Letters

There must be something in the water here in Westhampton, besides the concern over contamination turning up in our wells.

My neighbor Mike Anthony is claiming that half of my fellow Republicans are adherents of an obscure philosophy he calls “the Great Replacement Theory” [“Party Of Lies,” Letters, May 19]. I consider myself pretty well informed but can’t say this is high on my radar screen these days. I will forgive Anthony for the title “Party of Lies” for his submission, as it probably was selected by someone at the paper.

But just because an 18-year-old is seduced by some racist trope, and uses his already diminished mental ability to justify a heinous public act, it doesn’t logically lead a clear-thinking individual into making the leap, as Anthony does, that half of the Americans who vote Republican are irredeemable human beings, especially if they watch Fox News or read the New York Post.

But Anthony is not alone. I have been made aware of this self-righteous mentality among people I once considered close friends and neighbors.

Democrats believe that only their perspective on race need be heard. Much like the environment, immigration, crime and now abortion, these elites judge us in a binary world of their own creation.

Witness the current administration and its policies, from crime to energy, border security to the Supreme Court, the cost of groceries to school choice. This administration ignores the need of the American people for safe streets and affordable energy. Americans expect a border that can keep out drugs and account for those who enter. They believe in a judicial system free from government interference or intimidation by personal attack. They want the best schools for their children and reasonable costs to feed and clothe them.

The Black and Latino communities have borne witness to the hardship and disillusionment the Democrat policies have brought to their neighborhoods, especially when compared to their lives under the last Republican government. They are reconsidering their dependence on Democrat promises.

Unregulated immigration has introduced a challenge to their wage structure. Gas and oil energy spikes are painful for all lower class budgets. Environmental mandates that drive up the cost of power add to that pain. They see epidemic violent crime in their neighborhoods due to lax Democrat bail and incarceration policies.

These are not Republican lies but Democrat truths.

Finally, for the record, Anthony, Trump lost the last election by a total of 40,000 votes in three states. When Democrats lose, they challenge the Electoral College, the filibuster, impose limitless election rules and now want to pack the Supreme Court.

This is not progress. It is an effort to cancel the Constitution.

Ed Surgan

Westhampton