By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
Election day is next Tuesday and it’s time to ask and answer some tough questions about why so many Kentuckians are hardcore supporters of former president Donald Trump.
For example, Kentucky has long been considered a pro-miliary state with two large military installations – Fort Knox and Fort Campbell – and a proud tradition of voluntary service in uniform.
Yet, Donald Trump says our soldiers, airmen and sailors are “suckers and losers” and that applies especially to those who have been held by our enemies as prisoners of war, including the late U.S. Sen. John McCain.
That’s something for think about for families who visit the graves of loved ones killed on active duty in the service of our nation or those like my brother-in-law whose life was shortened because of wartime injuries.
If you respect and appreciate law enforcement officers and other first responders, how could you give your vote to a man who defends his thousands of supporters who overpowered Capitol police on Jan. 6, 2021, injuring 140 of the officers?
Don’t be surprised if the Ku Klux Klan makes a comeback under a new Trump Administration because of his white supremist statements and his hate campaign against immigrants, legal and otherwise.
I don’t know about you, but my ancestors came to this country long ago as immigrants from England and Germany. For someone who lived in New York City for so many years, the MAGA candidate apparently never read that inscription on the Statue of Liberty, especially this part:
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
As a proud Kentuckian who wants to believe that most folks are basically honest and truthful, how could I vote for someone who continues to lie about the results of the 2000 election? At least 54 legal challenges were made over alleged irregularities, yet all were dismissed, some by Trump-appointed judges.
But, as a student of history, the scariest thing about Donald Trump for me is how much he and his loyalists sound and act like the thugs who took over Germany in the 1930’s and tried to conquer the world. They accused political opponents of being “the enemy within” and used the military against their citizens.
I want my grandchildren to grow up in this free country, not in a dictatorship. Contact Keith at keithkappes@gmail.com.
TDS is extremely strong with this author. There isn’t one ounce of truth to this completely biased pablum!! I doubt you ever served as a first responder or the military for that matter!! I’ve served in DoD for over 32 years and I’m voting for Trump. Beats the alternative with the Democrat Marxist / Communist / Fascist Party!! This isn’t your JFK party anymore!! The enemy is within, and it’s being facilitated by those alt left winger Communists trying to destroy this country!!