Letter to the Editor – The Augusta Press

Dear Editor,

This past June, I took the Law School Admissions Test, better known as the LSAT. When I first began preparing for the exam, I took a practice test to gauge my strengths and weaknesses. At that point, I had to choose which area—analytics, logical reasoning, or reading comprehension—I wanted to focus on improving, as the exam date was fast approaching. I chose logical reasoning. That decision helped me earn an average score. It was logical reasoning that got me over the hump, and it is logical reasoning that I will ask certain groups of voters to practice when they go to the polls in November.

First, I want to thank all those who do not comment publicly on my letters, but privately let me know that they enjoy reading them and, unbeknownst to me, sharing them with a wider audience. And now, for those I wish to address: If you are a convicted felon and you think that because the former president is now one of us, and you can vote for him, you can automatically identify with him, I have a strong word for you: DON’T.

Think about this: Who do you know in your socioeconomic level who can go to trial, be convicted of 34 felonies, and still walk around as the Republican presidential candidate? No, you can’t identify with the former president, so stop kidding yourself. To my knowledge, there is a large portion of ex-offenders who are willing to vote for a Republican ticket. Before you vote for that Republican ticket, I humbly urge you to contact one of your GOP state legislators or even the GOP congressman who represents your district and ask them to introduce legislation that would open the door to more opportunities for ex-offenders throughout the state and let me know how that turns out. It’s not going to happen.

Yet these are the same lawmakers who plan to appoint a convicted felon as President of the United States.

Furthermore, if you are a convicted felon who happens to be black and you are planning on voting for the Republican ticket, you really need to listen to what several Republicans are telling you. They want to send undocumented immigrants back across the border: mass deportation is what it is called. Once they send the undocumented immigrants out of the country, they expect you to go back to your “black” jobs, which is apparently what the undocumented immigrants took from black people when they came here. Now ask yourself what jobs you see undocumented immigrants doing? They are telling you what they think of you and me, because I am a black American. Logic dictates that you vote against initiatives that will hurt you rather than help you.

Education? That Pell Grant that has helped countless poor people get a quality college education is at stake as Project 2025 seeks to dismantle the Department of Education, meaning the end of dreams of college for those who can’t afford the rising cost of higher education. If you’re not rich, the Republican platform doesn’t help you at all—regardless of race, color, or creed. Some of us are pursuing identity politics, while others have outright lost our identity.

Logic dictates that you vote against initiatives that will hurt you more than help you. The Democratic Party is the reason that eligible people are still receiving SNAP benefits, which is also at stake in this election. If you don’t believe me, just do your research. There will be resistance to what I write. I encourage you to not listen to the comments to the contrary, but instead to watch the reports and listen to the explanations. Just because President Biden is out of office does not mean the end is near. If you are new to the political process and need help understanding what Project 2025 means for you, I highly recommend attending a meeting at your local Democratic Party headquarters.

Finally, I want to say that political violence has no place in our current political climate. It is dangerous and unnecessary. If you don’t want a particular candidate in office, don’t vote for him or her. Many people point to the 20^e century political assassinations, but let us not forget Abraham Lincoln and James Garfield, William McKinley (early 20th century) and the assassination of Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, by Aaron Burr, then vice president to Thomas Jefferson. Political violence is and must remain our past.

Again, thanks to everyone who has messaged me to agree, but I do recommend that if you are not a subscriber to Augusta Press, you subscribe.

Lawrence Anthony Brannen

Founder and Chairman of The Justice-Impacted Reformation Society Inc.