An understandable reaction

Eric Wattenburg was evidently disappointed in the reaction of the Ron Wyden Town Hall crowd at Sisters High School, when an audience member asked whether Mr. Wyden accepted the outcome of the election. Wyden replied "yes." The crowd, which was primarily comprised of Democrats, was reportedly silent and did not signal that they agreed or disagreed.

To understand this reaction, it's instructive to understand what Trump represents to Democrats and what the position of president means to them.

I believe I speak for most Democrats when I say the position of President is not just another government employee. This person represents our values and morals and broadcasts these to other countries across the globe. He is a role model for our children. If the President does not represent our values or is immoral in our eyes, this reflects on us. We are personally ashamed, every one of us.

Trump has demonstrated over and over through his rhetoric that he does not represent our values.

He has disparaged women, Hispanics and the handicapped.

He uses his position of power to enrich his family.

He continually lies and is vindictive toward anyone that criticizes him.

He refuses to acknowledge his failures and take responsibility for them.

He retaliates, trying to discredit those people that dare to criticize or oppose his policies.

Retaliation has been directed at the press, Federal judges, celebrities and even private corporations.

He created scapegoats in illegal immigrants and Muslim refugees.

He has inspired violence by white-supremacist radicals toward blacks, LGBTs and Jews.

Hate crimes are all up significantly.

If the president fails to behave according to the ideology put forth in the Constitution, we are concerned that our rights might be taken away. Trump has taken actions and published Tweets that we feel threaten our democracy and our freedoms. He is already violating the Emoluments Clause. We are concerned that the separation of powers will be compromised and he will become a dictator, like Chavez did in Venezuela.

We feel that Trump and most of his advisors are too inexperienced. Being the leader of the free world is not something you experiment with to see what might work. Being president is serious, professional business. Many of Trump's actions seem to indicate that he is oversimplifying very complex issues, including trade, healthcare, military strength and immigration policy. He is not following protocol when he fails to consult with advisors from all agencies before issuing orders. He is not adhering to security protocols. As a result, there have been several missteps in his first month, with unpleasant and unintended consequences, including the travel ban, ACA repeal and the Yemen operation.

We have little confidence in his leadership skills or motives, because he has made many attribution errors. These include: attributing a fictitious major crime wave on illegal aliens, terrorist attacks having killed huge numbers compared to other crimes and all committed by Muslim aliens, jobs being taken away from whites by undocumented Mexicans and mass migrations across our borders. None of it makes any sense.

You say that our elections are "the bedrock of our Constitution." If that's so, we have every right to be unhappy with the outcome of the election. Aside from the fact that Trump did not win the popular vote, this election was rigged more than any other election in U.S. history. The Republican Party used gerrymandering, voter ID laws, voter suppression and even illegal intimidation. Russian hackers provided private emails through Wikileaks, and FBI Director James Comey was unethical in disclosing ongoing investigation information. There are the ongoing investigations into possible collaborations of the Trump campaign with Russian operatives.

All of these things bring serious doubt as to the legitimacy or fitness of this president.