Readers Write: Mueller's testimony, Rep. Ilhan Omar, American society

Russia wants President Donald Trump in the White House. Again. Special counsel Robert Mueller and Russian President Vladimir Putin may not agree on much, but on the issue of which candidate the Russians wanted to win the 2016 presidential election, the answer from both was unequivocal: Trump. The consensus is Russia wants a redo.

The Mueller report painstakingly detailed the myriad ways in which Russia interfered with the election to manipulate the outcome. It disclosed how Trump welcomed Russia's back-seat driving and how democracy was stealthily subverted through the actions of an adversary. Trump won the presidential election that every final national poll said Hillary Clinton had locked up.

The Star Tribune editorial "Heed Mueller on election perils" (July 25) highlighted Mueller's serious concerns about the Russian government's attempts to intrude in our next presidential election and pointed to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's obstruction by not allowing a vote on an election security bill. Russia is doubling down on its man in the White House and McConnell seems not the least bit interested in protecting this country's election infrastructure. One can only assume that for Trump, McConnell and much of the GOP, the ends justify the means.

Democrats ought to be shouting from the rooftops that an election outcome driven by meddling from Russia or any other foreign government is unacceptable. There must be a paper trail. That starts by bringing the Election Security Act to the Senate floor for a vote and ultimately signing it into law. As Mueller said, election security "deserves the attention of every American." Knowing what we now know, anything less will result in the election of America's first "illegitimate president."

Cue the Wizard of Oz music. After three years of reading and hearing about Mueller, the great Democratic hope to take down the president, we finally got to look behind the curtain ("Mueller warns on 2020 election," front page, July 25). What we saw was sad: a halting, confused, elderly man who was mostly clueless about the report that he had supposedly written.

From the beginning, this was an investigation in search of a crime. This biased team, after three years and over 25 million in wasted U.S. taxpayer dollars, could not find the evidence needed to indict Trump on allegations of conspiring with the Russians to influence the 2016 election. Thankfully this sad chapter in U.S. history is over, and we can get back to more important issues like immigration reform, health care and debt reduction.

On Wednesday I watched five agonizing hours of special counsel Robert Mueller's hearing put on by House Democrats.

I live in the Fifth Congressional District and am proud of our representative, Ilhan Omar. I have put my yard sign back out to indicate my support. A July 24 letter writer's broad demeaning of her and her work offends me.

Her "offensive gestures to others," as the writer puts it, I suppose include speaking up for Palestinian rights, her objections to the Muslim ban, her speaking her mind as a hijab-wearing woman of color. She is no farther "left" than Bernie Sanders and some other males. The writer takes liberties to demean and disrespect her in ways, I believe, he would not write publicly about progressive men with whom he may disagree. To call her "outspoken" reflects his apparent presumption that as a freshman member of Congress, immigrant and woman of color she should be quiet and circumspect. She is not. After hearing her speak many times I find her positions to be well-thought-out and well-supported.

I share the writer's expectation that Congress should do its job, including reforming and clarifying the immigration system of the United States. Statements such as "any fear for her safety has been earned" and "providing security will be a tax burden for those of us she is charged but fails to represent" only add to the political "circus" he references.

I am not sure which portion of her constituents the writer is speaking for, but it certainly is not the majority when he talks of being embarrassed by her.

The writer could do his part in "civilly working" by not "escalating the hateful ugly dialogue circus" he put forth in his letter to the editor.

The character and behavior of the sitting U.S. president is one or two orders of magnitude, maybe three, more important than of a freshman representative. While an argument can be made that Omar's strange tax/marital history (even after key parts were settled by the tax authorities) is somehow important to the good people of Minnesota ("Why facts of Omar's past remain so elusive," July 25), let's look at the bigger picture. The proven malfeasance, currently under investigation, of the current president regarding taxes and marital shenanigans is gargantuan compared to Omar's — far worse behavior and far, far worse consequences. Without a scintilla of doubt, his behavior is more important. So where are the pronouncements, the submissions for further investigation of all that from our state Rep. Steve Drazkowski from Mazeppa ("GOP legislator creates website targeting Omar," July 24)? Can we, the good people of Minnesota, please have some proportionality? Honesty about relevance? How about simple logic?

I was moved by the eloquent and heartfelt letter "Trump chooses fear; we shouldn't" (July 25) about the need to accept people for who they are, not generating fear and hate for those who live differently than us. The writer's wise words stand as a testimony to how we can build a community that embraces all of us. On the Opinion Exchange page the same day, another article ("New Zealand PM provides a lesson in leadership") describes how an ethical and courageous leader embraced a community that experienced a horrific mass killing. As leader of her nation, she did not fan the fires of hate and prejudice, she avoided speaking the killer's name — thereby denying him the "glory" and notoriety he sought — and she wore a hijab while meeting with survivors and family members demonstrating her respect and solidarity with their loss.

Oh, how far we have fallen in the United States of America. It is up to all of us to repair our broken civil society.