Letters: Rx for the Republican Party

Re “Republicans in disarray over how to fix damage,” Nov. 12

I’ve been inspired by Mark Z. Barabak’s article on the disarray of the GOP.

Republicans believe that government is the problem and that just about every sphere would be better managed by the private sector. It would be most persuasive to see America’s rich and powerful movers and shakers demonstrate exactly how this could be done.

Let’s see the private sector give billions of dollars to the Red Cross in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. Let’s see the too-big-to-fail banks forgive the mortgage loans of all returning veterans. Let’s see Mitt Romney do what he says he does best: create jobs.

Perhaps the Romneys will set up an endowment for a new university in California, which would create thousands of jobs, plus relieve the overcrowding of our college system.

Incidentally, I just re-read the Constitution, and Grover Norquist’s name doesn’t appear once. The sooner the GOP kicks him to the curb, the sooner the prospects for the Republican Party (and the U.S.) will brighten significantly.

A two-party system requires both parties to be relevant.

Ellen Switkes
Sherman Oaks

The Republicans continue to point fingers at everyone but themselves for the losses they suffered.

The problem they have is one of relevancy. If they wish to remain a political force, they must learn to embrace the political and social realities of the world as it is, and communicate effectively with the segments of the population they alienated in this election. Acting like social and political Luddites will serve only to further marginalize them.

Walter Ford
West Hollywood

Moderates should be warned against taking too much glee from the postelection shouting and bickering in the Republican Party.

The one cold clear voice to take note of in this article was that of Norquist, who bragged of his continuing success at corralling state legislatures in marginalizing public schools, demonizing teachers and other middle-class wage earners, and promoting the conservative agenda of giant corporations and big wealth.

Readers might be shocked to see how far that agenda has come, with Norquist’s no-tax pledges, the cookie-cutter legislation promoted by big business organizations and with state-by-state locks on all kinds of anti-tax, anti-environmental, anti-consumer and anti-worker laws.

Les Brockmann
Reseda

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