Hold officials to same standards as kids

My granddaughter recently invited us to join her kindergarten class. One of the posters in the lunchroom read: 'Share. Respect. Keep promises. Be truthful. Play fair. Show kindness. Obey the rules. Cooperate.” My first thought: Are we now holding our kindergartners to higher standards than we do our elected officials, starting with Donald Trump and including today's Iowa Republicans?

You shouldn't feel that you have to listen to Democrats to be convinced not to vote Republican in November. A significant number of prominent lifelong conservatives are leaving their party in our state and across the country because today's Republicans are putting their own political and financial interests ahead of the public good.

It's Rod Blum using his time and energy in Congress to make money for himself. It's Kim Reynolds trading state contracts for private jet excursions. It's Louie Zumbach asking for your vote but bragging about doing everything he can to avoid public forums. It's the Iowa Republican chair who, in a moment of inadvertent honesty, told us 1 ½ years ago that the Republicans share their real agenda before an election not with us Iowans but with corporate interests and big individual donors behind closed doors.

The Republicans have taken us into what history will conclude is a governance nightmare, both in Des Moines and in Washington. We can end it, not by lowering the standards for kindergartners but by raising our expectations of all elected officials. And given the times we are in, by voting Democratic.

Scott Peterson

Mount Vernon

' Editor's Note:

Due to an abundance of election-related community letters and limited newspaper space, some are being published only online in an effort to include as many voices as possible.