Editor’s note: Our coverage of evidence of voter fraud continues to register with The Daily Signal’s audience, as you’ll see below. Don’t forget to write us at letters@dailysignal.com.—Ken McIntyre

Dear Daily Signal: Get ready for a whole lot of this type of fraud in future elections, as described in your report by Fred Lucas, only far more of it (“EXCLUSIVE: Audit Finds Signs of Fraud in New Mexico House Race”).

It is how the Democrat Party intends to achieve power. The self-serving, never-Trump Republicans are going right along with them, because they despise Trump even more than the Democrats do.

These Republicans would sell our country down the river to please a major donor. I have no doubt that they participated in the attempted coup d’etat against our president.

Republicans and Democrats need to do our job in helping Trump clean up our corrupt federal government.

We have precious few allies in Congress. This was amply demonstrated by that abhorrent bipartisan continuing resolution to keep our government open.—Randy Leyendecker, Kerrville, Texas

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Election fraud exists; election results have been determined by fraud. The simple truth is that to any left-winger, the ends always justify the means. There is no honor in them.

We must do everything possible to ensure our elections are fair and honest. Failure to do so, resulting in a loss of confidence in our democratic process, can and will destroy this nation, which is what the left is pushing for.

Every American is an injured party in this case.—Wayne Peterkin

The disputed votes in New Mexico must be further investigated. If there are signs to indicate the New Mexico secretary of state hid this information, there are grounds for impeachment. All of Doña Ana County’s elections must be made null and void.— John Block

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Photo identification has been upheld by the Supreme Court; there should be no questions.

Absentee voting should require a witness. The penalty for falsifying a vote should be some prison time and permanent loss of voting privileges.—Bennie Sprouse

We need voter ID. And please stop with the excuse that many black Americans cannot afford a “free” ID.—Kim Watson

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New Mexico has got to be the dirtiest state of them all. It is already run like a socialist country. I lived there, and won’t ever go back.—Eva Dearing

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If I had a million dollars, I would bet there was voter fraud in every state. Without it, Democrats would never have taken back the House.

And seeing how they refuse to fix it, it will be a thousand times worse in 2020, now that Democrats can harvest votes.

But then, anytime the government does anything they always make things worse. I don’t wonder why the U.S. is getting so violent; government has taken everything away from us and replaced it with martial law.

Normal people don’t have a chance today; government caters to radical blacks and women, illegal immigrants, and perverts.—Richard Bagenstose

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How you end this: Any campaign caught committing voter fraud will forfeit and the win will go to the opposition. End of story. Someone needs to put these Democrats on a short lease.—Geno Bouwens, Sparta, Mich.

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Rather odd that those magic ballots that show up just at the nick of time always seems to help the Democrat candidate. Little wonder the left wants nothing to do with cleaning the voting process.

In way too many cases, fraud is committed and then those involved in committing the fraud stand back and laugh, saying what are you going to do about? The answer has been nothing but complain.

Being an absentee voter, I would be willing to do away with absentee ballots except for the military. I will find a way to cast my vote.—Edd Eaton

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Voting has become corrupt in favor of Democrats who like to engage in fraud and vote harvesting. We must find a solution before 2020, or lose the country altogether.—Helga Miller

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This is textbook electoral fraud given the long-standing Republican nature of this district. Things like this happen when you allow provisional balloting, don’t have strict voter ID laws, and don’t have strict oversight of all phases of the vote counting process.—Bert Chapman

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Why not publish the names of all absentee voters in the local newspapers? Then encourage them to come forward if their identity has been stolen.

Or send out some teams to visit some of the supposed voters. I am sure many said they could not vote in person because they were homebound.— John Hames, Tennessee

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Late votes, suddenly discovered votes, under-the-kitchen-sink votes, hidden-in-the-rafters votes. Always Democrat.—William James

Defending the Pledge of Allegiance

Dear Daily Signal: If you want to know what the left thinks about this country, as Jarrett Stepman writes about, go ask a millennial (“In Rejecting the Pledge of Allegiance, the Left Is Rejecting Nationhood”). All they’ve heard during school, especially college, is how terrible this nation was and is.

We have always been imperialist and colonialist, and we live on land we stole from natives. We are racists, bigots, rich fat cats, war mongers, sexists, and more.

Forget the part where we are why countless poor people around the world exited poverty. Forget how we saved Western Europe in World War I and saved the world in World War II.

Forget that our system is so well thought out that there is a constant correction of injustices. That we offer more to our poor than any other nation on earth, in terms of both tax dollars and charity.

That people risk their lives to come here and always have says it all.—Anthony Alafero

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I sighed as I read this and, as a veteran who swore the oath to defend the republic and its citizens, I am sad.

While wanting to enjoy all the protections and the system that allowed these people to climb to the top of their professions, they work to destroy those very institutions and beliefs.

While no society is free of problems, they seem to dwell on using whatever they see as a problem to destroy the country that has given them the freedom to do as they please. Instead of fostering unity, they instead work to separate us.

The Pledge of Allegiance is meant to unify us. It is recognition of our common goals. Why would someone who has benefited from the Constitution and being here wish to destroy what has allowed them to do so?

Perhaps those who feel that it is so bad here should do like our ancestors did, and find and then go to the place that better reflects their beliefs. But then that might require them to actually live under what they want to subject the rest of us to, and lose the freedoms that allow them to speak and hate.—John Bayn

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They are now accelerating the changes toward a socialistic tyranny, as more of their agenda gets passed.—Stephen Warren

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The United States is not a Christian nation. Of course, it was built on Christian principles and the country prospered.

But eventually men would decide they want to be their own god or create a god more to one’s liking, and the God of the Bible is now considered outdated. A paper man spits at an eternal God. Everyone is trying to pound their little chest at God and convince Christians to follow them because they know better.

American life as we know it, as sad as it seems, will come to an end. This empire will fail, just like all the empires of the past, because of the sin of man. The nation may fall, but it will not take away the ability to worship Christ, no matter what happens in this country.

Pagans should beware, look at history, and see how the growth of Christianity gets stronger under adversity. Perhaps this is God’s way of turning a nation of lazy Christians into true believers and show that their faith is in God and not in man.—Ross LaFleur

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The Pledge of Allegiance in its current form (aside from the phrase “under God,” added during the Red Scare of the ’50s) was officially adopted by Congress in 1942.

Somehow we managed to get along without it before then.—Edward Buatois

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Stepman writes: “But the fact is that many of these public institutions are fostering neither critical thought nor a patriotic citizenry. Instead, they often give free rein to radicals who violate the First Amendment rights of others with little consequence, who shout down those who disagree with them and actively suppress debate.”

Sorry, but this is a false meme that is promoted by hatemongering right-wing media, and its poorly educated devotees gobble it up as if it were true. Sad.—John Levin, New York

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It’s all right. Some citizens of the United States recite the Pledge of Allegiance with all of their heart and others are sojourners whose only commitment in life is to themselves.

You can identify the sojourners and liberals from their twisted, immoral philosophy. Unfortunately, the sojourners are like a short-term inconvenience to be tolerated.

They will eventually die off from their nonprolific behavior and demonic values. But, like all inconveniences, they can be irritants and distractions. Rational-minded conservatives must continue their civility and morality.—Jason Traxler

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A couple years ago, some of these haters wanted to delete “one nation under God” from the pledge. Today, at events and meetings, these four words are the words said louder and more distinct then the rest.

Real Americans are making a statement. If this “institution policy” is put into effect, Americans must stand before the meeting starts and just start reciting the pledge even if it’s not on the printed agenda.—Marty Miller

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This is what communists do best is to try to quiet the speaker. They did it at the U.N. for Cuba. They did in Lima, Peru, at the Summit of the Americas. They have done it everywhere.

Communists do not want the truth, they only want their political agenda. When the truth comes up, they try to overcome the speaker.

These communists are an unruly group of agitators that has vowed to create chaos.—Antonio Urbizu

Political Kookiness in California

Dear Daily Signal: I too was born and raised in California, and lived there from 1953 to 1998 (“The Top 5 Nutty New California Laws”). As much as I miss my family and friends there, Jarrett Stepman’s commentary reminds me that I am so glad to have left that socialist-run state.

My concern for California (and for the entire U.S., actually) is that slowly but surely our freedoms are being destroyed.

Take the case of charter schools. Why should private schools be forced to teach sex-ed classes? Sex-ed classes should be a choice made by parents. Parents should be given the freedom to raise their children as they wish. and the government should stay out of it.

And forcing companies to have a quota of women on their boards? Ridiculous. It’s a private business, and again, the government needs to stay out of it.

Companies should be allowed to hire “the best and the brightest” and the person who will fit best with their organization, and not have to settle for someone based on sex or race or whatever else.

Before you know it, California will dictate that companies must hire a quota of transgenders, gays, lesbians, and whatever else the LBGTQ activists come up with.—Bev Edwards

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Not too bright, are you, Jarrett Stepman? You basically just made stuff up without looking for actual data.

California ranks in the lower third of states for teen pregnancies, while Bible Belt red states that avoid sex ed are the worst and have more than twice the rate of teen pregnancy.

California has the eighth-fewest deaths by guns of all states. Again, the worst states for gun deaths are Bible Belt red states, with three times the rate of gun deaths of California.—Bill Burlison

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Mandating women on corporate boards is thoughtless. Because of our biological differences, women naturally will be underrepresented.

How much underrepresented? Let the women themselves determine their course. It is the only sensible way to go.

The fundamental problem to be resolved with corporate boards of directors is not man-woman balance. It is our failure to realize that a corporation’s existence is permitted by our government, and consequently, corporations exist only for everyone’s benefit. That is, corporations exist solely for our government to use for our purposes.

It is simply the corporate board’s duty to balance its requirements of its existence with this national responsibility.—Jerry Hewes

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All very disgusting. The California Legislature is off the rails. And, unfortunately, I still live here, after being born and bred here. Leaving soon, I hope.—Amy Lacy

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The only capital city more crazy than Albany, New York, is Sacramento, California.

The deal is, however, that all of the western half of California is nutty.—Bill Mayberry

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Let us face it, a second civil war has started and California is in open rebellion to the founding principles and the Constitution and needs to be treated as such. Change my mind?—Mark Zanghetti

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This is one of the results of having a one-party state. The influx to California of illegal voters, multivoters, and magic voters with their magic ballots has made it almost impossible for a Republican, much less a conservative, to have any chance in an election.

The Southern Californian who suddenly switched from strong Republican to liberal with magic ballots should wake anyone paying attention. Those illegal votes are showing up nationwide, and are why the left fights so hard against cleaning up voter rolls.

Step one in providing a little more trust in our system.—Edd Eaton

The Trouble in Venezuela

Dear Daily Signal: Socialism fails under the premise that a powerful and all-knowing central government can redistribute the wealth to help out all the poor people, as the commentary on Venezuela by Anthony Kim and Ana Quintana suggests (“Today’s Venezuela: Where Socialism Meets Authoritarianism”).

Under human nature, this power always has led to the elimination of human rights and the migration of all the wealth to those in power.

Only fools continue to proselytize for socialism. Unfortunately, they are in great supply today.—Thomas R. Beckwith

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Be care what you want, because you will get it. There was a day when socialism looked good to the people of Venezuela.—Harry Bluff

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Those who hide their heads and claim it’s not our problem ignore the unreported fact that there is an unprecedented and formidable Russian, Cuban, Iranian, and Chinese military buildup in Venezuela.

The Cuban Missile Crisis pales by comparison to this clear and present danger, which  has been active and in place for over a decade.

Added to that, the Venezuelan government has taken state-sponsored drug trafficking to stratospheric levels.—Thomas R. Beckwith

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While we cannot condone all that Chavez and Maduro do, we can certainly learn to leave other countries alone. Why are we so worried about Venezuela? Perhaps it has something to do with the world’s largest oil reserves and corporate greed. Do we need someone in power there that bows to those interests?—John Childs

Gorka on Socialism Versus Free Markets

Dear Daily Signal: I found Sebastian Gorka’s commentary article on socialism to be exceedingly well done (“The Difference in How Socialism and Free Markets Work in the Real World”). Everything in the article says “capitalism should be the economic system.”

There are, however, two things that Gorka did not discuss. First is the “Technopoly” reality that Neil Postman’s 1992 book of that title opened my eyes to. I would recommend reading it.

The second unmentioned situation is the ancient doctrine of “Total Depravity,” which is clearly presented in the Bible in Genesis 6. Mankind follows the second law of thermodynamics into total chaos.—John Jamison

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Equal opportunity, protected by fair laws, is the optimum. We cannot change the fact that some people are raised by a dysfunctional welfare mother in an inner city, while another is raised in a loving, high-functioning, disciplined household.

Most will immediately associate that with money, but that is wrong. Plenty of kids come from rich but lousy parents, while Ben Carson and his brother were raised in inner-city Detroit by a loving and disciplined but low-income single mother.

Passing over thousands of white and Asians students who scored 1400-plus on the SAT to accept sub-1000 minorities is the very definition of unfair and unequal opportunity.

The problem that those pushing socialism today have with capitalism is that it allows some to succeed wildly while others fail miserably. What they don’t seem to understand is that is a free society, we are free to succeed or to fail. But since most succeed, enough wealth is created to care for those who are needy.

As long as our Pravda-like media are allowed to intentionally deceive the people, they will not understand that they are being fed political tripe. Look at health care. The left said that we needed Medicaid for the poor and the problem would be solved.

They got it. Then they whined that the near-poor needed it and all would be great. They got it, but then whined that the near-to-near poor should also qualify, and we did that.

Then Obama shows up, whining that poor people were dying in the streets. Wait, what about all of that Medicaid?

So they dug up millions more to cover, and said now all is good. That lasted a short time. And now, people are dying in the streets again, so we need a single-payer system for all? It’s a political hit job intended to be a big step toward socialism.

If we had a real media, the people would know that the Democrats are authoritarian-seeking frauds.—Anthony Alafero

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The millennial generation is the stupidest generation in the history of mankind, and it’s not even close. That’s why 52 percent of them can support a socialist system that keeps failing.

It’s stunning how pathetic that generation is, and scary thinking about when they’ll eventually be running things—no doubt into the ground.—Peyton Lind

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No doubt, President Obama escalated the surge on the left and the division in America. But it was the elitists who junked welfare state Germany, socialist Russia, and fascist Italy, declaring: “We have seen the future, and it works!”

That started the progressive movement in America praised by the nazis and fascists in Europe in the early 20th century.

In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, all of the hacks vote for more taxes and higher state worker salaries and pensions. Those who pay little or no taxes vote to raise taxes on those who do.

Another group votes religiously to keep and raise their entitlements, including food stamps, electronic benefit transfer cards, and college tuition. Out of the other remaining 60 percent, 30 percent just vote for compassion and 30 percent actually might vote for low taxes, smaller government, and more individual freedom.

Massachusetts is overwhelmingly Democrat, and the party there is financed largely by taxation.—Wayne Harmon

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According to the Cato Institute’s Human Freedom Index, the U.S. ranks no better than 17th, with nearly every northern European country ahead of us as well as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, which is ranked No. 1.

Most would think of these countries as more socialist than the U.S. They may give that impression, but in fact they are more free market-driven than we are and they’re reaping the benefit.

And then there’s this: Engels, Marx’s co-developer, was by all measures a rich man. Yet he never implemented a single concept he developed for his own textile workers. Apparently not even Engels was dumb enough to walk his walk.—Paul Johnson

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Wouldn’t it be nice if we could facilitate the movement of those desiring to be socialists to a socialist country?—Tom Colangelo

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I thought that most of the world was already socialist, including the Democratic People’s Republic of California.

They have (or want) “free” health care, “free” higher education, and further restrictions on gun ownership. At least we still have places like Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and West Virginia.—Eliot W. Collins

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I blame it on the education system.

“’The Communist Manifesto’ ranks among the three most frequently assigned text at American universities,” MarketWatch reported in 2016.

In schools, this work by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels is taught as more moral than capitalism. But no one talks about the 61.9 million who were killed in the Soviet Union between 1917 and 1987 by the Communist Party, or the 45 million who were killed in four years by China’s Mao Zedong.—Steve Miller

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The current advocates of socialism are ignoring the first half of the phrase “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.”—Peter Asher

This and That

Dear Daily Signal: Unfortunately, we cannot “believe all women,” as Katrina Trinko notes in her commentary (“The End of ‘Believe All Women’”).

I know of a woman who lied, putting a man in jail even though she recanted her accusation. Women are not going to like what I’m saying next, but women need to get smarter and not allow themselves to be put in compromising circumstances.

That is, don’t go up to a man’s hotel room unless you are willing to accept the likely outcome. Don’t get falling down drunk so that your inhibitions are lowered to the point that going with a man to his hotel room sounds like fun.

This will not stop men from putting roofies in our drinks and committing rape or other situations of sexual assault. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about not losing self-control and putting ourselves in losing situations.

I’m also advocating that women speak up immediately when men take inappropriate actions against us, not wait until years later when they are in positions of power.

Would Virginia’s lieutenant governor have become lieutenant governor if this woman had accused him of sexual assault when it happened years ago?—Marion E. Daniels-Price

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The commentary on Bible literacy by Daniel Davis doesn’t mention the importance of the Bible as an influence on virtually all literature prior to the 20th century (“How Bible Literacy Classes Could Help Heal Our Bitter Divisions”).

The Canadian literary scholar Northrop Frye taught a Bible course for decades at the University of Toronto precisely as an adjunct to teaching classic literature.—Dimitrios Otis

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So what if the Chinese want to re-educate a few folks, as Nolan Peterson reports (“Why China Is Militarizing Its Himalayan Frontier”)?

Re-education (dumbing down) has been going on in the United States of America since President Franklin Roosevelt.—Harry Bluff

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Regarding Ted Bromund’s commentary (“I Spoke With Gun Manufacturers From Across America. Their Optimism Is Waning”), the Second Amendment says “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

There doesn’t seem to be much understanding of that very simple, clear, and straightforward verbiage.

Infringement is the normal process with politicians, and it isn’t just regarding the Second Amendment.—Steve Fowler

Sarah Sleem and Courtney Joyner helped to compile this edition of “We Hear You.”