A20 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.FRIDAY, JULY 31 , 2020
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR[email protected]LOCAL OPINIONSDespite acknowledging that two women’s sexual
assault allegations against Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin
Fairfax (D) are “credible,” the July 25 editorial “The
cloud over Mr. Fairfax” presented a one-sided de-
fense of Mr. Fairfax. I grew up with one of his
accusers, Meredith Watson. In 2001, she told me
she’d been raped twice in college.
The editorial said Mr. Fairfax’s “unusual persis-
tence” was striking, as if refusing to confess to rape
were itself exculpatory. He “brought a lawsuit”
against CBS, as if politicians can prove their inno-
cence by suing media outlets that cover their alleged
misconduct. He passed a “lie-detector test,” though
these notoriously unreliable tests are legally inad-
missible in every relevant jurisdiction.
The editorial said there are “inconsistencies” (but
didn’t identify any). The editorial called Gayle King’s
questioning of Ms. Watson “sympathetic” (demean-ing both women). Does anyone wonder why
Ms. Watson hasn’t given more media interviews?
“Most notable,” the editorial proclaimed, was
Mr. Fairfax’s assertion that a “witness to the Duke
incident” can “corroborate his claim that the sex was
consensual.” This unidentified “witness” has ignored
media inquiries and hasn’t come forward to confirm
or deny Mr. Fairfax’s account.
The editorial ignored evidence corroborating
Ms. Watson’s accusation, including what she told me
and documents showing that she named Mr. Fairfax
as the alleged perpetrator years ago. It also ignored
Ms. Watson’s Feb. 19, 2019, op-ed, “I’m willing to
testify in public. Justin Fairfax should, too.”
Why is The Post defending a powerful politician
twice credibly accused of sexual assault? That’s
what’s “troubling.”
R. Stanton Jones, WashingtonWhy is The Post defending Mr. Fairfax?
I
T WAS a slip of the tongue, but Republican
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (Calif.) refer-
ence to fellow Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert
as “Congressman Covid” could not have been
more apt. No one puts a better face on the heedless-
ness and ignorance that have helped fuel the spread
of the deadly coronavirus than the Texas congress-
man who has made it a political badge of honor not to
wear a mask. That he tested positive for covid-
seems to have made no impact on him as he contin-
ues the nonsense that puts others at risk and has
made the United States a hot spot of the pandemic.
Mr. Gohmert, who was scheduled to fly to Texas on
Wednesday morning on Air Force One with President
Trump, tested positive for the coronavirus in a
pre-screen at the White House. The conservative
congressman has relished his disdain for the advice
of public health experts; he has been seen walkingthe halls of the Capitol without a mask and not
practicing social distancing. Even after learning he
was infected, he insisted on returning to the Capitol;
after Politico broke the news of the test results, he
told his aides in person that he had tested positive.
He appeared in a video smiling, smugly referring to
covid-19 as the “Wuhan virus” and absurdly blaming
his diagnosis on his recent use of a mask. He has not
experienced any symptoms — which we hope contin-
ues to be the case — but that’s of little comfort to those
who came into contact with him. There’s mounting
evidence that people without symptoms or with mild
symptoms help spread the virus.
Understandably, many of those who work at the
Capitol were far less cavalier than Mr. Gohmert about
his diagnosis. There were renewed questions about
working conditions on the Hill, where lawmakers
each week go back and forth between Washingtonand their home states, some of which (like Texas) a re
seeing dramatic spikes of the virus, without getting
tested. Politico reported about the fury — from
legislative aides, chiefs of staff, press assistants,
career workers, and maintenance men and women —
about the patchwork of rules, lax enforcement and
bosses who turn a blind eye to their welfare, even
mocking those who wear masks.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced
a new rule requiring all lawmakers to wear a mask
while appearing on the House floor and is consider-
ing other measures. Mr. McCarthy and others
pressed Ms. Pelosi to take the White House up on its
offer of rapid t esting for lawmakers. Now that he’s so
passionate about the need for a testing regimen in
Congress, maybe Mr. McCarthy and his fellow Re-
publicans will do more to deliver testing for the
nation, which needs it just as much.The face of coronavirus ignorance
Even after contracting covid-19, Mr. Gohmert spreads the nonsense that made the U.S. a hot spot.
I
N A possible attempt to distract from dismal
economic news, or dismal pandemic news, or
both, President Trump tweeted Thursday that
the November presidential election may have to
be delayed, warning about the supposed dangers of
mail-in voting. Senior Republican legislators imme-
diately rejected the suggestion, which would require
an act of Congress. But this outburst, like so many
others, was not harmless; it was yet another part of
the dark, unprecedented campaign that Mr. Trump
and members of his administration are waging to
undermine trust in the nation’s democracy.
The president’s tweet came two days after his
attorney general, William P. Barr, doubled down in
testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on
the notion that foreign governments could skew
elections by printing and sending in absentee ballots,
a claim both he and Mr. Trump have made in recent
months. Mr. Barr testified that he has no evidence
that this is possible, just “common sense.”
Actually, there is evidence, which confirms that
Mr. Barr’s gut feeling is nonsense, not common sense.
Election officials from across the country affirm that
multiple factors would prevent large-scale rigging of
the kind he and Mr. Trump suggest. Ballots come with
identifiers unique to each voter. Each jurisdiction uses
different paper types, envelope widths and other
ballot characteristics. Signatures on ballots are
matched to preexisting government records. Election
offices keep track of exactly how many ballots they
send out, how many get returned and by whom.
Two-thirds of states allow people to vote absentee for
any reason, and five conduct elections entirely by
mail; none have experienced widespread mail-in bal-
lot fraud of the sort Mr. Barr and Mr. Trump have been
going on about.
A more plausible worry is that some states will
encounter administrative or bureaucratic problems if
they suddenly multiply the number of absentee bal-
lots they have to process. That has happened in
primaries this year in New York and elsewhere. Therational response to this rational concern would be to
provide federal resources and leadership to make the
process as smooth as possible for states that are trying
to facilitate safe voting during a pandemic. Instead,
the president takes pot shots at those who are trying
to enable a safe vote, and Republicans block adequate
financial support for the states. The natural conclu-
sion is that Mr. Trump and his party are trying to
discourage voting, because they have given voters so
little reason to vote for them.
This country has voted through war and epidemicand crisis, and it will vote again on schedule this fall. It
is the responsibility of political leaders to make the
vote as safe, secure and fair as possible. Congress must
help states staff up, buy equipment, inform Americans
how they can vote, print more mail-in ballots, pay
absentee-ballot postage, harden digital infrastructure
and create systems to contact voters whose ballots
might be rejected for small mistakes such as forgetting
to sign the envelope. States needed money months ago,
and every day lawmakers fail to dispatch it increases
the likelihood of a chaotic election.Mr. Trump’s
attack on voting
He can’t move Election Day,
but he is trying to undermine it.ABCDE
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The Washington Post
1301 K St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071 (202) 334-In his July 26 Sunday Opinion column, “Do
something about Trump. Right now.,” Dana Milbank
urged us to be responsible citizens and make sure we
and our friends and family are registered correctly to
vote and are requesting absentee ballots. After
taking these steps, concerned citizens can go further
to ensure a safe election.
Traditionally, poll workers and election judges
have been retired people. Because many retired
people do not think it will be safe to serve during the
novel coronavirus pandemic, there is a massive
shortage of trained adults to fill their roles. Recruit-
ment by county boards of election is necessary and
appears to be lacking right now, making this is a
place for citizens to take action.
Urging the board to actively recruit is important,
but more so are volunteering and encouraging
others to join you in this act of civic responsibility. If
we want our elections to run smoothly, we have to
step up and do what we can to make it happen.
Lesley Frost, B ethesda
The writer is the Maryland action team leader for
the National Council of Jewish Women.Getting people to request a mail-in ballot is
only the beginning. More important is making sure
people know how to vote by mail. From my years
living and advocating in Florida, I observed the
following problems with voting by mail: incorrect
postage, missing or illegible signatures, ballots lost
in mail, ballots not filled out clearly, etc. There
should be more of an effort to explain exactly what to
do when you get your ballot. How many stamps does
it take? Where to sign? How to check if your ballot
was received? What to do if you make a mistake on
your ballot, lose it, spill coffee on it?
Voting by mail is not intuitive. You have to follow
directions and do it correctly. Your vote counts only
if it is counted.
Lillian Kaminer, FairfaxBeyond voting
In the 1960s, when I was a child, my parents
opened our small home in Prince George’s County to
meetings with Black and White clergy during the
fight for fair housing. Sinister people would also
visit, in the evening shadows, uttering thinly veiled
threats through the screen door. The meetings
continued, albeit with trepidation, and fair housing
became federal law in 1968.
Now, a half-century later, the sinister voices no
longer hide in the shadows. Instead, they occupy the
White House [“Trump uses fear to tout repeal of
housing rule,” front page, July 24]. My late parents
would be aghast, as I am now, that enforcement of a
hard-fought civil right could be corrupted from
within and bartered as an election ploy. The moral
corruption is seemingly endless.
Brian J. Porter, North PotomacThe July 27 op-ed “Want to address racism? We
mayors say start with housing.,” s igned by 27 U.S.
mayors, suggested increasing affordable housing to
address racial housing disparities. It reminded me
that we can march all day chanting “Black Lives
Matter,” but real change will happen only if privi-
leged people (such as me) overcome the fear of
change in our lives. In this case, it would be
accepting high-occupancy housing in a neighbor-
hood of single-family homes on large lots. I have
lived, and now live, in such “balanced housing”
areas. And it’s just fine.
Carol VanZoeren, Wilmington, Del.Fair housing is a civil right
Thanks to Eugene Robinson for his July 24 Friday
Opinion column, “We should all keep up with
Kardashian’s message,” about Kim Kardashian
West’s recent statement about the difficulty in
getting medical help for someone in a mental health
crisis.
I can identify with her utter frustration. Time
after time, I have stood by helplessly as a family
member escalated into florid mania because I was
unable to get the help the person so desperately
needed. The majority of individuals suffering from a
severe mental illness have limited insight into their
illness, and, if left untreated, the illness can have
devastating effects on the person and those around
him or her.
States need to change their civil commitment
criteria from “a danger to himself/herself or others”
to “psychiatric deterioration” or “need for treat-
ment.” To not do so is inhumane.
Gail Tavlin Schatell, ArlingtonMs. Kardashian West’s wisdom
The July 25 front-page article “In show of force, a
culture war campaign pitch,” was disappointing. The
article provided good descriptions of President
Trump’s deliberate use of these events to strengthen
the “law and order” theme of his reelection campaign
but told us nothing about the Portland, Ore., protest-
ers themselves. Who are they? Are they orga-
nized? Are they unified? What efforts have been made
by the protest leaders, local law enforcement authori-
ties, and city and state leaders to avoid violence?
E.D. Mondainé’s July 24 op-ed, “White spectacle in
Portland is distracting from black lives,” ever so
gently suggested that this might be a good time to
stand down and let readers know there is tension
among the progressive forces.
There are two interesting dramas playing out
here. One pits the Trump administration against
state and local officials. The other involves the
protesters themselves. In a sense, we know what
Mr. Trump is like, what his motives are, how he will
use such events to his advantage. But better under-
standing of the protests in Portland might give
readers some insight into the dynamics of demon-
strations that are exerting significant influence on
our politics and governance. They deserve coverage
as much as the top-down conflict between local and
national authorities.
Frank Crump, ArlingtonDueling conflicts in Portland
O
N MAY 27, the United States reached a grim
milestone. Four months after the country’s
first confirmed case of covid-19, the death
toll of the novel coronavirus reached
100,047 as of 6 p.m. Eastern Time, according to data
compiled by the Center for Systems Science and
Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The num-
ber — far higher than any other nation’s — exceeded
the number of U.S. lives lost to the Korean War, the
Vietnam War and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks com-
bined.
W e hoped the alarming loss of so many lives in so
short a period of time would galvanize a concerted
national effort to contain the virus. Instead, two
months later, 50,000 more people are dead, and
there is no end in sight to the casualties.
“It is what it is,” President Trump said when asked
about the death count by Fox News interviewer
Chris Wallace. The rest of us must not be so
indifferent. It is more important than ever to
recognize, to remember and to honor the people who
have died.
People such as Joseph J. Costa, 56, head ofintensive care at Baltimore’s Mercy Medical Center,
who kept working despite a compromised immune
system because he knew he was needed. Nick
Cordero, 41, the Broadway talent whose three-
month battle with the virus was chronicled in
heartbreaking detail by his wife. Kimora Lynum,
just 9 years old, who loved video games and
delighted in shopping trips with her mom. Carol
Krieger, 80, a retired teacher who thrived on the
challenge of working with children who had sur-
vived severe trauma.
The outbreak has had a disproportionate impact
on Black people, Hispanics and Native Americans.
Among those lost: Erica McAdoo, 39, who joined the
Los Angeles Police Department to serve her commu-
nity; Marlene Sekaquaptewa, 79, a political leader in
the Hopi Tribal Government whose quilts are works
of art; Adrian Gomez, 52, who worked at a shelter on
the Texas border that housed and educated migrant
children seeking asylum; Gregori V. Armstrong, 66, a
Chicago ironworker who for four decades helped
build the city.
Samantha Diaz, a 29-year-old medical assistant inFlorida, left behind three young children, two of
whom had also contracted the coronavirus.
Ms. Diaz’s mother had to quit her job to care for the
children. “Our world,” she said, “came crashing
down.” In Michigan, the deaths of both of their
parents left Nanssy, Nadeen and Nash Ismael — 13,
18, 20, respectively — struggling not just with grief
but also with figuring out how to buy food and pay
bills.
W hen it came time for family members of Isabelle
Odette Hilton Papadimitriou, 64, to write the obitu-
ary for the respiratory therapist, who contracted the
virus while seeing patients in Texas, they didn’t pull
any punches. “Like hundreds and thousands of
others, [Isabelle] should still be alive today. Her
undeserving death is due to the carelessness of the
politicians who continue to hedge their bets on the
lives of health care workers through a lack of
leadership, through a refusal to acknowledge the
severity of this crisis, and through an inability and
unwillingness to give clear and decisive direction on
how to minimize the risks of the coronavirus.”
Exactly, heartbreakingly true.It didn’t have to be this way
Some 150,000 Americans have died because of the pandemic. Here are a few of their stories.
ABCDE
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