J.D. Vance hates people for being childless? How about President George Washington? | Opinion

Childless cat and dog lady replies

J.D. Vance, former President Trump’s vice presidential running mate, labeled women without biological children as childless cat ladies with no direct stake in America.

So what about childless men without biological children? This includes our first president and founding father, George Washington, as well as our fourth president and founding father, James Madison. These men did have stepchildren, as does our current Vice President Kamala Harris. Presidents James Polk, Warren G. Harding, James Buchanan and Andrew Jackson were also childless.

J.D. Vance was an outspoken critic of former President Trump. He described Trump as reprehensible and America’s Hitler, unfit for our nation’s highest office and whose policies were immoral. By 2020, Vance fully embraced Trump and was endorsed by Trump in the 2022 midterm elections.

J.D. Vance and Trump now walk, talk and hurl insults together. The Republican Party has hit a new low. Everyone has a choice when they mark their ballots to vote. Please choose wisely. Hate, intolerance and marginalization of those who don’t think, look and act just like them must never be tolerated or accepted. And keep racist and sexist comments out of politics.

Amy Small, Richland

Harris has right kind of experience

Is Kamala Harris the most qualified candidate for president of the United States given President Biden’s decision not to run in the 2024 election? It appears so.

Her career in public services includes being elected (not appointed) to offices in every branch of government, judicial, legislative and executive at local, state and federal levels. These include (such) positions as prosecuting attorney and state attorney general and at the federal level, she served as U.S. senator and currently as vice president.

Harris’s professional reputation in high political positions is not contaminated with scandal, indictments and foreign governmental entanglements. She understands the aspirations of oppressed peoples and fights for human rights, justice and world peace.

In past elections, Americans have endorsed candidates for presidents and vice presidents with less experience than Harris. Among these are Dan Quail, Sara Palin and former President Donald Trump, and first-term U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance. Harris’s qualifications are comparable, if not better than most.

These are troubling times for the nation. Yet, some voters dismiss Harris’s candidacy for president without fair examination. The country needs a leader with Harris’s demonstrated courage, experience and humanity and not a celebrity implementing the problematic “Project 2025” agenda.

Dalla Barnes, Pasco

Biden’s decision saddens reader

I am much saddened by President Biden’s announcement that he is dropping out of the presidential race for the good of the country. He has been a man of great accomplishments in the Senate, as vice president, and as president over a long and productive career. His years of public service have demonstrated his character, his empathy and resilience, his fundamental decency and belief that everyone counts.

He has undone much of the mischief created by the previous four years of fear mongering, chaos, lies and division that characterized the leadership of the previous president, Donald Trump.

President Biden’s accomplishments include helping to end an unprecedented pandemic, rebuilding a battered economy, creating millions of jobs, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, passing the first major piece of gun safety legislation in 30 years, making the biggest investment to address climate change, and fighting to ensure the rights of working people to organize for fair wages and benefits.

Internationally, he restored America’s standing in the world, revitalized NATO and mobilized the world to stand up against Russian aggression in the Ukraine.

The choice now becomes the election of another Democrat nominee or the lies and faulty leadership.of a second Trump presidency.

Bill Petrie, Richland

Kadlec workers worth pay boost

When Providence affiliated with Kadlec in 2014, our community was optimistic about the deal, touting the financial power of the Providence system as a step toward expanding services in Tri-Cities.

To provide care, you need healthcare workers. And to retain workers, you need to offer competitive pay. However, at the bargaining table, Providence has been reluctant to bring base pay above minimum wage for some job classes; they tell us to go to Seattle if we’re unhappy here.

I’m an Ultrasound/Xray tech for 30 years, and a member of the union bargaining team, and we’ve held public actions to sound the alarm on the urgent need for a strong contract. Our neighbors may have seen signs around town with our slogan: “Same employer, Same work, Same pay.” We deserve a contract that matches the financial investment Providence has made at Swedish in Seattle. We perform the same jobs, provide the same quality of care and make the same sacrifices. We’re pinching pennies while we watch executive pay go up.

We urge Providence to live up to its promise: meet the needs of this community and give compassionate care. Kadlec workers are members of this community.

Thelma Hedrick, RT(R) RVT, Kennewick

GOP takes away personal freedom

For decades, Republican politicians have promised to eliminate a woman’s right to an abortion. When a Republican-appointed Supreme Court majority overturned Roe v. Wade, states with Republican majorities were quick to enact medically dangerous abortion bans. Republican politicians have empowered the government to take away our personal freedoms.

This irresponsible political action has already proved harmful to women and infants. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, infant mortality increased 13% after Texas enacted its abortion ban. In their quest to control our reproductive organs, the Republican party accepts the deaths of women and infants as collateral damage. Eradication of our rights could happen here in Washington State.

In 2022, all three of the 16th Legislative District Republican legislators voted against preserving a pregnant individual’s ability to access abortion care. Look up HB1851. The freedom to determine our own healthcare is not safe in the hands of Republican politicians.

Even ones as seemingly charming and benign as our current Republican representatives vote with the extremists in their party. The strongest defense against a total abortion ban in the United States is Democratic state legislators. If you truly believe in freedom, vote for the Democratic candidates.

Linda Gunshefski, Walla Walla

Rerun for Trump is ‘a bad idea’

Donald Trump for president? Sounds like a bad idea. Trump preaches hatred and division. I primarily blame him for the level of hatred and division that exists today. It’s okay to disagree on things, but let’s do it in a civil and respective manner.

Trump attacks anyone who disagrees with him.

Trump cannot accept he lost the last election because his ego won’t allow it. In his mind, he is the greatest leader ever. Trump continuously lies and misleads people. The election he lost is a prime example.

For the most part, his supporters don’t even question it. He claimed he never said “lock her up” referring to Hillary Clinton. Another lie, one of many.

Trump told oil company CEOS they should contribute $1 billion to his campaign. In return, he would push for more oil production. So much for ethics. We should push for cleaner energy sources.

Bottom line is we can do better. Someone who works at uniting this country, not dividing it.

Tony Schouviller, Pasco