Mailbag: State proposal to honor Duke was election-year gymnastics

I read with interest the article about state Assemblyman Matt Harper’s grandstanding ploy to honor John Wayne (“Harper’s day for ‘Duke’ nixed,” May 5). This is typical election-year theatrics. Harper (R-Huntington Beach) is running for reelection and is being challenged by a Republican, Katherine Daigle, and a Democrat, Karina Onofre. Both may be citing Harper’s lack of accomplishment in Sacramento as the reason for this ploy.

It brings to mind then-Orange County Supervisor Jim Silva’s failed attempt in 2004 at renaming Mile Square Regional Park in Fountain Valley in honor of Ronald Reagan. Both of these ploys showed the tone-deaf insensitivity of the officeholders to the famous actors’ flaws and the push-back to this overt form of political grandstanding.

Doubtless, both Silva and Harper would see nothing wrong with these moves from their ideological perspective. But the public does. This is something that partisan politicians from behind the Orange Curtain must realize. Their heroes are not necessarily our heroes.

Tim Geddes

Huntington Beach

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It’s time to put America first

A working America is easily a Donald Trump motto — that’s what he does most. He works. In so doing he embraces the core values of Republicanism: lower taxes, free markets, individual liberty and limited government.

Let’s tear down the bureaucratic scaffolding of the last eight years in readiness to hang our economy’s last lingering breath. Let’s strive to revive our selections of a Federal Reserve Board, guiding the remaining reserve currency of the world; in sustaining balanced federal Supreme Court appointments for a strengthened rule of law rather than a rule of man; in fortifying traditional principles within the Securities and Exchange Commission so we don’t bring about the demise of large and small corporate businesses, which create not only most of our jobs but wage gains as well. Let’s further appropriate appointments to the National Labor Relations Board to further improve the utilization of America.

If we fortify America first, we’ll be well on our way within the world order. The least of all we can do is abstain altogether and disrespect the will of the voters in the primaries and caucuses and forfeit the accompanying scenarios above.

Jack A. Watkins

Corona del Mar