A18 eZ re THE WASHINGTON POST.SATURDAy, MARCH 7 , 2020
letters to tHe eDItor[email protected]loCAl oPINIoNsE
LAINE MCCUSKER is a professional. A
career civil servant specializing in the
technical but crucial area of defense
budgeting and finance, with prior experi-
ence in academia, the private sector and the
Senate Armed Services Committee, she was a
logical choice for the office to which President
Trump elevated her in 2017: deputy comptroller of
the Defense Department. She also was amply
qualified for promotion to comptroller, a nomina-
tion Mr. Trump submitted to the Senate last
November.
Ye t she will not be getting the job after all —
making her t he latest public servant of integrity to
face career consequences in apparent retaliation
for Mr. Trump’s impeachment over allegations
that he abused his power by withholding military
aid from Ukraine to force Kyiv to investigate his
political rival, former vice president Joe Biden.
Ms. McCusker played no known role, direct or
indirect, in bringing that misconduct to the Houseof Representatives’ attention. All she did, while
serving last year as acting Pentagon comptroller,
was to tell the White House, via internal emails,
that its holdup of the nearly $400 million Ukraine
aid package might violate federal law, possibly
causing the appropriations to lapse. She reacted
with exasperated incredulity when an Office of
Management and Budget official, M ichael P. D uffey,
tried to blame her for putting the funds at risk. In a
September email, one of a series made public by
Just Security, a website specializing in foreign
affairs and defense policy, Ms. McCusker wrote,
“You can’t be serious. I am speechless.”
Now the White House has confirmed that her
nomination for comptroller has been withdrawn.
There was no explanation offered. No doubt the
White House did not relish a confirmation
hearing at which Ms. McCusker would h ave had to
testify about the Ukraine matter; equally plausi-
bly, Mr. Trump is continuing h is campaign of post-
i mpeachment payback that has already resultedin the unceremonious ouster of Army Lt. C ol. Alex-
ander Vindman from the National Security Coun-
cil staff, Gordon Sondland being recalled as
ambassador to the European Union and the
withdrawal of former U.S. attorney f or the D istrict
of Columbia Jessie K. Liu’s appointment for a top
Treasury Department post, reportedly in part
because of her hesitancy to indict former deputy
FBI director Andrew McCabe. Axios has reported
that Trump political loyalists inside and outside
government are drawing up lists of officials
deemed questionably loyal and targeting them for
replacement.
Every president is entitled to a senior staff of his
or her own choosing. No president is entitled to a
subservience that overrides officials’ fundamental
duty, which is to the law. That duty is what
Ms. McCusker was honorably fulfilling last year.
The withdrawal of her nomination sends a
disturbing signal about the consequences of doing
so in this administration.Punished for telling the truth
The White House pulls Ms. McCusker’s nomination amid the Ukraine aftermath.
largest in the new parliament. He m ay t ry t o induce a
few i ndividual members of the rival center-left
alliance, led by the Blue and White p arty, to defect, or
persuade Blue and White to form a broad “unity”
government. But Blue and White and its leader,
Benny Gantz, are likely to stick to the position that
the party w ill not join any government under Mr. Ne-
tanyahu as prime minister because of his indictment
and upcoming trial on corruption charges.
Instead, Mr. Gantz is seeking to gain support for a
law that would prohibit Mr. Netanyahu from becom-
ing prime minister while under indictment. That
could break the political deadlock — and with amajority of 62 anti-Netanyahu members in the new
Knesset, it has a chance to pass. If it fails, or court
challenges block the law, Israel could be forced to
stage elections once again.
That’s an exhausting prospect for the country’s
politicians and voters, and it would mean the politi-
cal rudderlessness would stretch past a year. But
continued stasis would be preferable to actions that
would make the eventual creation of a Palestinian
state — and peace between it and Israel — all but
impossible. In that sense, the curdling of Mr. Netan-
yahu’s “victory” should be welcomed by Israel’s
friends.B
ENJAMIN NETANYAHU’S claim of a “huge
victory” in Monday’s Israeli election has
turned out to be premature. The veteran
prime minister thought he had broken a
political i mpasse that has forced Israelis t o vote three
times in the past 10 months, and had won a new
mandate after 11 years in office. But final results
Wednesday showed that Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud
party and its right-wing coalition were still three
votes short of a majority in the Knesset, or parlia-
ment. That probably spells a prolongation of the
country’s political paralysis, but it also might save it
from a larger disaster.
A foundation of Mr. Netanyahu’s latest campaign
was the plan for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement
rolled out by President Trump in January, seemingly
in a deliberate effort to boost one of his most
sycophantic foreign allies. Instantly rejected by the
Palestinians and Arab states, the plan has little
chance of engendering peace. Its real import is to
provide U.S. backing for Israel’s unilateral annexa-
tion of large parts of the West Bank, a long-standing
aspiration of far-right nationalists.
Mr. Netanyahu, who previously avoided such radi-
cal action, promised during the campaign to proceed
with the annexations if he were able to form a new
government with Likud’s right-wing allies. He no
longer appears concerned about the possible conse-
quences — which could include a crisis with neigh-
boring Jordan a nd an acceleration of the internation-
al boycott, divestment and sanctions movement
against Israel — perhaps because he now has the
backing of Mr. Trump, whom he lauds as “the
greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White
House.”
Mr. Netanyahu will still be given the chance to
form a government since the Likud party is theA welcome
paralysis in Israel
The curdling of Mr. Netanyahu’s
‘victory’ might save the nation
from a larger disaster.ABCDE
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the Washington Post
1301 K st. Nw, washington, D.C. 20071 (202) 334-Darren McKinney’s Feb. 29 letter, “The price of
extending Metro’s hours,” implausibly equated any
contemplated extension of Metro’s evening service
hours with an inevitable substantial increase in
police staffing, public defenders, drunkenness,
emergency medical care and substance abuse and
homelessness.
Apparently, residents of the District, Virginia and
Maryland who find themselves in the District late in
this proposed extended service period will inevita-
bly drink themselves into a stupor while overextend-
ing their credit cards or will decide to try some
drugs, thus requiring a court hearing, public defend-
er, an ambulance and extra police. These unfortu-
nate souls will also lapse into extended substance
abuse or will become homeless. Or both.
Mr. McKinney thinks the worst of us who step outafter office hours; those who frequent theaters, bars,
restaurants and Nationals games, visit friends or
work late hours in the hospitality, cleaning, security
or other industries. We’ll all make the wrong choices
and go right down the tubes.
How do these folks get home? While extended
evening hours would require more resources, and no
doubt some nefarious characters would cause some
consternation with disorderly or criminal conduct,
refusing to extend evening hours by Metro under
this rationale is simply wrong and shortsighted. Be-
cause the District touts itself as a world-class city, it
must provide those folks it is trying to attract and
maximize its economy and nightlife with a reason-
able and safe way to get home, and Metro mostly fits
the bill.
Stan Sargol Jr. , ArlingtonExtending Metro’s hours wouldn’t turn D.C. into a shambles
KobI wolf/bloomberg News
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Wednesday.In reading the March 5 Metro article “In W.Va., a
lost graveyard and an unsolved mystery,” I was struck
by one sentence: “The American military has long
prided itself on the faithfulness with which it recov-
ers the remains of those who died in conflict.”
Interestingly, in the aftermath of the 1863 Battle of
Gettysburg, just 50 miles north of Harpers Ferry, the
Union dead were quickly buried, many in the new
Gettysburg National Cemetery, where President
Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address
in November of that year. The corpses of more than
3,000 Confederate soldiers were left to rot where
they fell, or shoveled over into mass, shallow graves.
And there they lay, f or nearly 10 years. Finally, in 1873,
it was not the U.S. military but the Ladies Memorial
Association in Wake County, N.C., that began to
organize the sacred task of interring those remains.
Mary Ball , Hillsboro, Va.Righting a Gettysburg wrong
Regarding Dana Milbank’s March 3 Tuesday
Opinion commentary, “AIPAC makes Sanders’s case
for him”:
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee
conference is strongly bipartisan and has represen-
tation from high-profile Democrats and Republi-
cans. Its mission is to ensure that the relationship
between Israel and the United States remains
bipartisan and strong to protect security interests
for both countries. AIPAC does not affect or get
involved in policy in either the United States’ or
Israel’s politics. It maintains Israel’s autonomy to
make its own decisions knowing that the United
States will be supportive regardless of politics to
always ensure security and the alliance between the
two robust democracies.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has never been to an
AIPAC conference. To take one person’s speech from
a rich and diverse conference with many opinions is
a gross distortion of what AIPAC stands for. The fact
that many opinions can coexist in the same space is a
testament to democracy and a great success for
bipartisanship. It’s a missed opportunity to not tell
the whole story.
Nooni Reatig , WashingtonThe missed opportunity on AIPAC
The March 4 The World article “Warren, Sanders
want a wealth tax. Swiss suggest their model for
America” noted that Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and
Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) could look to Switzer-
land as a model for a wealth tax they want to impose.
Such an approach could be used to guarantee that
Warren Buffett pays at least the same tax rate as his
secretary and that Amazon pays income taxes. A
wealth tax, however, is unnecessary to achieve these
goals. [Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Post.]
Instead of a wealth tax, eliminate deductions.
Because of the higher taxable income this would
produce for most taxpayers, tax rates would have to
be reduced. But eliminating tax deductions would
greatly increase tax revenue, and most of it would
come from wealthy individuals and large corpora-
tions. Ta x deductions also encourage spending on
irrational activities because they are subject to a
deduction. This would eliminate such spending.
This would be a much-needed change to our tax
system and would accomplish what Mr. Sanders and
Ms. Warren want without a wealth tax. It w ould make
tax filings much simpler. When people saw the
benefits of this approach, it would gain wide support.
It i s a common-sense solution to a complex problem.
David L. Elkind , ArlingtonAn alternative to a wealth tax
The Feb. 28 Metro article “Furry faces that feel
familiar” described the disturbing but now fairly
common practice of canine rescue groups importing
dogs from foreign countries for future adoption in
the United States.
While the people involved in these rescue groups
are well-intentioned, they are under-regulated and
have to comply with only basic health regulations for
transporting animals internationally.
A few years ago, Korean import dogs were the
source of a deadly strain of canine influenza, which
killed a number of dogs. The novel coronavirus can
mutate and jump from one animal species to another.
Are we allowing a small group of ill-informed people
to put o ur p et a nd human populations at r isk?
We can’t solve the culturally based problem of
animal mistreatment by importing a relative few
animals, a nd w e can’t i mport t hem a ll. A better, albeit
harder, solution is t o change t he cultural traditions o f
the countries from within. There has been some
success in Korea, where younger generations are
increasingly rejecting dogs as a food source or work
animals.
In l ight of t he recent spread o f the coronavirus, i sn’t
it time to look more closely at these groups and
recognize the p otential f or harm t hat they represent?
Our government should require much stiffer import
regulations and probably e ven quarantine p eriods for
all imported s treet d ogs from n on-Western countries.
Our l ives and those of our pets m ay d epend o n it.
Christine Miller , BrunswickImporting dogs can spread disease
Regarding the March 3 news article “Fake cures,
conspiracy theories proliferate on WhatsApp”:
Te chnology has made our world more connected.
Important and accurate messages can be communi-
cated to a wide range of people very efficiently. This is
especially useful when there is a serious public health
concern, such as the coronavirus outbreak. People do
not necessarily think about the possibility of the infor-
mation they are passing on being incorrect. They w ant
to ensure that their loved ones are aware of any
dangers and remain healthy. However, serious conse-
quences emerge from the spreading of false informa-
tion. It can cause unnecessary panic, unsafe health
practices, loss of business and much more.
It is increasingly important for people to verify the
information they a re b oth s ending and r eceiving with
credible sources before believing it or sending it to
others. This will avoid panic and other unnecessary
negative c onsequences t hat result from false informa-
tion. It is not really feasible for there to be software
that catches every message that contains false infor-
mation, so it is up t o the u ser t o question e ach message
they receive that contains information regarding the
coronavirus (the most current example) to avoid
following and b elieving i naccurate information.
Kathryn Motley , DerwoodDon’t trust; verify
B
Y THE time Hervis Rogers voted in the Super
Tuesday Democratic primary in Te xas, it was
1:30 a.m. Wednesday and former vice presi-
dent Joe Biden had already been declared the
winner. Mr. Rogers had waited in line for six hours
and 20 minutes, but, as he later explained to report-
ers, “I figured like it was my duty to vote.... I wasn’t
going to let anything stop me, so I waited it out.”
Mr. Rogers and other voters in Te xas and Califor-
nia who stood in hours-long lines before casting
their ballots this week are admirable citizens who
recognize the importance — indeed the precious
value — of voting. But the fact they had to endure
such obstacles in exercising this basic right is
unconscionable. Their experience should serve as a
wake-up call to election officials across the country
to properly prepare for the November elections.
It is clear that officials in the two largest states
voting in Tuesday’s primary were not ready to handle
the large turnout of voters. In Texas, a cascade ofissues resulted in delay and confusion, including a
long ballot, introduction of a new polling system and
the closing of hundreds of precincts after the Su-
preme Court’s 2013 decision to remove voting rights
protections for minority voters.
A t Te xas Southern University, the historically
black college with 10,000 enrolled students where
Mr. Rogers had to wait, there were only six poll
workers and 10 voting machines. Only five were
allocated to Democratic voters, and some of the
aging machines broke down for part of the night.
Exhausted voters, The Post’s Elise Viebeck reported,
resorted to sitting on the ground as the lines stalled.
In California, many voters, particularly in Los Ange-
les, encountered long waits because of the glitches
that accompanied the first major deployment of a
new $300 million voting system. One voter likened
the situation to the infamous traffic gridlock on
California’s 405 freeway.
If this year’s primaries to date are any measure,there will be massive, perhaps record, turnout in
November when control of Congress and the White
House will be decided. It i s unacceptable for voting to
be such an ordeal that it discourages or prevents
people from casting a ballot. That i s particularly true
when minority populations are disproportionately
affected, as was the case in Te xas, where the polling
places that were closed served many black and
Latino voters.
T uesday’s events in California and Te xas under-
score the need for more and smarter election prepa-
ration. “There is still time to learn from these
lessons,” said Myrna Pérez, director of voting rights
and election program at the Brennan Center for
Justice. Election administrators, she said, should
prepare by imagining what can go wrong, designing
backup plans and having adequate resources. Put
another way: They should treat voting with the kind
of seriousness and commitment that was exhibited
by Mr. Rogers.A not-so-super Tuesday
Long delays and short-staffed polling places need to be corrected before November.
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