This column, from the weekly opinion piece MATTER OF FACT, first appeared on BrooklynReporter.com, the Home Reporter and Spectator dated November 4, 2022
Early voting ended Sunday, November 6, and Election Day on Tuesday, November 8 is nearly upon us. It has seemed like each even-year general election the past several years has been touted as the most important election of our lifetime. It is clear that the 2022 election will be consequential and one that registered voters must not sit out.
Choosing between parties on the ballot comes down to what they each stand for and against. Democrats are often ridiculed by Republicans for their foundational principles, as being bleeding hearts. Making sure the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes and that the working and middle class get tax relief, shoring up Social Security and Medicare, cutting prescription drug costs, and forgiving student loan debt are some of Democrats key positions that the Republican party derides.
The Trump/GOP tax cuts passed in 2017 that will add billions to the national debt, were only made permanent for corporations, while us working people have already begun to see their phase out, which will continue through 2025. This means their tax plan will raise your taxes each of the next few years, while hugely profitable corporations like Exxon and Chevron that just announced record-setting profits while they gauge us at the pumps, maintain their tax cuts.
Six GOP-led states have filed suit to block student loan forgiveness, with Republican leaders in Washington indicating their desire to end the program if they retake control. Senate Republicans have introduced a bill to undo the recently passed legislation from Democrats to allow Medicare to negotiate and lower prescription drug costs.
The Republican party chose in 2020 to move forward “without adopting a new platform.” Their resolution on their platform simply said, “The RNC enthusiastically supports President Trump.” Their platform was that they are not for anything, other than being behind whatever Trump says. That has been born out by their support of Trump’s election lies.
Of 569 GOP nominees for House, Senate or statewide races, a majority deny or question the 2020 election results. An NBC News report last week found that of 450 Republican nominees for state legislative offices in the battleground states of Nevada, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan, and Minnesota, 58 percent have repeated Trump’s lies that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
We have already seen the devastating effects of Republican control with what has happened to the Supreme Court since Trump appointed three justices. Gallup polls have shown that public faith has plummeted. In July of 2021, one in two Americans said they had faith in the highest court, but after this conservative court overruled Roe this past June, that fell to a historic low of 25 percent.
Republican candidates, both in Washington and locally here in Brooklyn, have stated that addressing crime is what they are for. Crime statistics have shown some increases the past few years, which goes for cities with both Republican and Democrat mayors. Statewide crime statistics show that the top six murder rates per capita are red states and they are 40% higher in states Trump won in 2020 than in states that went for Biden.
Commanding Officer Tolson of the 68th Precinct recently debunked claims that crime was soaring, stating the statistics that show that is not the case. Many people stated they feel unsafe. No particular crime is acceptable, but there is a correlation between people perceiving crime is worse than ever and people with platforms telling them the streets are dangerous and they are not safe. Local Republican candidates have made that their central platform, but it is a gross distortion of reality.
It is imperative that Governor Hochul be reelected, as New York cannot have a Trump-supporting leader who voted to overturn the 2020 election results and has taken stances in Congress to deny women autonomy over their own health rights, and that Senator Gounardes be reelected for a third term. With Trump-backed Rep. Malliotakis also having voted to reject the results of a free and fair election, it is time to send Max Rose back to Congress to represent NY-11.
In the state legislature, it is crucial that Assemblymember Frontus be sent back to Albany and that Iwen Chu be elected to the State Senate as the first Asian American woman in the New York legislature. Both women are facing challenges from GOP opponents who are supported by Zeldin, Malliotakis and the Republican establishment that has demonstrated that their platform is extreme and dangerous.
