Readers React: ‘Bernie or bust’ voters might give us President Trump

To the editor: This nation is great because it is based on representation and negotiation, so I am appalled that too many of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders’ supporters have become essentially a mirror image of the tea party. (“Voters’ ‘Bernie or Bust’ efforts persist despite Sanders’ vow not to be another Ralph Nader,” April 24)

If they don’t get their way, they will just take their baseball and leave the ballpark, not understanding that, short of leaving the United States, they must live with the outcome — which may well be either Donald Trump or Sen. Ted Cruz, extremists on the other side of the aisle.

The threats of Sanders’ most strident supporters not to vote for Hillary Clinton in November are dangerous.

We have a right — no, a responsibility — to vote for the person who most closely represents our views. When the dust settles and the names are on the November ballot, consider that if one’s favorite candidate is not among the eventual choices, each person who then refuses to vote becomes a vote for the people they are most against.

I may agree with much of what Sanders stands for, but as a moderate, I find the extreme positions taken by some of his supporters to be irresponsible.

Philip Wiener, San Clemente

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To the editor: The “lesser of two evils” argument Democratic Party leaders often use to encourage the party faithful to vote for their corporate-controlled candidates does not seem to resonate with Sanders’ supporters.

Perhaps they hear an older adage: If you throw a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will leap out immediately. However, if you put a frog into a pot of cooler water and gradually turn up the heat, it will stay in the pot until it is cooked to death.

Perhaps Sanders supporters are growing increasingly aware that both Republican and Democratic Party leaders have been turning up the heat for many years, and this may be as good a time as any to jump out of the pot.

Dennis M. Clausen, Escondido

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