He’s Off Course on the Political Landscape

Re “To Dems, It’s 1974 Forever,” Commentary, April 22: David Gelernter has it a bit wrong when he says the Republicans and the Democrats have pulled the “Big Switch.” Rather than this neat little “swap” of philosophies, what has happened is what I like to call the “Continental Drift” theory of American politics. Over the last 40 years both parties have steadily, yet nearly imperceptibly, drifted to the left.

Today, if we took a satellite snapshot of the political landscape and compared it with one taken in the early to mid-’60s, we would notice that the Republicans are in a position today that was occupied by the Dems then.

By the same comparison, the Dems have drifted to a position occupied by the socialists in the ‘60s. This “Continental Drift” theory explains both the different philosophies and how they unnoticeably attained their current orientation in the American political landscape.

Dean P. Turnbloom

Santee

*

Gelernter needs to go back to dealing with computers, not people. Computers listen to and believe whatever you program them to, unlike most thinking Americans. He’s just a textual Rush Limbaugh version 2.0. Or is that 0.2? If you actually took an analytical look at much of the Republican agenda (Social Security, voucher system, etc.), these programs don’t hold up to what they are professed to do. (Have you looked at average stock returns over the last several years? Do you want unlicensed people educating your children?) Like the Republicans never filibustered before.

Stop the stupid rhetoric on both sides. Most Americans are moderates. Let’s keep the boat heading that way.

Roger Aker

Redlands