A few observations about the state of our Conservative/Republican loyalty after the disastrous election just concluded.
The confusion over the veracity of the ballot count was incredibly destructive for us. From our normally reliable media and political sources, doubt was sown that held us captive in the hope of unveiling a major conspiracy from the left. Unfortunately, it held us captive for far too long and generated a groundswell of overreaction fueled by our president and his advocates.
The attempt by some our politicians to harness this paranoia by enlisting it to underwrite an attempt to interrupt the electoral count and halt the declaration of Joe Biden as its winner was pure folly.
My uneducated guess here is that there was a strong desire to develop an argument that challenged the mail-in ballot rules that had been introduced to protect the act of voting from COVID-19 infection. This unique circumstance led many to question why it was permitted and how to discourage it from becoming the norm.
Our politicians felt its threat and were compelled to act against it. Unfortunately, this decision placed them uncomfortably close in time and place to an undisciplined, leaderless mob that attempted their own redress by scaling the Capitol Building and breaking in. The visuals of January 6 will never go away.
Overcoming this embarrassment must begin at once. With Mr. Trump no longer able to confront the many Progressive efforts to radically change our government, a new unified opposition unafraid to use bluntness in disagreeing with it must re-emerge.
This election was not lost because Americans rejected Trump policy. It was lost because of the antipathy toward Donald Trump, the man. Many of our own Republicans, moderate in nature, would not endorse another term.
If we can coalesce around our common values — secure borders, American citizens’ interests first, common sense regulation, free speech, respect for tradition and our history, security through strength, respect for the law and those responsible for enforcing it — the efforts by the left to undermine the nation will become untenable and unsupportable.
Our leadership must not allow the departure of one man to fracture our bonds with each other and our values. Yes, we enjoyed the freedom President Trump used in confronting the “swamp,” and it is no longer hidden from our view. Together, we must continue this fight.
Ed Surgan
Westhampton
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