A long time ago, here on Daily Kos, I used to write a daily diary called “The Daily Pulse.” I would peruse a defined set of newspaper editorial pages, e.g. midwestern papers, or southern papers, for relevant political editorials, columns, and letters, and post them with a little commentary.
Here we are again, in an utterly bizarre election, so I thought it might be interesting to do it again. And the papers I decided to look at are the ones along Florida’s I-4 corridor, where this election will be won. As I-4 goes, Florida goes, and if Clinton wins Florida, Trump doesn’t have a path to the White House. So what are people there talking about? Here we go:
The Orlando Sentinel’s Letters to the Editor talk about Captain Khan and his family:
Donald Trump did something positive: He made millions aware of the heroism and bravery of Capt. Humayun Khan. Thanks to Trump's ravings, many people who did not watch the Democratic National Convention now know of this young man and the loss his family endured.
and, because there must always be “balance,” we get:
This whole thing with the Kahn family is probably a charade instrumented by the Democratic National Committee: The DNC searched for a Muslim family who had lost a loved one and planned a response to attack Donald Trump, knowing that when he is attacked, unfortunately, his response would be twisted by the news media.
So let me see if I understand this. Trump is the victim because he is so easily goaded into an attack, and therefore he’s qualified to be President? Got it.
Meanwhile, in the Osceola News-Gazette at least one reader isn’t happy with either candidate, and thinks he has a solution. It involves Bernie Sanders, but not like you might expect:
Now that it has been proven that the DNC helped Hillary Clinton steal the nomination from Bernie Sanders and the Republican people of good will have been quieted by the lesser angels of fear and hatred, it is time to bring it all down. Sanders needs to tell his folks that a vote for Hillary is a vote for all they have battled against and that they all should vote for the Libertarian Gary Johnson. Decent Republicans will join them and the Libertarians will force the election into the House.
No matter what happens, the nation will undergo a new birth of freedom not seen since Gettysburg circa 1863. You can almost smell freedom in the air!
I’m not sure what’s weirder, expecting Sanders to endorse Gary Johnson or thinking there are still any “decent Republicans.”
Over in Sarasota, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune has a letter worth reading in its entirety, but here’s the punch line:
It is past time for the media to point out very clearly that Trump's accusations prove that his mental stability is questionable and that he is incapable of holding office. He is dangerous.
Yup.
A Tampa Bay Times letter wonders if Trump is a “false flag” operation of the Democrats:
Nearly a year ago, there was a thread of news traveling the world that Donald Trump was actually a "false flag" candidate. The theory went that his campaign was actually going to take one long and dramatic dive to the mat for Hillary Clinton. Back then, the theory seemed too outlandish to consider. But in light of recent events, it warrants thought.
I love this theory. It’s a gross extension of the “No True Scotsman” fallacy, and assumes that no true Republican could be as awful as the Republican nominee, ergo he’s really a Democrat. Yeah. You caught us. So you should definitely not vote for him. Definitely.
A Bradenton Herald letter writer is utterly irate about a ransom payment to Iran. Or to ducks. It’s not clear:
ell, we now know that the Obama administration did this, secretly, in January after Iran released four Americans. U.S. money was laundered via Swiss Francs and Euros. If you or I did this, we’d be behind bars.
Ransom? This administration says not. However “If it looks like a duck … it’s a duck.” They say: “Trust us.” Sure, like “You can keep your health plan and doctor,” the lie of the year in 2013. Secrecy? Remember Obama’s “No more secrecy, that’s a commitment I make to you as president.”
The funniest part of this article is that it includes a picture and comment referencing the Iran hostage crisis that Ronald Reagan “solved” by, let’s see if I remember this correctly, oh yeah, illegally paying ransom to Iran through Iran-Contra and giving them actual military equipment they weren’t allowed to have.
In the Daytona Beach News-Journal, a reader thinks Benghazi is a disqualifying event for Clinton:
Not only her email scams, but Benghazi: She failed to respond to requests for increased security in Benghazi, failing to keep our people safe, and misled the American public on what really happened. (However, she told her daughter that it was a terror attack.) So Clinton has to give away the store, as if she were a god, to overcome the crimes she has committed.
Sure, it rambles a bit, but he’s good and angry, and that’s what matters.
Florida Today is the little local paper I grew up with. It has a couple of interesting letters:
The Trump I have been observing this past year can’t possibly be described as respectful toward the military.
Let’s start with his remarks about John McCain being a loser because he was a POW. Remember Trump’s famous words, “I like people who weren’t captured”? This is respectful? How about his feud with the Khan family? These were parents who had given the ultimate sacrifice, a son killed in action. However, Trump decided on criticism instead of compassion.
…
I was really disgusted when a wounded veteran gave Trump his own Purple Heart medal. Trump trivialized the gesture, and the medal, by saying he “always wanted” a Purple Heart and it was much “easier” to be given one rather than earn it.
and
Since when is the Department of State responsible for keeping foreign countries from hacking into government and private computer systems? That responsibility falls under the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee.
Rep. Pete Hoekstra was a member and chairman of the committee for over eight years. ... I am amazed at how easily congressmen get away with blaming others for their own failures.
There are some smart folks there on the Space Coast.
There you have it. A tiny little smattering of what people are thinking about and writing about along the most important stretch of road in America this election day.