Letter to the Editor: Robert L. Lehman

Why Georgians Can’t Afford to Elect Loeffler and Perdue

The opinion articles on page 20 in your Nov. 30 issue suggesting that a Democratic-led Senate would be a mistake might have merit if today’s politicians still believed in the art of the possible and put country first. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

If we’re going to have any hope of repairing the societal and economic damage the last four years have wrought, I’d feel a lot more confident in a Democratic-led Senate working with a president who has promised to be a president for all Americans, a man of his word and a known moderate committed to keeping the extremist forces of both parties in check versus a Republican-led Senate committed to thwarting the new administration with little regard for the welfare of “all the people.”

Since the Republican leadership’s 2008 open declaration that their primary objective was to make Mr. [Barack] Obama a one-term president, we’ve witnessed a litany of egregious actions, hypocrisy and violations of long-established norms of legislative behavior, including stonewalling most of Mr. Obama’s picks for the federal judiciary, including his pick for the Supreme Court following Justice Scalia’s death.

Checks and balances were designed to prevent overreach by any of the three primary branches of our government. Unfortunately, the Trump presidency combined with a Republican- dominated Senate has illustrated that they only work when those in power respect the Constitution, the rule of law and established precedent.

A bill passed by Congress needs to be agreed to by both houses before proceeding to the president’s desk for signature or veto. Yet the House of Representatives, which is refreshed every two years and therefore reflects the most current “will of the people,” has been stymied by a Senate whose majority leader has demonstrated his willingness to change rules, reverse previously stated principles to suit his current agenda, and refused to even introduce bills passed by the House for consideration in the Senate.

Meanwhile, millions of Americans are unemployed, uninsured, hungry and on the verge of being homeless. Concurrently, the Senate has conducted a sustained effort to fill the federal courts at all levels, with ultra conservative judges in a blatant attempt to further undermine checks and balances.

If President-elect Joe Biden disappoints us, we can correct the balance in two years. Electing the Republican senatorial candidates on Jan. 5 means gridlock again perhaps for six years. Vote for Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.

Robert L Lehman, Marietta