This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Thank you, Chris Matthews, for asking the great follow-up question to Donald Trump, "If abortion is murder, what is the appropriate penalty?" Trump responded that the mother should be punished. This created a firestorm in the press and in the presidential campaign, and Trump had to walk back his statement.
Why has this follow-up question not been asked previously? The press has been asleep for years.
We need many more follow-up questions like this. For example, Ted Cruz needs to be asked how exactly he would run the government if he does away with the IRS, as he wants to do?
How do we balance the budget while cutting taxes, as the Republicans want to do? To balance the budget, there are only two choices. Raise taxes, which conservatives will not consider, or cut programs. What specific programs would be cut? There are not enough "discretionary programs" for the savings. Will Social Security and Medicare be cut?
Democrats have better answers to important questions. Please vote for a Democrat for president, and vote the Republican obstructionists out of office. We need to rebuild our American middle class as FDR did.
Mark Rothacher
Salt Lake City