In Nancy Kaffer’s excellent editorial she called out Mike Rogers for “running one of the most disgusting and self-interested political campaigns” that she can recall in her 26 years as a political journalist. ("There is nothing Mike Rogers won't do to beat Abdul El-Sayed," Detroit Free Press, Oct. 14).
I commend her for that piece, but I would like to point out that while Rogers' campaign is truly vile, it is hardly rare during the Trump era. Maybe Michigan hasn’t seen something quite this heinous very often, but nationwide ‒ racism, immigrant bashing, islamophobia and homophobia have become widely accepted on the right as appropriate political tools. The GOP has long had a tenuous relationship with anyone that’s not a straight, white male, but President
Donald Trump has kicked Republican hatred into overdrive, and it has spread throughout the entire party. Just last week, Vice President JD Vance slandered a senatorial candidate implying that he was homosexual.
Hopefully, we will win the Senate and House back in November and the White House in 2028, but what we really need to win back is America’s soul. It has begun to blacken as we are rotting from the inside out, and I’m not referring to just Republicans. Of course, I’m not saying that both sides are equally guilty of spreading hate, since conservatives have certainly cornered the market on despising those that are not like them. However, what is unfortunately happening is that the propensity to hate is now spreading to the left. We liberals generally preach “peace and love,” but many of us have a palpable hatred for those on the right. It’s difficult for me to admit, but I, like many of my progressive friends, am repulsed by the sight of a red hat. We immediately think ‒ how can they be like that? Don’t they see what they are doing? If they are supporting Trump, they must be racist, sexist and classist, and we hate that!
I don’t have a perfect answer, but I do know that this can’t continue. Our country cannot survive and flourish with such pervasive hostility dividing us. So far, the best that I’ve come up with is to try and limit my animosity to the policies and not the people. Maybe they genuinely are good people that have just been conned by conservative politicians and media into thinking that all of their problems can be blamed on others. It is possible that with considerable effort I may be able to compartmentalize my disgust effectively, but I would like to be afforded one exemption. I think I would have a stroke if I attempted to deny my detestation of Trump.
Bryan Chase
Huntington Woods
There's a first time for everything
Bi,g bold, one-inch letters: "Rogers bets on racism." ("There is nothing Mike Rogers won't do to beat Abdul El-Sayed," Detroit Free Press, Oct. 14). I imagine the Free Press considers the other candidate to be a saint. I am 73 and have never voted Republican. Well, there is a first time for everything.
Joel Fox
Oak Park
Canada's got it right when it comes to health care
As a Michigan resident my entire life and homeowner in Goderich, Ontario, for the past 20 years, I have had a front row seat to what it’s like to be Canadian. One of the biggest differences in the US/Canada lifestyle, maybe the biggest difference, is based on our wildly different approaches to health care.
Yes, there are limitations and frustrations with the Canadian system, but it is way ahead of the constant U.S. threat of “how am I going to get and keep basic health care?” that dictates almost everything we do over here. This includes what we study in school, what career we pursue, who and when we marry, when and if we can afford to raise children.
The nearly $7,000 annual price tag for health care is far beyond many Michiganders’ means.
Canada proves that life is so much richer when navigating the ever-changing rules of medical coverage is not your primary concern. I see it every time I cross the border and hang with friends and chat over fences with neighbors. Canadian health care is part of the social fabric and not the medical corporation bottom line.
The obvious choice of voting for Abdul El-Sayed keeps health care for all in the conversation. It puts us back on the path to the Obama-era initiatives that we should all be enjoying now.
John Monaghan
Pleasant Ridge
Let's show some compassion
Often, U.S. citizens state that they are happy with the present situation regrading health care and don't want universal health care in our country. Usually, these individuals have sufficient amounts of money to cover their medical expenses. Here's an idea for them to consider: Let's vote for candidates who support universal health care out of compassion for the millions of Americans who can't afford health care.
Fran Potasnik
Saline
We're left with too little, too short
My wife leased a Chevrolet Volt twice years ago, so it is disappointing that General Motors’ Mike Anderson did not see that hybrids were a safe bet until consumers were ready to go all electric. (“Which brands are benefiting from hybrid car demand? Not the Detroit 3,” Detroit Free Press, Oct. 13.)
We were fortunate to get a free charger under a plan with DTE funded by the federal government. Chargers cost upwards of $2,000, so Mr. Anderson should have realized that hybrids were much more affordable than pure electric vehicles.
If Mr. Anderson and GM are not “tone deaf,” they sure could have used hearing aids to read the direction that autos were going. The Japanese didn’t miss it. Toyota and Honda offer more hybrids than all American auto makers combined.
There is no good reason that GM and the other automakers could not have made a better decision. All they had to do was take note of what the foreign automakers were doing. Instead we are left with too little, too short.
Ken Ross
Dearborn Heights
Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters, and we may publish it online and in print. If you have a differing view from a letter writer, please feel free to submit a letter of your own in response.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: I wish GM, other automakers, would've picked up on hybrids | Letters
