Democrats Gather in Los Angeles

* Wow! Brightly lit pylons and a welcome sign? Red and blue stars pasted on Dash buses? I hardly recognize my hometown! Just make sure that all delegate traffic is diverted away from the likes of places such as 3rd and Los Angeles streets in downtown, where some of the most dedicated Angelenos reside on city streets.

Sorry, Mayor Riordan, the city’s cosmetic face lift does little to impress me; the residents of L.A. still know the truth.

REBECCA BENITEZ

Huntington Beach

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Every day for the past few weeks on my way to work downtown, I have seen the city being fortified, boarded up and now trees around Staples Center cut down. Why destroy the city in order to save it?

My pharmacy is at 6th and Broadway in the center of the jewelry district. It grieves me that in order to let the Democrats do business as usual, we business owners have to board up and shut down.

MARY N. HOWEY

Los Angeles

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Re “They Should Pay Their Own Way,” Commentary, Aug. 10: I completely agree with Rick Tuttle. The DNC and organizers should raise the funds to pay for their party. The citizens of L.A. did not organize the event and did not make a promise of no public funds. The city would not be “embarrassed” because of their failure. L.A. is already paying a lot in additional security. As a taxpayer, I object to letting the DNC stick L.A. with the costs of its party and use the funds for campaign purposes instead of paying the debts.

PETER H. KRUSE

Santa Barbara

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Re “Protesters Are Enemies of Freedom,” Commentary, Aug. 10: When Edwin Locke says, “What the protesters want is to drain the wealth of the producers and give it to those who are not productive,” I wonder if he defines “not productive” as people who work in export processing zones in the Philippines or southern China for 12 hours a day assembling products for the American consumer.

PATRICK DUDLEY

Los Angeles

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Re “Lieberman Joins Gore to ‘Make History Again,’ ” Aug. 9: In 1960 John F. Kennedy emphasized that he was running as the Democratic presidential candidate, not as the Catholic candidate. Al Gore is taking a different approach. Though religion should not be an issue in a political campaign, Gore is shamelessly and self-aggrandizingly accentuating Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s Jewish religion. No one should not vote for Lieberman because he is Jewish. Likewise, no one should vote for him just because he is.

JIM HAGAR

Woodland Hills

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It’s interesting that the Republicans are crowing about Lieberman’s policy differences with Gore. Personally, I find it refreshing that Gore and the Democrats can tolerate the expression of different points of view within their party. Meanwhile, it appears that no differences of opinion are brooked by Republicans; indeed, I was deeply saddened that Sen. John McCain felt it necessary to bite his tongue on the issues dear to him: campaign finance reform and a fiscally responsible tax policy.

Gen. Colin Powell’s brief and carefully couched mention of affirmative action was clearly a price the party had to pay in order to use him to foster the impression that it is inclusive. There was a rainbow for the eyes on stage but only a single tone for the ears. Besides the fact that I support Gore’s politics, I find this notion that Republicans must march in lock step to be really quite disturbing.

SCOTT MALSIN

Los Angeles

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Suggestion for the Democrats: Why not reverse the ticket? Interchange Lieberman for Gore. Unprecedented in more ways than one.

FRANK L. BURKE

Los Angeles

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* In the past, although I am a conservative, I felt that Lieberman was one member of the Democratic Party with integrity. He embraced the possibility of personal privatization of Social Security, school vouchers and made his famous speech attacking Clinton on his morals. However, it is now reported that he agrees with Gore on not changing the Social Security system, and he voted to not impeach Clinton even though he expressed quite strongly his unhappiness with the actions of the president.

We have endured eight years of flip-flops from the Clinton administration. If we elect Gore-Lieberman, we are in for four more years of the same, if Lieberman continues to follow the lead of Gore.

MARY J. MONK

San Clemente

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* According to the DNC (Aug. 11), the Playboy Mansion is an inappropriate venue for a fund-raiser put on by Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove). But didn’t The Times run a large photograph just a couple of days ago showing President Clinton and Hugh Hefner posed in front of the mansion for a Friends of Bill event? I pity Democratic women, because apparently only male members of the DNC can now use the mansion. But not to fear; Rep. Sanchez, have you called your local Buddhist temple?

DOUGLAS CAMPBELL

Culver City

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Re Rep. Sanchez: Interesting! Has the religious right taken over the Democratic Party?

WALTER W. MATERA

Lakewood

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In the end, we have four white, male candidates with attractive wives cheering them on--some things just don’t change.

ERIKA BLOS

Santa Barbara