BY DAVID HANSON
Los Alamos 

In our previous letter to the editor (“Which Candidates are Election Deniers and Why it Matters“, David Hanson and Richard Skolnik,  https://losalamosreporter.com/2022/10/11/which-candidates-are-election-deniers-and-why-it-matters/on October 11 , we posed two questions for the candidates for Los Alamos County Council. We also sent our questions to them by email: Do you believe that Joe Biden is the legitimately elected  President and, do you believe that an insurrection took place at the US Capital on January 6,  2021?  

Reid Priedhorsky‘s letter to the editor of October 20 (https://losalamosreporter.com/2022/10/20/candidates-values-matter/) pointed out that all four of the Democratic candidates for County Council responded “yes,” the Libertarian  candidate answered “yes,” but none of the Republican candidates responded directly to the  questions.  

So, we now know the answer to our question. Of course, our questions put the Republican  candidates in an uncomfortable position: either uphold their principals and risk losing the votes  from their Republican base or stay silent and face the consequences of cowardice. 

Suzie Havemann’s letter https://losalamosreporter.com/2022/10/24/elections-civics-and democracy/ on October 25 pointed out that denying the validity of Joe Biden’s election is  clearly contrary to the rule of law. She also made clear that the Constitution and Democracy  should NOT be partisan issues, even if they appear to be for the Republicans.

By remaining silent, the Republican candidates have essentially admitted that they are not able to  support the rule of law, as it is enshrined in our Constitution. It is difficult to overestimate the  importance of this. Without unanimous strong support for the rule of law, Democracy cannot  survive. 

It also bears repeating an important point from our October 11 letter: election deniers are  getting elected to local offices and attempting to compromise the election process. 

Thus, when you cast your vote on November 8, ask yourself: If a Republican candidate who cannot answer our two questions is elected, will they honestly be able to take the oath of office and swear to uphold our Constitution?