To the Editor:

The next two elections may be the two most important elections in our country’s history, because the fate of our democratic republic depends upon their outcomes.

This is not hyperbole. The radical right-wing fringe people have been invigorated by former President Donald Trump and the Republicans, to the point that they are ready to push to take over the country — not by free and fair elections, but by force and intimidation, threatening governmental workers at all levels.

Readers may recall that I have likened this Republican takeover of our country to Hitler and the Nazi takeover of Germany. The similarities of actions taken by Trump and the Republican leadership versus Hitler and the Nazi party are so parallel that it is terrifying. History always repeats itself, unless steps are taken to prevent the repetition.

If the Republicans take over state and federal (Congress mainly, since they already have the Supreme Court in their pockets) governments and if Trump — or some other right-wing Republican — wins re-election in 2024, the Republicans can get rid of term limits and make their candidate president for life, and the great American democratic experiment will be over.

All Trump has to do is to convince enough of the more centralist Republican populace that he is the victim and only he can fight back against the “deep state” left wing of government. Never mind that Trump and a number of the Republican leadership are very likely (as time will tell) guilty of multiple crimes, the most serious of which is the overthrow of our government.

This is no different than the message from Al Capone in the 1930s: cover up your own crimes by blaming others — especially law enforcement. This why Trump and the Republican leadership are moaning about any legal action taken against them: they don’t want to wind up in jail — and they won’t if they can hoodwink enough of the Republican membership to vote for them. (Don’t forget that “America first” was the slogan of the American Nazi party in 1939.)

By the way, the search warrant served on Trump was a legal search, based on the probability of finding the sought after evidence there — it was not an illegal raid. Trump was turned in by one of his own circle.

W.E. Feeman Jr., MD

Bowling Green