Letter to the editor: GOP has changed

The letter “History lesson on Republicans vs. Democrats” motivated me to do my own research on the topics discussed. Yes, Abraham Lincoln was a Republican, but my, how the GOP has changed!

Although I believe that Eisenhower was a productive and respectable president, he did not “integrate the military.” Harry Truman, in 1948, signed Executive Order 9981, which ended racial segregation in the U.S. armed forces. Ike, however, did oversee the building of our interstate highway system by taxing income over $1 million at the rate of 90%, an idea that would be anathema to the current crop of Republican lawmakers.

We could continue to outline the histories, differences and failings of each of the major parties. But let’s focus on what’s taking place right now. While polls consistently show that addressing climate change and affordable health care are high on the list of the public’s concerns, lawyers for the president are currently arguing in court to get rid of the preexisting conditions clause of the Affordable Care Act, and the president keeps his “beautiful” health care plan a secret.

The earth continues to grow hotter, wildfires blaze and hurricanes wreak havoc, but the president routinely signs away environmental protections and denies that climate change is even happening. I want my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to not just survive but to also have clean air and water. Without these essentials, everything else is merely a moot point.

You can draw your own conclusions about how I’ll vote on Nov. 3.

Karen Stewart

Hempfield