Thoughts from Voices For Reason

The working group of the Voices for Reason PAC made a list in February, 2024 of the many reasons Donald Trump is unfit to be president. One Volunteer, Bill Rotecki, went further outside his own circle and shared his thoughts with the local paper in his town, Ketchikan Daily News, which follows:

I served on the Ketchikan Borough Assembly from 2000 to 2006. That experience of governing in accord with democratic principles reinforced my belief that democracy, and democratic institutions, work. The Assembly members often did not agree on the policy decisions and the actions we took. But all of us had an equal opportunity to express ourselves, listen to other points of view and try to persuade other members that a certain approach was best for the borough. Those processes were open to the public, and the public had genuine opportunities to weigh in and influence our decisions.

And through this process, we served the people of Ketchikan.

As I’ve experienced the blessings of liberty over a long life, I have had the good fortune to travel around the world and visit democracies and kingdoms, countries both wealthy and impoverished, and this has led me to appreciate the system we have here at home. At home I’ve frequently worked for the adoption of public policies I favored, and opposed some that I didn’t favor.

I’ve won some and lost some. Yet, I’ve always believed that, however imperfect, and whatever the wins and losses, the principles and benefits of democratic self-government were a rock-solid foundation to our lives as Americans — the foundation for American exceptionalism. What worries me now is that many of my fellow citizens seem ready to abandon that democratic foundation and replace it with a system where self-interest, power and wealth for a few are more important than working for the good of us all.

I believe that if you want both freedom and a government that is responsive to the needs of its citizens, you must have democracy and a dedication to democratic institutions. Authoritarian countries may serve the material needs of their citizens, but the price you pay is the sacrifice of freedom of thought, freedom of expression, freedom of worship and so on. Citizens of our great country should think long and hard before sacrificing our democracy and democratic institutions for that bargain.

The working group also wrote talking points that can be use in political conversations with friends and family:

Donald Trump is Undemocratic

The founding fathers were exceptional in establishing a constitution that gave power to regular people, instead of kings and emperors. The functioning democracy they created has lasted over 240 years. Trump’s statements about potentially rigged elections before the 2016 and 2020 elections, and then calling the 2020 election “stolen,” are undemocratic and have greatly reduced Americans’ trust in the legitimacy of the electoral process. Donald Trump’s  “I alone can fix it,”  sounds like an autocrat, not the leader of a democracy designed with checks and balances, and a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

Donald Trump is Unpatriotic

 A patriot running for president would say that he will accept the result of the 2024 election, no matter who wins. Trump did not commit to accept the election result in 2016 and 2020 and he has refused to commit to accept election results in 2024. Trump shows great disrespect for all government institutions and anybody who doesn’tagree with him. This has  greatly polarized the country, eroding our trust in each other, our longstanding institutions, and the country’s abilities to solve problems. This is not the speech of a patriot. Trump calls the January 6 felons in jail “patriots,” many of whom were convicted of attacking capitol guards. He calls real patriots who served or died while in the US military “losers” or “suckers.”  This is not the posture of a patriot.

Donald Trump is Dangerous

Trump is a danger to our country. On January 6, 2021, thousands of people rioted in and around the US Capital. Many of these people were acting out of a sense of patriotic duty or loyalty to Donald Trump, believing in his lies that the election was stolen. Trump did not send these folks to the capital to protest. They were sent to intimidate congressmen and bully the Republicans, and especially Mike Pence, into not certifying the election. He made no attempt to stop the rioters for more than three hours, and not until the National Guard and police had controlled the violence and chaos. We have learned this "protest" was only one part of Trump's plan to stay in power. He also secretly organized a set of fake Electoral College electors in battleground states. And he attempted to strong-arm Republican election officials to call into question the fairness of the election or to "find votes."

 The Electoral College vote was very close. It was close enough in the battleground states that maybe Trump would have won on another day, but he didn't in the election of 2020. The rules for that election were made by elected government officeholders and/or officials appointed by those elected officeholders. Those were the rules. Trump lost. He should have accepted the defeat, congratulated the winner, and moved on as is the norm and as we teach our children to do. After the Supreme Court sided with Florida in 2000, Al Gore accepted his defeat in a much closer and legally contestable election. Al Gore did this for the good of the country. He was being a patriot. Trump is not. We can not have a functioning constitutional democracy if our citizens don't believe our electoral process is legitimate. How can power be transferred peacefully without citizens trusting the results of our elections?

Not only did Trump betray the Constitution in his attempted coup in 2020, but he continues to delegitimize our electoral process. He accuses Democrats of trying to rig the 2024 election, and he makes no attempt to discourage violence by his supporters. He is dangerous. He can not be our next President.

Millions of Americans have sacrificed their time, their energy, and even their lives to protect and preserve our democracy. We owe it to these patriots, our founding fathers, our children, and ourselves to help safeguard America’s institutions of self-governance.