Dear Editor,
As a lifelong defender of liberty, I write with deep concern about Donald Trump’s ongoing attacks on the Constitution – a pillar of democracy that should transcend party and personality.
I come from a libertarian background: limited government, individual liberty and rule of law. Libertarian used to mean support for the founding principles of the United States, but now it’s a debased and bastardized term. That’s why I find it intolerable that Donald Trump continues to present himself as a defender of the republic while behaving like a man who clearly sees the Constitution as an obstacle to personal power.
Trump’s brand of politics is not about liberty, it’s about control. He wants power without limits, loyalty without question, and the government as a means of enriching himself and his family. That’s neither conservatism, nor libertarianism. It’s authoritarianism wrapped in red, white, and blue.
The Constitution was designed not to serve the whim of any one individual, but to bind all leaders to the same limits and principles. We now see public figures, some elected, some aspiring, who treat constitutional checks as inconveniences and the rule of law as optional. Their rhetoric dismisses due process, sneers at judicial independence, and calls for punishment of political enemies.
If we are serious about liberty, we must speak up. Now. The Constitution is not some kind of hazy ideal. The rule of law is not a partisan weapon. Power without limits is not freedom. It is despotism.
Respectfully, Stephen Huggins, Madison