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Wonderful column Professor. What our country needs now is for all of us who believe in her still, to do OUR service on November 5 and vote for our democracy.

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Yes. We must.

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Today is the last day of my subscription to The NY Times. Several people have commented here and in other posts they have given up on the Times as have I. This editorial in today's NYT does not diminish my disdain for the bias of the publisher but here it is for you to decide-

DONALD TRUMP IS UNFIT TO LEAD

BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD

The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists

whose views are informed by expertise,

research, debate and certain longstanding values.

It is separate from the newsroom.

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For the third time in eight years, Donald Trump will be nominated as the Republican Party’s candidate for president of the United States. A once great political party now serves the interests of one man, a man as demonstrably unsuited for the office of president as any to run in the long history of the Republic, a man whose values, temperament, ideas and language are directly opposed to so much of what has made this country great.

It is a chilling choice against this national moment. For more than two decades, large majorities of Americans have said they are dissatisfied with the direction of the country, and the post-Covid era of stubborn inflation, high interest rates, social division and political stagnation has left many voters even more frustrated and despondent.

The Republican Party once pursued electoral power in service to solutions for such problems, to building “the shining city on a hill,” as Ronald Reagan liked to say. Its vision of the United States — embodied in principled public servants like George H.W. Bush, John McCain and Mitt Romney — was rooted in the values of freedom, sacrifice, individual responsibility and the common good. The party’s conception of those values was reflected in its longstanding conservative policy agenda, and today many Republicans set aside their concerns about Mr. Trump because of his positions on immigration, trade and taxes. But the stakes of this election are not fundamentally about policy disagreements. The stakes are more foundational: what qualities matter most in America’s president and commander in chief.

Mr. Trump has shown a character unworthy of the responsibilities of the presidency. He has demonstrated an utter lack of respect for the Constitution, the rule of law and the American people. Instead of a cogent vision for the country’s future, Mr. Trump is animated by a thirst for political power: to use the levers of government to advance his interests, satisfy his impulses and exact retribution against those who he thinks have wronged him.

He is, quite simply, unfit to lead.

The Democrats are rightly engaged in their own debate about whether President Biden is the right person to carry the party’s nomination into the election, given widespread concerns among voters about his age-related fitness. This debate is so intense because of legitimate concerns that Mr. Trump may present a danger to the country, its strength, security and national character — and that a compelling Democratic alternative is the only thing that would prevent his return to power. It is a national tragedy that the Republicans have failed to have a similar debate about the manifest moral and temperamental unfitness of their standard-bearer, instead setting aside their longstanding values, closing ranks and choosing to overlook what those who worked most closely with the former president have described as his systematic dishonesty, corruption, cruelty and incompetence.

That task now falls to the American people. We urge voters to see the dangers of a second Trump term clearly and to reject it. The stakes and significance of the presidency demand a person who has essential qualities and values to earn our trust, and on each one, Donald Trump fails.

Election Day is less than four months away. The case against Mr. Trump is extensive, and this board urges Americans to perform a simple act of civic duty in an election year: Listen to what Mr. Trump is saying, pay attention to what he did as president and allow yourself to truly inhabit what he has promised to do if returned to office.

Voters frustrated by inflation and immigration or attracted by the force of Mr. Trump’s personality should pause and take note of his words and promises. They have little to do with unity and healing and a lot to do with making the divisions and anger in our society wider and more intense than they already are.

The Republican Party has made its choice; soon all Americans will be able to make their own choice. What would Mr. Trump do in a second term? He has told Americans who he is and shown them what kind of leader he would be.

When someone fails so many foundational tests, you don’t give him the most important job in the world.

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Instead of making it a pure condemnation of TFG, the article had to go off topic and reference Biden. They could have made the case that the rethuglicans have no ability for self reflection without that. Too little, too late. I gave up on WAPO earlier this month. I am finding Substack contributors the only reliable source of valid news.

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Me too Mark!

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Precisely Mark& Marj.

And Frank, my hair’s on fire concerning the Democract-division.

At this late date? I’ve begun to wonder what party they’re at or on!

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"I don't belong to an organized political party. I'm a Democrat."

Will Rogers

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Sadly, there is a real division among the Dems, both Dem leaders of Congress yesterday apparently have urged Biden to step down. ...

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It does not matter who the nominee is; this is not about Trump and Biden. It is about democracy and fascism.

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That was certainly typical of the NYT, putting glosses of morality and patriotism on all the Republicans who laid the way for Trump's ascendance and still taking a swipe at Biden.

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NYT chose to adopt Bandy X. Lee's thesis without giving her credit. Nor was there any apology for a previous editorial attempt at discrediting that same thesis. Nor did they provide any rational for their 180 degree change. Either they lack self-awareness, or there is some much less charitable interpretation.

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I have given up my subscription to NYT also. I started an introductory trial with Philadelphia Inquirer but am looking for something less regional. Would love to get recommendations from other HCR subscribers.

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I have given up on all Republican owned media bc I know these outlets are in business for one reason only and this is to make money.

The amount of money spent on politcal BS is upsetting to me.

I have my fave substack writers and I can glance for free at politico or a number of free news reports and decide if what I am reading is true or not.

I have the whole world at my finger tips to do deeper dives for the topics of interest to me.

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Dadgum, you might try The Guardian. Far more independent, and British & covers the world.

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