. Claire McCaskill’s recent comments that progressive stances on social issues cost Democrats elections miss the mark. Although election data is incomplete, it’s important for Missouri progressives to focus on root causes when examining our losses.
Statewide Democratic candidates, for example, did not centralize abortion, LGBT+ rights or other supposedly “cultural” issues in their closing arguments, even if Republicans attacked them for it. Untruthful attacks by conservatives should not be our starting point of analysis.
The issue in this election was that traditional Democratic party apparatuses are obsolete. The party also failed to organize digitally, give Democratic candidates material support and build coalitions with grassroots organizers in urban areas. Across the country, it’s clear that leaning into a progressive agenda can win. Look at drug legalization, voter enfranchisement and raising minimum wages.
Democrats in swing districts who endorsed “Medicare for All” won most of their races. Moreover, voter registration spiked during Black Lives Matter protests over the summer. The gas fueling the party are youth, working-class individuals and families, and organizers who are people of color, but the people in the driver’s seat are not. It’s time to shift our leadership and tactics to reflect the folks working tirelessly to deliver wins.
- Laela Zaidi, Kansas City
Against policy
I think Michael Ryan completely missed the point with his Nov. 6 column, “KU sorority’s punishment was out of bounds.” (10A) I am a proud alumna of Kappa Alpha Theta at the University of Kansas.
When Katherine Lauer accepted the invitation to join our sorority, she pledged to aspire toward nobler womanhood and, each year, she signed a social media contract that sets limits on her free expression of ideas. Just as there are rules against yelling “Fire!” in a crowded theater, there are rules in society about using nasty language, especially against people with whom you live in close proximity. When her chapter tried to handle this privately, she surreptitiously recorded the meeting and shared select parts of it with local and national media outlets.
If Lauer so vigorously disagrees with the policy, she should have refused to sign the social media contract and left the organization. Instead, she is attempting to further disparage the organization and its members.
Miss Lauer, when you do leave, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
- Kathy Bussing, Leawood
This story was originally published November 10, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Letters: KC readers discuss Trump’s success, McCaskill’s wrong take and KU sorority rules."