Letters to the editor for Oct. 3
Debates won’t hurt Trump’s standing
In the immediate hours after the first presidential debate, it seemed that Donald Trump, on the whole, lost to Hillary Clinton. Indeed, when he blustered, she calmly cited facts. When he interrupted, she jabbed at him with rehearsed criticisms. And yet, Trump supporters have not wavered.
Even now, as he unwisely continues to attack a former Miss Universe on Twitter, one can be assured that the Trump fan base will not diminish. As he said in January, he could literally shoot somebody in the middle of 5th Avenue, and not lose any voters. But what does this say about the broader Trump movement?
Donald Trump is by all accounts a new kind of presidential candidate. Yes, one can compare him to populists of the past, but even William Jennings Bryan had some rhetorical reservations. Trump, conversely, could literally say or do anything and not lose the base of support he has built over the past year. This is because Donald Trump is much more than a man. Donald Trump, the candidate many Americans will vote for in November, is a feeling.
Whenever he yells on stage, whenever he boldly threatens a public figure, Trump supporters couldn’t care less about his words. In fact, they care much more about the feeling he incites. Trump represents rebellion against the establishment. Trump represents saying whatever you want to in a world constricted by political correctness. Trump, in short, represents all the frustrations, hopes and fears his supporters have felt over the past eight years. And no matter what he says or does over the next month, they will vote for him because they love the way he makes them feel.
Brian McCracken
Rock Hill
Mulvaney helped with problem
At a time when many are losing faith in government, I was pleasantly surprised by my first interaction with my U.S. congressman, Mick Mulvaney. This summer, my family and I relocated to Rock Hill from Indianapolis. Shortly after we arrived, my wife started a new job. Her employer, as required, verified her Social Security number, but they were notified by the Social Security Administration that there was a problem.
By way of background, my wife and I met and were married in Honduras while I was serving in the U.S. Army. Upon legally immigrating to the United States in 1988, my wife received her Social Security Number. She became a U.S. citizen in 1993 and has never had an issue using her Social Security number.
After my wife was notified that there was an issue, she went to the local Social Security office to try to resolve the problem. The local office was unable to identify an issue with her number. To make a long story short, we found ourselves trying to navigate multiple government agencies to no avail. My wife’s employer was on the verge of terminating her.
Out of desperation, we called Rep. Mulvaney’s office, and the issue was resolved within 24 hours. My wife then received an apology from the agency responsible for the mistake. We are very grateful to Rep. Mulvaney and his staff for intervening on my wife’s behalf and solving this problem.
Since then I have followed him very closely. It’s comforting to know that my congressman is one of the few who understands that the US government is of the people, by the people and for the people. He has certainly earned our support.
Tim Thomas
Rock Hill
This story was originally published October 2, 2016 at 5:35 PM with the headline "Letters to the editor for Oct. 3."