State Sen. Harpootlian should keep raising his voice to fight the status quo

On Trump’s impeachment

How can anyone possibly still support President Donald Trump with all of the evidence that has been presented against him? U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson and Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott must support Trump’s impeachment and removal from office.

The impeachment hearings have further confirmed that Trump only cares about enriching himself, even if it requires treasonous acts. He must be removed!

Sue Walls, Lexington

On state Sen. Harpootlian

For years South Carolina and Richland County have been overseen by the politically correct, the incompetent and the corrupt — and for years state Sen. Dick Harpootlian has been fighting against that status quo.

For example, when Harpootlian presented proof of the wrongdoing being committed by former 5th Circuit Solicitor Dan Johnson, many people still continued to back the status quo and defend Johnson.

And while the Richland County Election Commission had long been the butt of jokes for its incompetence, it was Harpootlian who revealed just how bad the problems had become — which eventually led to Gov. Henry McMaster firing the entire elections board. Once again Harpootlian fought against the status quo,; once again the public was the winner because of his efforts.

Now, however, many members of our Legislature are upset because when Harpootlian recently questioned why four openings at Columbia Metropolitan Airport were not publicly listed, he raised his voice and used some profanity while speaking to a county staffer. But does anyone really believe the county just forgot to publish the list of seats available?

Many of the same legislators who have done nothing to fight the status quo are now screaming for Harpootlian to go away because he used some bad language. But I think that we should ignore Harpootlian’s small transgression; in fact, we should be raising our voices to urge Harpootlian to keep fighting on our behalf.

Stuart Stout, Columbia

On USC football

As a Gamecock fan and former longtime Gamecock Club member, I don’t think it’s a mystery why the football program has struggled recently. The problem is poor recruiting.

In the past, the players in the USC program just seemed to be regular guys who appeared to appreciate the opportunity to play football and get an education. They didn’t have high aspirations of being NFL players, and their teams had camaraderie and cohesiveness. Where has that gone?

The problem is recruiting, and who’s in charge of that at USC?

Cheryl Carroll, Columbia

On Richard Spencer

Former Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer was fired because he mishandled the war crimes case of a SEAL officer — and tried to cut a deal with the Navy brass behind the backs of President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.

After being fired, Spencer expressed moral outrage about his dismissal in an opinion piece published by The Washington Post. But apparently Spencer is not a student of history.

President Abraham Lincoln removed Gen. George McClellan from leading the Army of the Potomac. President Harry Truman dismissed General Douglas MacArthur from commanding American forces during the Korean War. And President Barack Obama swapped five terrorists at Guantanamo Bay for an Army deserter; Obama also commuted the prison sentence of Chelsea Manning, the traitorous former Army soldier.

Why didn’t Spencer express any moral outrage over these and other events during the past decade?

Robert Williams III, Lexington

This story was originally published December 3, 2019 at 2:00 PM.