Where was DeWine's backbone?
In an interview with CBS News, Gov. Mike DeWine called President Donald Trump's plan to increase arrests and deportations of Haitian immigrants "a mistake
." He spoke of how the Trump administration's plan would hurt Springfield's economy and that it would be dangerous for these people to be deported back to the chaos of unstable Haiti. Sorry, Governor. Too little, too late.During the last presidential campaign, Trump and his minions spread inflammatory false stories of Haitians eating their neighbors' cats and dogs.
As a term-limited governor who would not run again for political office, DeWine seemingly faced no political risk in doing what was right but instead gave only lip service in response to these scurrilous rumors and never wavered
in his support of those responsible. And now Ohio and Haitian immigrants are paying the price.
We will never know whether a threat to withhold support would have made a difference, but the Trump campaign most certainly would not have wanted to be at odds with a popular Republican governor.
What is truly sad is that DeWine clearly knew the damage Trump's malevolent treatment of Haitians would do, but he just couldn't find the backbone to take a stand.
Stephen Gladstone, Cleveland
Making Trump rich again
From the beginning of Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign, I’ve struggled to understand what “Make America Great Again” actually meant.
I couldn’t understand what thing or things would make America great, how he would accomplish it, and who among us would benefit. But I recently read that during the first year of his second term, the president has increased his personal wealth by $2.2 billion.
Now I understand what it means ... and I have to admit that “Make America Great Again” plays better than “Make Me Rich Again.”
Neal Snyder, Columbus
Stop burdening taxpayers
No. I don’t need a property tax increase to fund post-secondary free education at Columbus State Community College. But I’ll provide an alternative to Columbus State leaders. Involve the alumni.
How many graduates of Columbus State are there? I couldn’t find a number, but based on current enrollment, there must be a lot of alumni.
If Columbus State graduated 5,000 a year for the past 20 years, that’s 100,000. $95 million divided by 100,000 is a contribution of $950 per graduate per year. If the alumni support it, great. If they don’t, then don’t put the burden on property owners who have no tie to Columbus State.
I worked my way through a co-op engineering program. My wife and I sacrificed to put our children through college. I am not for this proposal, and I don’t think the greater Franklin County community is either.
Anthony Cundari, New Albany
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Where was DeWine's backbone? Regret comes too late for Haitians | Letters
