Editor, Gazette-Journal:

I was raised in Worthington, Ohio … a Lincoln-Republican town. It was part of the underground railway smuggling escaping slaves to Canada. We were shown the houses where slaves were hidden. We studied the Civil War—yes, Nikki Haley, slavery was abolished because of the Civil War.

The Civil War and slavery are a terrible part of our history, but a great nation does not hide past errors and sins. A great nation admits past failings and says, “never again.”

I was reluctant to sever ties with the Republican Party because of the people I admired—Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan. Until Donald Trump, I almost always split my voting ticket because there were Republican candidates better than the Democrats.

Not anymore.

I cannot trust or vote for any Republican at any level. Next to none of them call out ex-President Trump for ridiculing a reporter’s wilted hand, mocking the current President’s stuttering, making snide remarks about people’s appearance—and worst of all, his racist and anti-Semitic remarks.

Trump has put his anti-semitism on full display. He said, “There were good people on both sides,” following the infamous torchlight march in Charlottesville where participants shouted, “Jews will not replace us.”

Mr. ex-President, there are no good anti-Semites; there are no good racists.

The Republican Party has no platform; how do we know what it stands for? All we have are the disjointed and disturbing mumblings of Trump. All we know is Trump wants to suspend the Constitution—there goes the 2nd Amendment and citizens’ right to bear arms.

Trump praises dictators and exchanges “love letters” with the North Korean tyrant. Worst of all, he appears to be a surrogate for our worst enemy, Vladimir Putin. Vote Blue—save America.

David Cariens
Irvington, Va.