Letters to the Editor

An Open Letter to Sen. Manchin

Editor, News-Register: Dear Sen. Manchin, You often state you will not vote to remove the filibuster because you firmly believe in bipartisan governance. While that is a worthy ideal, how can bipartisanship work when one partisan refuses to cooperate? The leader of Republican senators has said he opposes anything the Democrats want “100%.” But don’t just consider his words, look at Republican actions. After Senate Democrats yielded to all of the Republicans’ demands for modifying the proposed charter for a Congressional Commission to investigate the Jan. 6 ...

Follow the ‘Squad’s’ Advice

Editor, News-Register: Recently a congresswoman from the “Squad” admonished Senator Joe Manchin for not supporting priority partisan legislation and the elimination of the filibuster, saying he should “join us...or get out of the way.” As senator, Manchin’s responsibility is to represent the views and the values of West Virginians, who resoundingly rejected the Democratic national platform in November. The Democratic agenda has become even more radical since gaining power, so the “join us” option is untenable. Yet pressured to “follow the party line,” ...

Spreading the Love Every Day

Editor, News-Register: June, the month of weddings, is here already but we certainly don’t need a Hallmark moment to spread the love. The idea of true love is not proven by flowers, fancy dinners, or other material thoughts. Love is truly not a box of chocolates and is best defined by a series of selfless acts. My comments should not be viewed as a diatribe on romantic love. Books, songs, poems and movies do that job rather profusely. Selfless, unconditional love called “agape” is what we should strive for as it is most needed but most lacking in our society today. ...

Editor, News-Register: As we watch the Trumpers trying mightily to destroy America’s democracy by building a crusade based on lies and antidemocratic nonsense, I wonder who was the worst Republican rogue we have had to put up with. A rogue person is a person that violates fundamental American values, among them are liberty, peace, and the rule of law. Here is my list of the top worst of the most dangerous GOP rogues: 1. Donald Trump 2. Richard Nixon 3. Dick Cheney 4. Rupert Murdoch 5. Joseph McCarthy Donald Trump is number one, not because he vigorously denied he ...

It’s Time to Nuke the Filibuster

Editor, News-Register: The United States Senate has a so-called rule known as the “filibuster.” (The filibuster is not mentioned anywhere in the constitution.) Usually when legislation is brought up on the Senate floor the vote of a simple majority, i.e., 51 votes of the full Senate of 100 is all that is required to enact the legislation. However, under present Senate rules, the filibuster can be used to require 60 member votes of the full 100 Senators for passage of legislation. By using the filibuster, which can be invoked by a single member, is a method where as few as 41 ...

Why Does GOP Cater to Trump?

Editor, News-Register: Is it not quite obvious, and rather sad, that the Republican Party — which over the decades was led by patriotic icons such as Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan and numerous others, who seemingly were always quite willing to prioritize what they felt was best for our great nation over any political and/or personal priorities they may have had — has recently disintegrated into more of a personality cult, which stands for little else than completely, unquestioningly, lionizing former President Donald Trump, placing total support and ...