Letter to the editor: Know how to lose

I have noticed that most of the persons who voted in the recent election for the losing candidate must be from the group having grown up not knowing how to lose. I say that because it appears they have not been prepared in life to understand they are not entitled to always win and that if they don’t, at least they also get an award of some kind. The Democrats felt during the entire process that they were entitled; there was no way anyone could not vote for their candidate. After all, isn’t that the attitude displayed by the candidate. After the loss, many of them protested and rioted, symbolically curling up into the fetal position. I say this group must think that way because one of their group, Chris Jepson, in his opinion piece “Trump – A Primer” in the Dec. 8 issue, says things that only one of such a group would think.

For instance, he states, “Why did so many Americans check their brains at the door (while in the election booth voting for Trump) when the candidate himself campaigned on a platform of outright lies, half-truths, and deception.” If he wants to apply that yardstick to Trump he needs to acknowledge the same things about Clinton (remember the hearings…remember Benghazi!!). And by the way, the reason she lost is that enough people did not “check their brains at the door.” Rather their brain told them that regardless of what either candidate wants us to believe, that they should vote for the candidate that would be best for the nation, not for him or her personally, but for the nation. Too many on the other side voted selfishly for what they thought would benefit them personally and not what was best for the nation. They did not use logic or reason, but emotion – not a rational way to elect a president.

In his writing, he provides a list of all the lies he says were put forth by Trump, once again ignoring the fact that Clinton, in her career, also put forth many lies. There isn’t enough space to start listing her lies over the years but one has to remember, not just her lies in the past, but the many, many times she answered questions under oath with “I cannot recall.” A person in charge of a nation had better be able to recall his or her actions. (Remember the Benghazi and email investigations. Not to mention the Whitewater debacle many years ago!)

It’s obvious Chris Jepson is an intelligent man and he believes what he writes. I admire that. But instead of continuing to comment on his writings, I offer the following for him to consider, helping him, and others, to understand we did not “check our brains at the door” and that is why their candidate lost:

First, our Constitution calls for elections to be determined by electoral votes. The position goes to the one with the most electoral votes. That has been the way for well over 200 years. Had the election gone the other way I don’t believe there would have been so much “un-American” activity known as riots. It has been called protesting but a heartfelt protest does not include robbing and destroying other people’s property because you are “traumatized” by the outcome. One can only surmise, if one is mature, that most of the rioters were brought up in the era of nobody wins or loses but all get a certificate for participating. And if the results aren’t to their satisfaction they want to say it is not right. To say Donald Trump is not “their president” shows their ignorance and selfish desires to always get their way. Well, you rioters and disclaimers need to grow up and accept what is. As our present president once said publicly, “elections have consequences”.

Secondly, if they really wanted an honest leader in the Oval Office they should recognize a few things that they, and the press, seemed to ignore. Ask yourself: did both candidates have accusations of bad behavior against them? The answer is yes, but then you have to ask if any of the accusations were substantiated for both candidates. There were one or two questionable “non-harmless” ones on the Trump side, and no substantiation for most. However, on the Clinton side there were several proven behaviors that placed the country at risk. We probably don’t know yet just how harmful was her private email activity. Five of her cohorts had to take the Fifth Amendment before they would testify. Does that bespeak guilt of some kind and a fear of retribution for speaking the truth? In her case she couldn’t recall in some instances and she managed to destroy 33,000 emails after she got the subpoena. Does that not also bespeak guilt? And don’t forget the destruction of telephones...my, my, my. How would you rioters react if it had been Trump? (Don’t forget that a past president had to resign because of 17 missing minutes of a taped conversation, which did not affect the security of our nation.) Getting back to the mention of the press, they searched far and wide in Trump’s past to come up with something negative, none of which speaks to his ability to lead. However, they didn’t bother to report a known fact about Clinton’s Watergate hearings experience. The counsel in charge, a Democrat, said she was “unethical, corrupt, untrustworthy, and a liar.” She was also one of three people who worked for him at any time in his career who did not get a letter of recommendation for future work. Is that what one would want in a president? And you already know enough about the Clinton Foundation transgressions so I won’t pursue that.

Thirdly, besides the above transgressions, not properly pursued by the press, there is another question you should ask yourselves. That is “did anyone die because of a candidates actions or inactions?” That is so clear! The answer is none because of Trump and four died because of Clinton. First, her office ignored numerous requests for increased security for the Benghazi people and then, when the place was attacked over a 13-hour period, she and others decided they could not figure out how to send help for the entrapped American citizens. Then afterward her office and others indicated to the American public that it was because of some video, a lie, while at the same time she told the real story to a family member. Any military man can tell you that a lot of support could have been provided during the time of the attack. Even if the aircraft could not make it there and back…as some wag said…you go there anyway, do the mission and if necessary dump the aircraft in the ocean after the crew bails out. Another bad part about this is that as the “commander” of embassies and missions she was responsible for the lives of her employees. She abandoned them to their fate and to this day has not identified the person that told the standby military folks to “stand down.” It is another of her responsibilities she failed. In the military that is called dereliction of duty and is punishable in some way. Would you want her answering the phone in the White House at 3 a.m.? Those who voted for Trump do not.

— Donald E. Long, Winter Park