LETTER: Trump has no mandate

To the editor:

When Speaker Paul Ryan announced that Donald Trump had “earned a mandate” following the November 8 Presidential election, I had to scratch my head.

How could Mr. Trump have earned a mandate when more than 50 percent of the voters chose someone other than him, and his primary opponent beat him in the popular vote? Donald Trump does not have a mandate. If he truly wants to be President for all Americans, as he says, he will need to recognize that fewer than half of American voters chose him and find a way to reach out to the 50-plus-percent who chose another candidate.

If we are to have any hope of unity in this country it cannot come by ignoring or, worse yet, steamrolling Americans who don’t happen to agree with the President-elect’s philosophy. The Republican Party has no mandate either, not in Alaska and not on a national level (are you listening, Lisa, Dan, Don, and Tuckerman Babcock?). I under stand the concept of majority rule, but rule can quickly become tyranny when there is a failure to listen to different opinions. Twice in recent years a Presidential candidate who won the popular vote has lost the Electoral College vote. In both cases it was a Democratic candidate who was disadvantaged but it could easily be a Republican candidate in some future election. My hope going forward is that the current push to abolish the Electoral College will gain momentum. If anyone is interested, there are numerous petitions online calling for an end to the Electoral College. And check out the group “No Labels” (nolabels.org), an organization of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents who are dedicated to doing what’s best for America, regardless of political party affiliation.

— Connie Nuss

Wasilla