When I joined the U.S. Air Force, I swore an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” The enormity of that oath had a profound effect on me, that day and every day since.
Every enlisted and officer in the military, police officers, lawyers, judges, state and local elected officials, members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, and their staff, all take variations on the same theme — they swear to defend, protect, uphold or preserve the U.S. Constitution. Indeed, every four years the incoming president of the United States also swears to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.
For our current president to say on a nationally televised broadcast that he “doesn’t know” if he has to uphold the Constitution should be the line drawn in the sand by every American. In the United States of America we haven’t had a king in almost 250 years. Where is the individual and collective outrage?
Robin Comfort, Chesapeake
Hands off
The hands-off movement is making the flat Earth people look realistic. They advocate for hands off Medicaid, Social Security, Medicare, other government programs and employees. They fail to realize these programs have and continue to experience fraud and abuse.
They fail to realize we are in debt as a nation for more than $36 trillion and growing. The day is coming when the debt will be due. On that day all of these items will be on the chopping block. What the Department of Government Efficiency is doing now is to buy us more time to see if we can grow our way out of the problem.
In order to grow our way out of the problem, we need more manufacturing in the U.S. We need fair trade deals that allow us to sell our products overseas and we need regulations that support this growth. Cheap available energy, a skilled work force and a pro-business government will also help this effort. The hands-off people are experts on what they don’t want and have no solutions. They want to tax billionaires more, like somehow that would close the gap. They want to attack oligarchs; actually the U.S. doesn’t have any oligarchs.
The hands-off people would simply walk us off a financial cliff. Actually they are flat Earth people. There is a drop-off out there somewhere.
David Murphy, Virginia Beach
Shannon Taylor
I’ve known Shannon Taylor for nearly a decade, and she is exactly the kind of experienced, principled leader we need as Virginia’s next attorney general.
When Taylor flipped the commonwealth’s attorney seat in Henrico County from red to blue in 2011, it was no small feat. But Taylor won that race and has been re-elected ever since. That kind of staying power speaks volumes. She’s battle-tested and ready to take on Republican incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares this November.
More importantly, Taylor is the only candidate in the Democratic primary with real executive experience running a prosecutor’s office. She’s managed a staff, made tough calls, and delivered both safety and justice for her community. Her opponent, Jay Jones, simply doesn’t bring that level of experience to the table.
At this moment, we need more than ambition — we need competence. We need someone who can go toe-to-toe with the extreme agenda being pushed by President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. Taylor will stand up to their authoritarian overreach and protect the rights and freedoms of all Virginians.
Democrats have a choice this June. Let’s choose the candidate who’s proven she can win tough races and lead with integrity. Vote for Shannon Taylor for attorney general.
Andria McClellan, Norfolk