Letter to the Editor: The Trump effect, and social media are influencing Cumberland County elections

By Vince DiFilippo

It is interesting reading some letters to the editor regarding the recent general election and the discontent within the Cumberland County Republican Party.  It would be easy for me to attempt to point fingers at certain individuals and it would be warranted but the problem for us Republicans goes beyond our current county and state GOP leaders.  

Democrats made major gains not just in Cumberland County but in our state and country as well.  We can mention possible reasons and lack of leadership from local Republicans is certainly one of them.  But it goes beyond poor party leadership.  I think it is accurate to state that a significant number of voters likely voted Democrat, not because of any real effort made by the Democrat Party but because of increased fear and even hatred nationwide of Donald Trump.  I know of a Democrat who ran for a local township position who was shocked at the large number of votes he received, admittedly stating he did very little campaigning.  Some voters I spoke with told me they genuinely fear Donald Trump and voted Democrat simply for that reason.  I can understand their position in part because let’s face it, Trump isn’t the best communicator.  I believe he truly means well and is doing some good things for America.  I just wish he had the communication skills of Ronald Reagan but that simply is not a reality.  

Serious concerns of Trump by some voters appear to have coat-tailed to the state and local levels.  Local elections should never be decided by someone’s love or hate for the current President, regardless of political affiliation.  However, the level of hatred that has risen in the last several years is not helping America.  Also, I believe a person can cross party lines and still be a loyal Republican or Democrat.  The belief that voters should always vote for their respective party’s candidates is sheer nonsense.  We must be Americans first.  As a lifelong Republican, I can tell you I have seen numerous lackluster Democrat candidates and some lackluster Republican candidates who would never receive my vote.  I will have more about this in a future letter with the topic being the Cumberland County Republican Party.

It wasn’t that long ago, when Republicans and Democrats worked together to help America.  It’s called patriotism and compromise.  President Ronald Reagan (Republican) and House Speaker Thomas O’Neill (Democrat) often worked together in difficult times back in the 1980s and both put America first.  Even during the 1990s, President Clinton (Democrat) and House Speaker Newt Gingrich (Republican) who weren’t exactly the best of friends put their personal differences aside and put America first and passed a balanced budget and put forth important welfare reform initiatives.  We have a two-party system that works when we let it do so.  We need two strong political parties.  However, recent times have shown that both major political parties are drifting away from what made America a great republic.  The extremists in both major political parties need to depart and go form another political party.  They are not Republicans or Democrats.  We need a strong Republican and Democrat party.  As mentioned, poor leadership is challenging our two-party system but there is a lot more to this problem.

So, what has changed?  Social media, in my opinion, is constantly polluting our minds, especially our younger age groups.  More people are believing what they see and hear on social media without checking the facts.  How much of our vote today is centered around a single issue or hatred for a particular candidate or political party?  In addition to social media, a deteriorating education system over the last few decades is also contributing to the slow decline in America’s greatness.  America at one time had the best education system in the world.  Today, we have fallen way behind.  Think about it.  How many schools truly emphasize basic reading, writing and arithmetic.  I saw just recently that nationwide, only 30% of eighth grade students in our country can read proficiently!  Math and science proficiency scores are just as bad. This is outrageous!    Why has the importance of civics and American History classes been minimized?  The proficiency level for eight grade students for American History is only 13%!  It’s no wonder many younger people have little knowledge of the major events that have occurred since the forming of our great republic and how these past events affected our country.   It’s not their fault nor is it fair to them. Do our state and federal legislators not see that our subpar education results are hurting America?  Our citizens deserve better education. 

There is no quick solution to fix the issues mentioned that are negatively affecting our nation, but we need to start finding solutions without delay.  This problem evolved slowly, and it will take time to correct it.  The revival of proper education, common sense and common goals and loyalty to the common good is mandatory, in my opinion. We need a strong two-party system and leaders of both major political parties need to put country before political party.  One thing is certain, we cannot continue down the path we travel now as a country.  It is doomed to fail if we don’t go another direction.