To the editor:
A letter by Bob Pabst in the Feb. 27 issue titled (by the editor), “Please close the playbook” seemed to take offense at an earlier letter by Paul Kiefner in the Jan. 23 issue titled (again by the editor), “Evidence.” Although none of the three involved parties requested my intervention, nonetheless here it is.
The Kiefner letter suggested Trump’s failures to address “affordability” were affecting his ratings. That is indisputable. It went on to cite the numerous lawsuits, recounts, investigations, etc. as evidence which proved to the satisfaction of Trump’s then-AG Barr that the 2020 election was neither rigged nor stolen. Third, the letter maintained the ubiquitous “No Kings” and “Anti-ICE” protests were another sign of public dissatisfaction with the administration’s handling of “border security.” Finally, Mr. Kiefner pointed out recent Democratic wins in local elections around the country suggest the tide is turning against Trump. Seems like the title “Evidence” is apt.
The letter writer suggests the Kiefner letter simply reiterates the Democratic playbook. He states the economy is “roaring” since the 2025 3rd quarter GDP growth was 4.4%, and the 4th quarter PROJECTION was 5.4%. Unfortunately the ACTUAL 4th quarter was a paltry 1.4%; even that was better than Trump’s first quarter in 2025: -0.5%! That’s correct: a negative (loss) in GDP. Trump’s first year growth was a weak 2.2%. That’s the evidence, not the cherry picking.
The letter writer goes on to suggest anti-ICE protesters are essentially Democrat agitators traveling around the country (like the “crisis actors” at school shootings?) and “most horror stories about ICE behavior are fabricated or exaggerated” in order to keep illegal aliens in place to pad the next census thereby increasing the Democrats in Congress. For someone who values “evidence” that analysis does not have any. Random viewing of nightly news coverage of ICE behavior before the recent reboot contains a wealth of evidence of horrific behavior, including two well-publicized deaths of American citizens.
The final attempt to use “evidence” is to “prove” the 2020 election was rigged and stolen. The letter writer points out the winning popular vote count in the elections between 2004 and 2016 was in the mid 60 millions; in 2020 it was 81 million so there is the evidence of election fraud. QED. Ignoring the more parsimonious explanation that the increased voter turnout in 2020 was simply a referendum against Trump, when he won in 2024 Trump received 77 million votes, almost as far above average as Biden in 2020!
Using the writer’s logic, that must be evidence that the 2024 election was rigged, right?
Billy Herman
Cape Coral