CONVERSATION Politics

In last Sunday’s Conversation, “Predictable pattern of politics coming unglued” (Forum, Jan. 3), Bill Burton wrote that the “conventional pattern of our politics has become unglued because of voters’ anxiety over the economy, and the real and present fear of terrorism. Acceptable rhetoric has gotten hotter, and publicly expressed attitudes toward immigrants and Muslims are colder. The climate of American political history is changing.”

We asked readers: What’s your opinion of the campaign and the change in behavior of the candidates?

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Doubting that Trump wants the job

Many Americans have come to expect constant entertainment and find politics boring. Bill Burton’s article speculates that the popularity of candidates such as Donald Trump is driven by the economy. It has not been made clear to a halfway intelligent person how Donald Trump’s outrageous claims of what he could accomplish could actually occur and improve the economy.

Trump used to be a Democrat and golf-playing buddy of Bill Clinton’s. It has been speculated that his candidacy is a giant hoax designed to draw attention away from other Republican candidates. If so, it has succeeded brilliantly. Trump seems to be having a good time and Hillary Clinton has not appeared ruffled. Does Trump actually want the stressful, thankless job of president? I doubt it. Would he take it as an ego boost? Maybe, and try to run it like a corporation. Good luck with that.

James Lee Jobe – Don’t overreact. Not one vote has yet been cast. The polls are nothing. At this point two elections ago, Hillary Clinton was leading Barack Obama in the polls. Those Trump polls? They don’t mean a thing until voting begins. Plus, I wouldn’t be surprised by a party move to dump Trump at the convention; he doesn’t exactly reflect the rest of the party. A Bernie Sanders vs. Ted Cruz election would not surprise me a bit. In the end, I don’t expect much change; the Democrats will hold the White House and the Republicans will hold Congress.

Paul Anton Anderson – Most Americans are tired of the political process and looking for a candidate that is not afraid to be non-political. There are no perfect candidates, only candidates we would hate to be in office. For some people that is Donald Trump. For me it’s Hillary Clinton. Get out and vote this year and we will see what happens. My vote goes to Trump and Ted Cruz.

Mike Edwards – The predictability of the American political process is over because the middle class has evaporated. Parties no longer need to present a moderate version of their party’s platform to get nominated. The rise of the tea party and an avowed Socialist shows that candidates feel that their best chance of election is to pander to the more extreme ends of the political spectrum. Extremist views are becoming the norm because candidates have little fear of losing a middle class that evaporated 10 years ago.

David Dillon – Very simple, Donald Trump is a threat and a grave danger to America and all Americans, if elected. He has too much hate for others to be an effective president. Furthermore, I fear that he will put our military in harm’s way and will cause many more military deaths.

Phoebe Bolduc Crais – The circus has come to town in a big way and most of the clowns are related to Pennywise of Stephen King’s “It.” This will be the election of the least offensive, not the most qualified. Heaven help us all.

Kriszti Mendonca – The predictable pattern is gone because the Republican Party is insane. Remember, Paul Ryan has now been accused of being a Muslim sympathizer because of his beard. This is the level of ignorance the party is pandering to.

Chris Smith – Politics has been turned into reality TV, a form of entertainment. Pro wrestling for political junkies. It’s no more real than reality TV ever was.

This story was originally published January 9, 2016 at 4:00 PM with the headline "CONVERSATION Politics."