A constituent appeals to Republicans: Do you really agree with everything Trump has done?

Arnold “Skip” Isaacs, veteran journalist formerly of The Baltimore Sun, watched the Trump-Musk sabotage of government unfold in Washington, then decided to write to Republicans to ask if they agreed with Trump’s draconian executive orders and Musk’s unprecedented access to government data.

I post this here today because I admired Skip’s approach — indeed, his willingness to engage Republicans, who seem to be in the Trump Zombie Trance — and I found the replies he received from a Maryland state delegate groaningly typical of the MAGA cult.

“I think the only hope of mitigating Trump’s tidal wave of outrages is if Republicans in the Congress find some backbone and resist,” he says. “Maryland has no Republicans in the Senate and only one in the House — not my district — so I wrote to my state senator, a delegate and county councilman. … I [was] not hopeful that any of them would respond, but … it’s better than staying silent!”

Here’s the letter:

As your constituent, I would like to know your views on some of
President Trump’s recent actions.
— Does he have the right to end birthright citizenship by executive order or would that require amending the U.S. constitution?
— Did you approve his pardoning those who were convicted of violent attacks on police officers on January 6?
— Do you support investigating several thousand FBI agents who were involved in cases against January 6 rioters, or are you concerned that this is a political use of law enforcement and a threat to the tradition of an independent, politically neutral Department of Justice?
— Are you in favor of cancelling all refugee admissions, including
thousands of Afghans who are in grave danger because they fought
alongside American forces or helped other U.S. programs there? Was it necessary to cancel flights at the last minute for Afghan and thousands of other refugees who have already completed a prolonged vetting process and were waiting to travel to the U.S. in the coming days or weeks?
— Are his actions to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International
Development, effectively shutting down all its overseas operations and relocating virtually all employees who are stationed abroad, legally or morally justified?
— More broadly, is he legally authorized to unilaterally cancel programs and withhold funds that have been appropriated by Congress?
— Are you concerned at the sweeping power being exercised by Elon Musk, who is not subject to normal accountability as a
federal employee and who has enormous financial interests in some of the government programs he is dealing with?
If you are opposed or have doubts on any or all of those issues or
others, I urge you to publicly inform your constituents and call on
members of your party in the U.S. House and Senate who may share those doubts to break their silence and speak out on these questions.

And what was the response?

As you might expect, not much. The only reply came from Nic Kipke, a Republican state delegate from Anne Arundel County. He was brief: “I support President Trump.”

To that, Skip asked: Mr. Kipke, should I take your message to mean that you agree with all the actions Mr. Trump has taken since taking office? Or do you remain a supporter without necessarily approving everything he has done? E.g. do
you agree that he has the authority to end birthright citizenship
without a constitutional amendment, and are you in favor of that
objective? Do you agree that banning all refugees and putting USAID out
of business, stopping all its programs and bringing all overseas
staffers home, are desirable acts and being carried out in the right
way, or do you have any reservations about them? Are you comfortable
with the authority he has given Elon Musk, and the way Mr. Musk has
exercised it? I hope you are willing to answer those and my other
questions, with the understanding (which I recognized to begin with)
that overall you support Mr. Trump and his policies.

Thank you
Arnold Isaacs

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Kipke’s reply was a doozie:

Arnold, I’m not spending time on this with you. Trump’s approval is
higher than it has ever been and your party’s approval is lower than I
can recall it ever being. You’re a devout leftist, I’m a conservative
who voted for Trump. I doubt there’s much politically that we agree on. Failed liberal policies are destroying our country and state and I’m
glad change agents like Trump, Musk, Gabbard, RFK, etc has (sic) the
opportunity to get America headed in a better direction.

Sincerely, Nic Kipke

My comment: I hear this hackneyed stuff from MAGA people all the time; they echo Trump: The country has gone to hell and it’s all because of woke leftists who have been destroying the nation with liberal policies. . . . They never tell you what they mean; they just utter dystopian generalities about the condition of the country (none of which are accurate) and blame Joe Biden and his son’s laptop.

Meanwhile, Skip Isaacs did not let it rest:

Dear Mr. Kipke — The fact that we don’t agree seems to me a reason for
having a dialogue, not for shutting it off, but if that’s your choice,
and you don’t wish to explain your views to me, I won’t pursue it any
further. I am always interested in listening to people who have
different opinions from mine and getting a better understanding of what
and how they think, so if you ever change your mind I will be glad to
follow up. I’m not sure how you define a “devout leftist,” by the way, but most
folks who meet that description would definitely not count me as one of
them.

Thanks for writing
Arnold Isaacs

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The next day, Skip again wrote to Kipke:

Delegate Kipke, I feel compelled to ask one more question, requiring
only a one-word answer: are you in favor of ending birthright
citizenship for some U.S.-born children? Yes or No? If you answer, I
will go against my usual inclination and not ask any followup questions.
If you don’t I will wonder why you are unwilling to tell a constituent
what you think.

Arnold Isaacs

This time, Kipke responded, but without answering the question:

Arnold,

The answer is I do not know. I like the idea of ending people coming to
our country illegally just to have a baby that will grant them certain
benefits. So ending that would be good in my opinion however I respect
the constitution and it seems to me that the President can’t change that
policy without a constitutional change. However, I’ve read
interpretations that suggest it is possible so I’ll wait for the courts
to analyze this before I firm up my opinion.

Sincerely,
Nic Kipke
State Delegate
Anne Arundel County, District 31
M: 410-591-9535
E: kipke@kipke.com kipke@kipke.com

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Thus ended the exchange. It still amazes me that Republicans like Kipke support a felon, a racist, a liar and con man, a sexual predator and insurrectionist who has no respect for the laws of the land, pledges to be a dictator and is openly serviant to an American plutocracy. At a time of high employment and relative prosperity, Republicans continue to accept Trump’s dark view that the country is going to hell and what’s needed are more tax breaks for the wealthy and the deportation of people who pick our produce.