Bustamante’s Platform and History in Spotlight

As a lifelong Democrat and business owner, I am disturbed by Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante’s economic platform. He obviously does not realize that in order to pay the high taxes he is proposing, businesses have to first make the money. The Legislature scrambled to enact workers’ compensation reform, but this isn’t a quick fix.

We don’t have a revenue problem in California; we’ve got a spending problem. We should cut needless state expenditures, continue the hiring freeze on state government and reduce outsourcing services. Recalling the Davis/Bustamante team is a first logical step, but we need better representation in our Legislature as well.

Larry Chingqua

West Hills

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I’m surprised when I read that people think Bustamante and Davis are angling for votes when they support driver’s licenses for illegals. It seems to me that it is politically risky to take such a position. The rationale behind making sure that drivers are safe and are insured is lost in the rhetoric. It’s rather brave to stand up and take the heat.

Susan Cuttriss

Fillmore

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Re “A Phone Call in Need of Instant Replay,” Sept. 12: Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) was quoted: “I was saying I hated to see the Democrats and especially Gray Davis keep control, and Bustamante may want to give California back to Mexico -- I said that tongue in cheek.” It is indicative of the casual bigotry of the right that Burton can utter such a vicious smear. That he excuses himself by saying it was “tongue in cheek” makes it no less outrageous. Does he really think that Bustamante, a California native, a graduate of Cal State Fresno, the father of three California-born children, a California public servant in various capacities since 1977, a past California state Assembly member and former speaker, has more allegiance, because of his ethnicity, to a foreign country than to California?

Cathleen Bemis

Los Angeles