Elect respect

This election, Aretha Franklin’s song, “Respect,” is an appropriate theme for women. It took nearly a century and a half for heroic women to gain us the right to vote via Constitutional Amendment XIX, (1920). We forever owe them a debt, to be paid by voting for candidates who will respect us as equal citizens.

This is a crucial election and we women are the majority. We can work together to solve our country’s problems. At stake are access to health care, family planning and protection of our air, water and food. At stake is our and our children’s future.

The Republicans have let us down with huge tax cuts for mega-donors. We pay with cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, higher insurance premiums and likely disallowance of pre-existing conditions. The Republicans plan cuts to Social Security and have already gutted the Environmental Protection Agency, allowing toxins into our air, water and food.

This is not respect. Let’s elect Democratic candidates this time and make them listen to our concerns. If we women (the majority) vote together, we can make our country a better place for everyone. It’s a matter of respect and doing what is right.

Ann Warwick

Sandpoint, Idaho