Opinion Line Extra (June 22)

Kansas Democrats propose budget cuts to help finance schools, and the Republicans reject them. Why? They don’t wish to appear weak to their radical bases by working or compromising with the other party, no matter the issue.

As someone who falls left of center, I believe wholeheartedly in our citizens’ right to bear arms. However, it seems like the only well-regulated militia that has formed has been one full of terrorists wanting to harm innocent people.

Think about it: All the mass killings have occurred in gun-free places.

To those who believe rights can’t be taken away: Just look at what happened to the right to life since abortion became the law of the land in 1973.

Even an ex-felon can have his gun rights restored. It takes work, but one can make it happen.

With Republicans fighting any ban on assault weapons, cutting health care spending and battling the LGBT community, is it any wonder they are so eager to label the Orlando shooter a “radical Islamic extremist” rather than an insane homophobe who thought claiming allegiance to ISIS would make him sound more important?

The transgender “community” is 0.1 percent of the country’s population. How in the heck did they get enough voice to create a national debate over bathroom use, and why are we changing laws to address this?

While Republicans pray their “Stop Trump” effort works, for our nation it is far more important that America’s “Stop the Republicans” effort works.

Trump University versus Hillary’s Benghazi, e-mail and server issues – which issue would you pick to be more of a security breach against our country, and whom would you vote for?

So after Orlando, Hillary would defeat terrorist groups abroad and provide more assistance to intelligence officials in the U.S. Where was that commitment in 2012, when four Americans were killed in Benghazi? She couldn’t handle it as secretary of state.

If you’re running for the Republican nomination and getting significant votes from Democrats, and you become your party’s front-runner as a result, it sounds like cheating. This is one reason why Donald Trump should be denied the Republican nomination, besides the fact that he’s not qualified.

I believe that Americans deserve more than the lesser of two evils in our presidential election. We need true leadership in these troubled times, and I do not see it from here.

Could we have one full week of Opinion Line without Democrats and Republicans hating on each other? OK, how about one day?

This story was originally published June 22, 2016 at 12:02 AM with the headline "Opinion Line Extra (June 22)."