Opinion: De León’s anti-Trumpism is superficial; Feinstein’s accomplishments are real

To the editor: I read Harold Meyerson’s “The political dilemma of our age: Confront or compromise?” and was mystified. The political dilemma the piece argues is non-existent. If it did exist, it probably is within state Senate leader Kevin de León’s small circle of supporters.

Most civically engaged people in California see De León’s decision to run against Sen. Dianne Feinstein as a way to put his name out there for a future bid for statewide office. Voters in California will be crazy to send another junior senator to Washington and give up Feinstein’s powerful seniority position in both the Judiciary and Appropriation committees.

Yes, De León has tried to take on President Trump, but nothing substantive has been accomplished. At the end of the piece, Meyerson spends one paragraph on Feinstein’s accomplishments; those few words overwhelm whatever superficial confrontations De León has done.

Chamba Sanchez, Los Angeles

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To the editor: As a 70-year-old lifelong feminist, I am proud to be from a state with two women senators. But lately, I have had misgivings about Feinstein.

Her default to compromise rarely gets her near her goal. She does not seem to understand that compromise is anathema to the opposition, a cudgel they use to bludgeon their opponents.

Most recently, on Aug. 29, she told a crowd in San Francisco that she hoped Trump has the ability to learn and change and if he could, he could be a good president. She added that we just need some patience.

I was stunned. That was the moment I realized how tenuous her grasp on our current political reality is.

De León, in contrast, has taken a forceful, principled, public stand against Trumpism since the day after the election. I have had my eye on him for years, and now I see someone who should be California’s next U.S. senator.

Sara R. Nichols, Los Angeles

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To the editor: If Feinstein should retire from the Senate, Meyerson should retire from punditry.

His hard-left commentary has helped drive the Democratic Party into its present fractured, incoherent status, devoid of constructive programs, devoted to childish “resistance” to Trump, having lost about 1,000 legislative seats nationwide, and still fumbling for meaning.

With friends like Meyerson, the Democrats are over-stocked with enemies.

Leonard Lamensdorf, Westlake Village

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