To the editor:

Are “independent” voters making up their own minds about which party to vote for based on knowledge of political history, complex issues, candidate qualifications and character? Or are they suspicious, reactionary people disillusioned by politics in general, thinking an independent candidate will be better than all the others?

Mr. Bealor in his April 23 letter (“Thank you, Mike Johnson”) declared himself “independent.” He’s angry at the extremists ruining his once-admired Republican Party. But he repeats (and perhaps believes) right-wing slurs about Democrats “excusing radical Islamic terrorism,” “ignoring the border crisis” and “illegally wiping out college student debt.”

In my mind, independent voters would pride themselves on having learned about the decades-long history behind Israeli/Palestinian animosity, Democrat proposals in the Republican-rejected Lankford/Sinema immigration bill or the restructuring of student debt. Verified facts enable independent voters to understand when and how issues are being politicized or to dismiss editorializing based on twisted misinformation and incendiary allegations.

RFK Jr. may convince some that he’s the “voice of change” but probably not all independents. Not when he’s on Fox News saying, “Biden is worse for democracy than Trump.” Not when he’s pushing anti-vaccine conspiracies, questioning charges against Jan. 6 rioters, sneering at being “woke” or saying that the election system is “rigged.”

A May 2 letter to the editor lavishly praised RFK Jr. as an Independent candidate. A little research reveals that RFK Jr’s compulsive womanizing doomed his three marriages. Far from “change,” sounds to me like more of the same in every way.

Martha Hodges

Massena