Taylor Rehmet won because Texas is fed up with weak-willed Republicans | Opinion
Represent us
Republicans blamed their recent state Senate special-election loss to Taylor Rehmet on poor Republican voter turnout. I guess it never occurred to them that we are fed up with what is going on in Washington as Congress continually folds to the White House’s demands.
Many of us are jumping ship and will vote for Democrats in the midterms with hopes that they will stand up for us.
Our elected officials need to represent us, not a demanding, power-hungry man.
- June Hoffman, Fort Worth
Everyone’s side
Republican candidate Leigh Wambsganss was quoted after her loss as saying, “You guys, the good news is, God is on our side.”
God is not a Democrat or a Republican. Whether we are conservative or liberal are judgments developed in the human mind. The essential question is: “Where is your heart and do your actions show that you love your neighbor as yourself?”
Vilifying and demonizing instead of affirming the humanity of our neighbors creates division. Bipartisanship should seek to address our common needs, recognize the needs of particular communities and minimize the harm they face. This can occur only with thoughtful and respectful debate, developing bipartisan consensus.
- Pablo Calderon, Fort Worth
Listen, care
Recent student walkouts in North Texas should give our community pause — not because classes were disrupted but because students felt compelled to leave classrooms in order to be heard.
Safety matters. However, safety is not only about order, police presence or keeping instruction moving. It also includes whether students feel secure enough, emotionally and socially, to remain on campus when they are worried about the world around them.
Those concerns are not abstract. Recent protests elsewhere resulted in an assault charge against a 45-year-old man during a student-led protest in Buda, Texas, and a student struck by a vehicle near a Nebraska high school.
Schools can offer a better alternative. Engaging students in supervised, structured dialogue is far safer than pushing frustration into the streets. Listening does not require advocacy. It requires care.
- James Withers, Haltom City
Students’ voice
So Gov. Greg Abbott threatens to remove the power of students (and possibly their parents) over First Amendment rights. How else are student voices to be heard? At the ballot box? Nope.
If the concern is disruption to learning, let’s put the civics lesson in perspective. Active-shooting drills interrupt instruction, and the threat of active shooters remains real as the state cannot hold anyone accountable for shootings.
The disruptions caused by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at courthouses, churches and schools are greater than any caused by empowered students.
- James Bradley Klein, North Richland Hills
Big waste
It seems that almost every day I see an article in the Star-Telegram or Wall Street Journal about fraud and abuse in federal programs. The $9 billion welfare fraud in Minnesota that we have been hearing about for weeks will soon be forgotten and no one will be held responsible.
Don’t get me started about the 2 million civilian federal employees who may have little to do. There are reasons federal jobs are sought: higher pay than comparable private-industry jobs, lack of accountability, job stability and generous benefits.
What happened to the Department of Government Efficiency? Why can’t we root out fraud, abuse and waste? Why can’t we hold our officials accountable?
Like millions of Americans, I spend a significant amount of my income on taxes, and it is disheartening to see it being squandered.
- Harry Thompson, Bedford