Letters to the Editor: Affordability is the reason Democrats will see more victories in 2026 midterms

To the editor: Contributing writer Josh Hammer has his finger on the pulse of American sentiment when he breaks down issues that resulted in a great week for the Democratic Party all over the map (“In recent Democratic wins, there are lessons for the GOP,” Nov. 7).

The working class is concerned about “pocketbook” issues. It’s true that many of us see the GOP as obsessed with tax cuts for their elites and the donor class, and that we believe they’re indifferent to tens of millions of Americans in many areas (cue the band for President Trump’s “Gatsby” party).

The show the world has been witness to since Jan. 20 includes Trump and the GOP’s attempts to extort and dismantle our educational institutions, tariffs, tax breaks for the rich at the expense of our grandchildren, exploitation of our environmental resources and, to top it all off, the freeze of food aid to millions of Americans right before Thanksgiving and Christmas. We are just dumbfounded. But we are standing up, and we are fighting back.

That, my friend, is why the Democrats did so well in special elections recently and will continue to do so in next year’s midterms. And won’t that be a revelation?

Mindy Taylor-Ross, Venice

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To the editor: I agree with a large number of the points in Hammer’s piece, but there’s one little problem: Trump doesn’t care. As Hammer states, “If economic anxiety persists through next fall’s midterms, voters will punish whichever party appears more indifferent to their struggles.”

What caring leader would appeal a judge’s order to provide full SNAP benefits when there is an emergency fund established to provide them? What caring political party would obstinately deny extending Affordable Care Act subsidies, shutting down the government in the process (the longest shutdown in U.S. history)? What caring lawmakers would do this while gifting billionaires with huge tax breaks?

I think voters will remember these and other Trump failures in 2026.

David Berry, Altadena