To the Editor:
The Times has rightly taken Donald Trump to task for claims of a “rigged” election. However, there may be more to Mr. Trump’s claims than meets the eye.
A fair election requires not only adequate procedures but also a fair and balanced discussion of the issues, so that voters can make an informed choice. On the same day as your news article, one of your columnists, Charles M. Blow, called Mr. Trump a “lunatic,” while another, Paul Krugman, suggested that his “vision of America” was neo-Nazi in origin. Your Sunday Review included an article suggesting that Mr. Trump was equivalent to a lower life-form.
Is it so outlandish to claim than an election with this sort of rhetoric is not substantively, as opposed to procedurally, fair?
MICHAEL A. LIVINGSTON
Cheltenham, Pa.
Note from KBJ: The New York Times doesn't have op-ed columnists. It has smear merchants. Remember what I have been saying: To progressives, the end justifies the means. The end is power: both power to do what they want and power over others. The means include lying, cheating, stealing, using manipulative rhetoric, committing fallacies, breaking the law, corrupting the electoral process, and smearing. Don't think for a moment that these means are being employed only because the Republican candidate is Donald Trump. They were used against George W. Bush (2000 and 2004), John McCain (2008), and Mitt Romney (2012), and they would have been used against Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Scott Walker, Chris Christie, John Kasich, Rick Perry, Ted Cruz, or any other Republican candidate.
