Khachigian on Davis, Tripp

* Re Kenneth L. Khachigian’s Aug. 1 column:

Gov. Gray Davis’ political moderation is a figment of the media’s imagination. It is a carefully contrived plan to assure his reelection.

Certain actions betray his true liberal, left-of-center goals.

For example, regarding immigration, he has just signed AB 82, which will pay the health care costs of illegal immigrants, including abortions and contraceptives.

This will lead to California taxpayers paying for the health care of citizens of Mexico.

And for a man who wants to be the education czar, he is planning to sign legislation, with a $35-million price tag, that is Hillary Clinton’s socialized medicine coming in the back door.

This has nothing to do with education, but a lot to do with misuse of taxes and school facilities at a time when school districts are placing school bond initiatives on the next ballot.

It has a lot to do with bypassing parents when giving all kinds of reproductive health care, as well as psychological testing, to minors.

It has a lot to do with bypassing locally elected school boards because the clinic personnel will answer to government regulations.

Davis is not a centrist, but a true liberal.

GEORGE H. KUBECK

Stanton

* Columnist Kenneth L. Khachigian complains that the left criticizes “whistle-blower” Linda Tripp, while lionizing “ultimate snitch” John Dean (Aug. 15).

The most obvious difference Khachigian missed is that Nixon taped himself.

The tapes revealed not a lovesick young woman trapped into revealing a sexual relationship with a predatory middle-aged man, but a president who regularly used anti-Semitic epithets, sought to use ex-CIA operatives to steal an election, sought to use the Internal Revenue Service against his enemies and ordered a variety of dirty tricks played on the opposition, not to mention the cover-up.

There is a difference between covering up a sexual affair and perverting the Constitution.

JIM CORBETT

San Clemente

* If I were asked for an example of the mean-spirited world we are enduring, I would point to the Aug. 15 column by Kenneth L. Khachigian, licking his lips over the Clinton problems and castigating Woodward and Bernstein for taking issue against Nixon.

BEATRICE M. YOUNG

Huntington Beach