Sentinel is wrong: Donalds will win in November
The Orlando Sentinel editorial board is well-known for its liberal bias in my view, but the Aug. 21 editorial, co-authored with the Sun Sentinel, claiming Byron Donalds has a problem with base Republican voters and might lose in November to a liberal Democrat was delusional. While I see your editorial board becoming much more left-leaning, bashing Republicans almost daily, Florida has become a deep red state in the past eight years under Gov. Ron DeSantis. In 2018, registered Democrats outnumbered Republicans by 300,000, but today Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than 1.5 million. To suggest the Democratic nominee, David Jolly, might defeat Donalds is mere fantasy.
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As I see it, you wrongly labeled Donalds as weak for garnering just under a majority and also mischaracterized his opponents as weak. Republicans fielded several well-qualified candidates including Jay Collins, the sitting lieutenant governor. You should know that getting a majority vote in a crowded field of well-known candidates is very difficult. Donalds received 48% of the vote, 22% more than his closest rival, which I believe is very impressive.
You also overlooked the unexpected motivation Republicans will have to turn out in November. The Democrats nominated Angie Nixon, a member of the Democrat Socialists of America, who in my view is so extreme she took her children to a drag show and called it wholesome. What a gift to Republicans, who most assuredly will turnout in droves to stop a DSA member from serving in the U.S. Senate.
Come November, I believe Donalds will soundly defeat his Democratic opponent and the Orlando Sentinel editorial board will be proven wrong on this one.
— Jimmy Conner, Tavares
Stop ‘they hate this country’ rhetoric
As the Sentinel reported, Sen. Ashley Moody said during a state GOP rally Thursday that Democratic Socialists, “hate this country” (“Democrat Angie Nixon stunned politicos Tuesday night. Can she win again?”).
I believe this and similar statements seem to have become a widespread talking point for the far right.
Let’s automatically disqualify anyone (from any party) who claims his/her opponent “hates this country.”
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As I see it, this is the most self-serving, illogical and idiotic statement any candidate can make. It clearly demonstrates that this candidate believes his/her potential constituents are a bunch of fools.
Who is the real fool?
— Greg Beiser, Orlando
E-bike nuisance still growing
I am 82 years old, and for two years I have been driven off the sidewalks of my own neighborhood by children on e-bikes. Groups of kids, some as young as elementary school age, tear through our streets at reckless speeds with no regard for pedestrians. I have come close to being run down more than once. Walking used to be my main form of exercise; now I’m stuck on a treadmill in my complex’s gym because it isn’t safe to walk outside.
It gets worse. At my apartment complex kids on e-bikes have repeatedly ridden through our breezeway pounding on residents’ doors as they pass, including mine, more than once. Recently, after another round of door-pounding, I found a group of what looked like middle schoolers gathered near our dumpsters. I photographed them and told them I’d be calling the Sheriff’s Office. I did.
This is not an isolated nuisance. It is what happens when e-bikes, which can hit 20 to 28 mph, are treated like bicycles under Florida law and handed to children with no training, no enforcement, and no consequences. Someone is going to be seriously hurt or killed before this is taken seriously. Orange County schools have already limited the use of e-bikes by students, but that isn’t enough.
I have written to my Pasco county commissioners, my state representative, and Gov. Ron DeSantis demanding stronger laws and real enforcement. I hope other Central Florida residents dealing with the same problem will speak up too, before it takes a tragedy to get anyone’s attention.
— Ray Watters, Land O’Lakes
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