This is a letter to independent and Republican voters. Many voters long for the past  when Democrats and Republicans had differences but were able to find bipartisan solutions for issues and move the country forward. The GOP formerly had a long tradition of being for freedom, law and order, strong defense, secure borders, fiscal responsibility and defending the Constitution. Leaders of great character and accomplishment, including Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan and John McCain are now turning in their graves at the transformation of their GOP into a cult of personality. The current leader of the GOP and former president lacks character, integrity and supports none of the attributes listed above. His major “accomplishment” was a huge tax cut for the wealthy, resulting in a huge deficit increase. His other “accomplishment” was sending three justices to the Supreme Court to overturn the longstanding and very popular Roe decision. Abortion is a complex freedom and health issue that must be between a woman and her doctor. His dismal handling of the COVID pandemic four years ago resulted in a million deaths and a devastated economy, which the Biden/Harris administration have delivered a great recovery, with still more work to be done. The U.S. economy is the envy of the world. His tariff proposals are a tax increase on the U.S. Trump ironically claims to support the police and law and order in spite of his criminal record. On foreign policy, he threatened to disband NATO, thinks Putin is a great leader, and exchanges love letters with Kim of North Korea. His solution to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is to cede it to Putin. On military service members, he calls them “suckers and losers.” He mocked American hero John McCain. He recently had congressional Republicans kill a conservative bipartisan bill to greatly fix the border because he views border chaos as a political advantage. The Big Lie that he won in 2020 is a favorite. Many voters today think that because a candidate has an R after their name that they have character and hold traditional GOP values. Choose wisely.One choice for voters is Donald Trump, who is an expert on crime. He is the convicted felon who along with his many followers has led a major crime spree. He was convicted of 34 felony counts by a jury of his peers, has been adjudicated as a sexual abuser and for civil fraud, owes over $500 million in fines and has several more serious indictments pending. On January 6, 2021, he sent a mob of thousands of his followers to the U.S. Capitol to mount a coup attempt. The insurrectionists invaded the Capitol, beat and pepper sprayed police officers, resulting in five fatalities, attempted to hang his vice president, and prevent the certification of the election by Congress.  During this coup attempt, he watched for three hours and did nothing to call off his mob’s violence. He ignored his oath of office that required him “to preserve, protect and and defend the Constitution of the United States.” He claims to have surrounded himself with only the very “best” people.  However, many have been found to be otherwise and were convicted including: Bannon, Manafort, Navarro, Roger Stone, Gen. Flynn, Alan Weisselberg, Rick Gates and Michael Cohen.Trump is right that we should fear a proposed radical agenda: But that is Project 2025 created by his followers and has multiple plans to take away America’s freedoms. He says that he plans to be dictator on day one, pardon the Jan. 6 insurrectionists, suspend the Constitution, lock up millions of immigrants in concentration camps, encourage his followers to violence and imprison or execute his political enemies.Voters must judge candidates by the content of their character. How does Trump measure up?The other choice is Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, who stand for freedom of choice, freedom from fear, hate, violence, affordable health care and economic freedom for all. Their plan is to move the economy forward by lifting children out of poverty, making child care, housing and food more affordable. They will pass a strong immigration bill, keep U.S. energy strong, deal with the climate crisis, and preserve democracy. Kamala has 30 years of elected experience as a California prosecutor and attorney general, and U.S. vice president. Kamala and Tim embody great character, integrity, decency and experience. Her mantra is “Kamala for the people.” Please choose freedom, joy, competence and character.Daniel SyroidPark CityThe post Character, freedom appeared first on Park Record.