Tom Harkin
You listed an article (“Harkin Bets on the Wrong Party Base,” by Elaine Ciulla Kamarck, Jan. 23) under Column Left. My understanding of the political category of left and right would place her piece under Column Right!
There are no more vigorous right-wingers these days than the neoconservatives and Kamarck’s attack on Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Tom Harkin is a perfect example of her right-wing views.
Harkin is not for the post-industrial society. Harkin has seen what de-industrialization had done to the mass purchasing power of the country--it has failed! Harkin wants the U.S. to be a manufacturing country with jobs that pay a living wage. Japan and Germany have not lost their manufacturing base and the results are obvious to all but blind neoconservatives. We need manufacturing.
When we came back from World War II, there were good jobs for veterans. That is why our pensions and health insurance benefits negotiated in union-management contracts give us a decent retirement. Harkin wants those chances for this generation. It is sad to see no good entry-level jobs for either high school or college graduates.
CARL SHIER, Palm Springs
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