Letters to the Editor: Kevin McCarthy is the kind of politician who lets democracy die
To the editor: It should be obvious to anyone thinking clearly exactly what House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) stands for — the quest for his own political power, regardless of the cost to the nation. He may be adept at fundraising and the glad-handing of common folks, but shame on those who are taken in by this slick political ruse while failing to recognize the harm he is doing to our democracy. (“Ambition keeps him loyal to Donald Trump. But what does Kevin McCarthy stand for?” Oct. 27)
McCarthy said in one of his speeches that “Biden has launched an assault on the soul of America.” McCarthy has been a willing participant in the Republican assault on America’s soul for years. He represents the kind of mendacious, self-serving political operative that most Americans have always said they despise. Even that contempt has given way to tribal loyalty and denial of truth in the Republican base.
McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) may hold their party factions together, but they fail at setting standards of integrity and decency for the nation. Unless their constituents and the vast majority of voters reject such corrupt politicians, our experiment with democracy is doomed to fail, and soon.
TR Jahns, Hemet
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To the editor: Shame on The Times for running a front-page subheadline that calls McCarthy “likely the next House speaker.” With this, The Times has cast its lot with other traditional media outlets that can potentially have a corrosive effect on voter turnout by making such assumptions.
It also ignores the fact that most registered voters are either women, young people or people of color, most of whom are quite unhappy with what the Republican Party has come to stand for (or not stand for). I am reminded of the famous words of Yogi Berra, “It ain’t over till it’s over.”
I also note that this “potential leader” with 18 years in Congress did not even respond to The Times’ request to be interviewed for this article. This is not hard to understand from a man who has not been associated with any landmark legislation but now wants to lead a rudderless party.
Joe Grauman, Los Angeles
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To the editor: Gospel of Mark, Chapter 8, Verse 36: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
Too bad the Republican Party doesn’t have some sort of religious underpinning — like, say, the evangelical movement — that would give it some insight into morality.
Larry Markes, Hollywood
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To the editor: Your article shows how McCarthy was once maybe qualified to be speaker of the House, but now is someone whose only priority is becoming speaker. His Faustian bargain will result in the House becoming subsumed into the executive branch if former President Trump were to win reelection.
The House wouldn’t be part of a separate branch of government; it wouldn’t seek oversight over Trump’s actions; it would simply act to enable Trump.
With Trump clearly one with autocratic tendencies who finds democracy an impediment, McCarthy could well invite the fox into the henhouse.
Bruce N. Miller, Playa del Rey
