To the Editor:
This will be short. You have other things to do this beautiful Thanksgiving weekend.
Rarely am I completely shocked by a political turn of events (the 2024 election result was one), but a week ago the most unlikely congressional MAGA jumped ship and announced her withdrawal from Congress as of January 5, 2026.
Marjorie Taylor Greene explained that the denouncement by her former crush, Donald Trump, caused cascading threats of violence to her and her family from some in MAGA. She had broken with the president by insisting that the Epstein Files be released as he had promised in the campaign. She apparently hadn’t noticed that the door only swings one way with the Revenge King.
Don’t counter with Black Lives Matter protesters, Martin. Trump’s violent revenge machine is not in defense of civil rights and against racial targeting. It’s always personal with him, against someone who violates his loyalty and deference tests. One very odd exception: Zohran Mamdani, newly-elected democratic socialist mayor of NYC, whom Trump invited to call him a “fascist,” while he threw Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) under the gubernatorial bus for calling Mamdani a “jihadist.” Go figure.
Once Greene announced her commitment, Trump called her a “traitor,” and MAGA violence and death threats began, such that she was forced to hire private guards to protect her family. Trump doesn’t even have to ask them for cooperative retribution. He knows they know what he wants. They know that Nobody Crosses The Don and survives unscathed. Michael Corleone would be proud.
Traditional Republicans have attested to this anti-democratic protocol. Lisa Murkowski referred to congressional fears of crossing Trump because retribution was certain to follow. Adam Kitzinger and Liz Cheney, otherwise solid conservatives, had their careers derailed. Uber-conservative Mitt Romney has related stories of fear of voting against Trump’s impeachment because he knew it would likely endanger his and his family’s lives. There are others.
It’s now irrefutably clear that Trump’s plan, as those of other autocrats, is to sell the idea that, “our violence is patriotism (January 6, etc.) and that critics are enemies” (“Quiet, Piggy!” “You married a Loser!” to the wife of dissident Republican Senator, Thomas Massie). Political argument is irrelevant in our Constitutional Republic under Trump.
Menace and violent threats, or prosecutions for financial ruin (James Comey, Letitia James), are the name of Trump’s game. Gin up enough rage and resentment, and somebody in MAGA will feel it righteous to “do something.” And then Trump will blame the Democrats.
Some people only understand peril when they themselves are the target. MAGA has an interesting dilemma.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.
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To the Editor:
THANKSGIVING
This Thanksgiving mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion, and replace it with trust. Write a love letter.
Share some treasure. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Express loyality in your word and deeds. Keep a promise. Find the time. Let go of a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Listen. Apologize if you were wrong.
Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Appreciate more. Be kind;be gentle. Laught a little more. Deserve confidence. Take up arms against injustice. Express your gratitude. Go to church. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of this earth. Speak your love.
Speak it again. Speak it still once more
Bill Steiger,
Fillmore, Ca.