‘Former proud Republican’ denounces Trump, Zeldin

I’m a former proud registered Republican. I left the party the moment Donald Trump was nominated. I never could have predicted he’d do as bad a job in office as he did. I never could have predicted — heck, a great fiction writer couldn’t have written — that he’d sell us out and be the traitorous criminal he is. What’s more, the GOP still supports him! It is unimaginable and floors me every day that the party still supports him! The stench of his criminality and treason will remain on the party for years and years to come. He may not be president anymore but his influence over the party is alive and well, and all those who refuse to denounce him display nothing but cowardice and remind us that they sold their souls six years ago for four years of power.

I will be voting straight-ticket Democrat this year for two main reasons: I support democracy and women’s rights. Joe Biden won the presidential election in 2020. It is stupefying to me that so many people believe the Big Lie that the election was rigged and stolen from Trump. I am the father of three daughters. In my book, the bottom line is that no one should ever be able to dictate to my girls what they can do with their own bodies. They should be the ultimate decision makers, no one else.

Lee Zeldin was and still is one of the Trump’s biggest supporters. He voted against certifying Electoral College votes in 2020 even after the insurrectionist domestic terrorist attack on our nation’s Capitol. If elected, he will do whatever he can to close any and all criminal investigations into Trump from the State Attorney General’s office, in effect showing that Trump is above the law. He will also try to restrict women’s reproductive rights. I cannot and will not support him or any other Republican for these two main reasons.

David Burros

Riverhead