Letter to the Editor: Letter writer was off the mark with Trump criticism

Dear editor:

Ms. Meier certainly covered a lot of ground in last week’s letter; however, much of what she wrote was at best obfuscation.  

Schumer could have ended the shut-down at any time, but the Democrats refused to do so unless the Republicans agreed to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that were supposed to expire. Even the Washington Post admitted that the ACA was NOT affordable, and extending those
subsidies would have been throwing billions in good money after bad.

The Republicans offered numerous clean resolutions that would have kept the government open, and ensured SNAP, etc., continued, but the Democrats cruelly rejected every attempt to reopen the government until enough of them finally admitted that their party had gone too far, and voted with Republicans.

As far as Qatar “co-habituating a military base,” that has been in the works for years before President Trump took office.  The U.S. Air Force has a large presence in Qatar; and a number of foreign air forces have cantonments on U.S. air bases, just as the USAF has cantonments on numerous host-nation air bases around the world. (I spent a month on one in Colombia.)  Qatar does not “fund Hamas.” Qatar has been giving humanitarian aid to Gaza for years, but always with the full knowledge and cooperation with Israel, the U.N. and the U.S.

What “voter suppression bill” is Ms. Meier referencing?  A mandate for voter ID?  Any Wyoming resident can get a state issued ID card for $10; if a person doesn’t have the gumption to get such an ID, then perhaps they shouldn’t be voting.

I tried to run down the “1.1 million jobs lost” and found there are too many factors involved to pin it solely on President Trump or Republicans, or indeed any singular entity, though the usual suspects (CNN, ABC, Washington Post, etc.) try to blame the president. 

Unfortunately, much of Ms. Meier’s letter was a bit too incoherent to respond further to.

Stephen Crane

Basin