Letters: Who knew our parents had it wrong when teaching us to vote for best candidate?

While our parents were loyal Republicans, they taught us that it was important to vote for the person that we thought was best suited for the job — even if they were a Democrat. Party loyalty, they said, was not as important as supporting the best candidate.

There can’t be any doubt about which of the current two major presidential candidates is the better person. It’s easy to see which one recognizes reality; hasn’t been indicted scores of times; is not a sexual predator; isn’t using campaign donations to pay his staggering legal fees; and did not (on national television) encourage and incite an insurrection that amounted to an attempted coup d’état.

Donald Trump’s shortcomings have been clearly articulated by those who opposed him in the Republican primaries and by other Republican leaders. Ron DeSantis was strongly critical of Trump; yet now he’s backing him. Another example of party loyalty triumphing over common sense is Mitch McConnell’s screeching U-turn, as he now endorses Trump.

And they do it without stripping gears or caring about their staggering hypocrisy.

All this recalls a Doonesbury cartoon that appeared after George H.W. Bush was defeated by Ronald Reagan in the Republican primaries of 1980. After a bitter campaign, in which Bush referred to Reagan’s fiscal policies as “voodoo economics,” he accepted Reagan’s offer to be his vice-presidential candidate.

A reporter in the Doonesbury strip asked Mr. Bush (paraphrasing here): “How long does it take to repudiate everything you’ve ever stood for?” Bush’s response: “About four days — the paperwork’s incredible.”

There are many, many Republicans with lots of paperwork to do.

Fran and Pete Sheridan, Atlantic Beach 

Kids may not need communism studies

A Florida legislative bill requires public schools — beginning in kindergarten — to teach the perils of communism as reflected in the dogma of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin. Apart from the question of whether any child under age 12 can comprehend such lessons of history, any such required curriculum should also include the more immediate perils of fascism.

These are reflected in the political writings of Hitler and Mussolini, in which a man with a cult following demonizes the political opposition, reduces then eliminates the balancing powers of legislature and judiciary, and penalizes any who hold political positions opposite to his own.

Any such curriculum should examine current movements away from balanced democracy toward strong-man authoritarian or totalitarian governments, such as those led by Viktor Orban in Hungary; Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey; and Vladimir Putin in Russia.

All of these men have been praised by Donald Trump, who uses language that echoes authoritarian leaders that rose to power in Germany and Italy in the 1930s. He does this when he degrades his political adversaries as "vermin" who must be "rooted out."

If Trump is elected and fulfills his own ambitions, there may be no need to teach schoolchildren about the perils of totalitarian fascism. I fear they will experience it for themselves.

Cmdr. R. Syme Smith, U.S. Navy Reserve (ret.), Saint Johns

Trump must leave Medicare alone

There’s a major threat to Medicare buried in the laundry list of far-right policies that Donald Trump is using as his playbook if he’s re-elected. If Trump wins in November, he’s planning to severely undermine traditional Medicare by making private Medicare Advantage plans the default program for everyone who is newly eligible.

These private plans have great profit outcomes for the insurance companies, but terrible health outcomes for the actual patients. Medicare Advantage plans regularly deny coverage for essential treatments and services, forcing patients to forgo the care they need.

Our tax dollars should not be used to pad the pockets of insurance CEOs, especially at the expense of seniors and people with disabilities. But Trump has always prioritized profits over people.

Over 65 million Americans rely on Medicare for their health care, and over 400,000 people become newly eligible each year. Their health and lives are at stake in the November election.

We can’t give him the chance to completely privatize Medicare. The message from voters to Donald Trump should be clear: Leave Medicare alone.

Barbara Jackson, Jacksonville

Mencken may have foreseen the future

A century ago, H.L. Mencken was an influential journalist, satirist and often controversial social critic. In 1920, he penned this in the Baltimore Evening Sun:

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move towards a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their hearts' desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

Unfortunately, Mencken passed away in 1956, so he is not around to know if his prediction will be accurate. Some might even say it has already been proven true.

Jim Kavanagh, St. Augustine

Don’t do if you don’t have

The lead letter to the editor on March 10 criticized U.S. Reps. Kat Cammack and Aaron Bean, citing their lack of support for continued aid to Ukraine.

I’d like to point out that the U.S. national debt currently stands at roughly $34 trillion, which is all borrowed money. Plus, debt is reportedly rising by $1 trillion about every 100 days.

Our country should not give away money we don't have. Giving to Ukraine should stop as Cammack and Bean indicate. No more money for Ukraine or any foreign country asking for our help.

Phyllis Briggs, Middleburg

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Many Republicans allowing party loyalty to triumph over common sense