Jonathan Baird’s column, “A multi-pronged coup” (Monitor, 8/23) outlined the case that Trump wanted to become a dictator. I’ve felt the same way since 2016 when Trump first ran for office. Baird points out the danger Trump posed to our democracy. I have found too many citizens who feel that our system won’t allow a dictator to rise to power. Trump came eerily close. Too many Republicans call themselves patriots, carry the American flag and praise Trump. And too many of these same Republicans used the flag to beat up police in the Jan 6th insurrection, yet call themselves patriots as they pass legislation to limit access to voting. They try to tell us they are protecting democracy.
Many Republican state legislatures are now positioning themselves to determine who will win elections. These same legislatures are picking their voters with gerrymandering. This road will lead to an autocracy with Trump as the dictator. It happened in Germany when Hitler was elected with a minority of votes cast. Trump lost both election vote counts in 2016 and 2020. Gore lost Florida by just 500 votes, Clinton lost the electoral college but had more votes, yet both Democrats conceded the election. Trump still has no conceded the 2020 election. We need Congress to pass H.R. 1 to restore integrity to elections. If the filibuster override needs to be invoked, so be it. Passing H.R. 1 will ensure state legislatures are not allowed to circumvent the will of the voters.
Paul Dallaire
Concord