CharlotteDems.com editor’s note: The following letter to the editor from Charlotte DEC member Teresa Jenkins was published in the Sun on Monday, Nov. 12th:
Editor:
Trump insisted that the midterm elections would be all about him. And they were. Trump’s overt racism, lying, bullying and assault on civility did not sit well with those voters who went for Democrats and helped flip the House.
Lies about the migrant caravan and Trump’s ongoing campaign to stoke white resentment fueled some voters’ xenophobic and racial panic, but despite the president’s determination to make the midterms all about immigration, it was the Democrats’ decision to focus on health care that created the winning strategy.
To say that Democrats have no immigration plan is false.
Their values center around economic opportunity and equality — for everyone.
Democrats are the party of inclusion. They have condemned race-baiting and xenophobia and denounced Trump’s inhumanity toward asylum-seekers as contrary to American values. Women and U.S. minority groups, relentlessly bashed by Trump, have taken over the House and are ready to confront him.
The midterm results were not all that I had hoped for.
I fear for Florida’s middle class that will continue to be harmed by Republicans’ wealth-focused policies that ignore the needs of 21st-century families.
Unscrupulous tactics paid off in too many races, including Florida. Yet Trump’s contemptible campaign did not help Republicans hold the House.
In the midterm election, my vote was about putting a check on a racist demagogue and reclaiming democracy.
We are not there yet, but the midterm results have given me hope.
Teresa Jenkins
Punta Gorda
