TNT letters: ultra-high speed rail to Portland; Jan. 6 witch hunt; ranked-choice voting
Legitimate political discourse
So the Republican National Committee called the January 6 assault on the Capital “legitimate political discourse.” Really? This is the kind of outright lie true Americans need to condemn in no uncertain terms.
These kinds of statements are not from individuals who honestly love their country. They are from individuals who have been hoodwinked by a lying former president and propaganda. Let’s be honest, the attack on the Capitol was a violent attempt to overthrow the legitimate, honestly, fairly, cleanly elected government of this country, and any attempt to portray it as anything less than that is an attempt to continue the insurrection.
Donald W Rutledge, Tacoma
Political witch hunt
If Speaker Pelosi really wanted an honest Jan. 6 select committee investigation, she would have followed the House rules and allowed Minority Leader McCarthy to pick his own five committee members. Instead, she banned ranking member Jim Banks and Jim Jordan, leaving McCarthy no choice but to not participate. Pelosi then picked two anti-Trump Republicans, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger as replacements. Cheney was disowned by the Republican party in Wyoming after being censured for voting to impeach former President Trump. According to Alan Dershowitz, both impeachments were unconstitutional. Kinzinger is retiring. With nine anti-Trump members, the committee has lost all credibility. It’s nothing but a witch hunt to smear Trump like the phony Russian collusion hoax.
Craig A. Chilton, Bonney Lake
Ultra-high-speed rail
Recently, Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland wrote an opinion piece encouraging the state Legislature to move forward on a plan to bring high speed rail to the Pacific Northwest with the help of funds from the Bi-Partisan Infrastructure Bill. She is right, the benefits of high-speed rail are numerous and as an investment it is far more sensible than any highway expansion plan.
However, one portion of the Ultra High Speed Ground Transportation study is concerning: the possibility of hyperloop. To be absolutely clear, high-speed rail is a proven technology. It is in active use in Japan, China, France, Spain and many other nations. Hyperloop is an experimental unproven technology that has no real world use.
In order to ensure that the “once in a generation” infrastructure funds are spent wisely, the legislature must remove the “hyperloop” language from any Ultra High Speed Ground Transportation legislation.
Nicholas Mahoney, Puyallup
Ranked-choice voting
Does your vote really matter?
In the Washington 2020 Democratic presidential primary, nearly a quarter of votes were cast for candidates who dropped out of the race after the voter had already mailed in their ballot. Those votes, sadly, didn’t matter.
There are other times when our votes don’t matter, such as when we vote for a minor party candidate or when we vote for a candidate who has no chance of winning.
But luckily, there is a way to fix this. It’s called ranked-choice voting (RCV).
RCV is a voting method that allows voters to rank their choices, i.e., 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so on. If your first choice vote can’t win, then your vote counts for your next choice. Voters get to choose backup candidates.
Do you want to vote for an independent or third-party candidate, but are afraid to “waste” your vote? RCV would fix that. Are you tired of voting for the “lesser of two evils”? RCV would fix that.
Using RCV will result in elected officials who care about all their constituents, not just their core base. Using RCV will ensure that your vote really matters.
Craig Guffey, Steilacoom
This story was originally published February 11, 2022 at 5:00 AM.