Dear Editor,

Biden’s disgraceful rhetoric and emotionally overcharged plea to “save our democracy” (Atlanta, Jan. 11) is an infuriating insult since the very legislation he pushes will indeed destroy our democracy.

It’ll be the nail in the coffin by ending any secure means of voting; no IDs, no chains of custody, no verifications of signatures, ballot harvest, empty ballots floating around all over the place. It would create so much doubt in election integrity as to render trust in elections a thing of the past; that we would no longer believe in the institution; an institutional casualty brought down by the very people who would accuse others of trying to destroy it.

The Democrats have claimed that the reason they need to push this legislation is because several states have made it harder for Americans to vote. This could not be further from the truth. Because the truth is, in every case, those states made it easier to vote. They’ve increased early voting dates, extended hours, created more opportunities through absentee ballots and drop boxes. Georgia, for example, has greater opportunity for voting than Biden’s home state of Delaware. But the lie is selling — even among people who are otherwise rational.

Before more intelligent liberty-minded Ohio Valley Americans say it, yes, I know ours is not a democracy, it’s a constitutional republic — meaning we are governed by laws and not a true democracy. But we still have a democratic voting mechanism and it’s that part of our constitutional republic that’s in jeopardy.

Once that’s gone, the constitutional republic will fall to an oligarchy of tyrannical progressives. (Former President Ronald) Reagan said, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people.” Freedom is being challenged in this generation.

This is why we need to learn more factual information about many issues, so you can talk persuasively and intelligently about them to your family, friends, and neighbors.

On this particular issue, federal takeover of elections, we need to continue to support people like Sen Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) who are fighting the good fight of people over politics and not allow Biden’s, or the progressive wing of the Democratic Party’s, demagoguery prevail. The fight for liberty must continue …

Philip Parenti

Mount Pleasant