Readers React: Who killed the GOP? (It wasn’t Donald Trump)

To the editor: I agree with Max Boot: The Republican Party lies somewhere between being on life support and dead. I do not, however, think that its presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump caused its demise. (“The Republican Party is dead,” Opinion, May 8)

The GOP has been winning elections for more than half a century by appealing to the fears and prejudices of much of its base. Recall Richard Nixon’s southern strategy, Ronald Reagan’s “welfare queens,” the Willie Horton ad in 1988 and the vilifying of Latinos for Proposition 187 here in California.

As a celebrity and demagogue, Trump is simply taking advantage of the work done by the party before him. He also has a keen understanding of both his supporters and the media, and he uses them masterfully.

Steve Varalyay, Torrance

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To the editor: Trump got the top slot against a field of 16 articulate, well-financed opponents, winning more primary votes than any Republican in history. The voters liked his message better than what the establishment Republicans had to offer.

Boot mischaracterizes Trump’s position regarding Mexicans and Muslims. Trump calls for rule of law regarding how immigrants can enter the United States and suspending Muslim immigration until they are properly vetted. These common-sense positions are embraced by most Americans.

As to other foreign policy issues Boot takes issue with, I’ll take a chance with Trump’s gut instinct that we don’t need to go abroad looking for monsters to slay.

Unlike Boot, I hope Donald Trump wins by a landslide because this country will not recover from a Hillary Clinton presidency. As to establishment wunderkind and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) riding to the nation’s rescue, he’ll be lucky to hold onto his seat this November.

Ray Markarian, El Cajon

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To the editor: As a late-in-life Republican, I’ve had trouble putting into words my disgust at the party and its voters who have selected Trump as its candidate for president of the United States.

I grew up as a JFK Democrat — socially moderate and fiscally conservative — and I feel that Boot has written an eloquent opinion piece that perfectly represents how I view what my party should, and must, represent.

I’m not very optimistic that I’ll ever again in my lifetime see the party that inspired me to leave the Democratic Party because of the common-sense solutions it once espoused.

Jeff Tome, Santa Clarita

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