Readers React: Living in a one-party state: Watch your government very closely, Californians

To the editor: Your article spells out the facts about the continued decline of the Republican Party in California, much which can be attributed to the GOP’s lack of attention to the voters of our state. However, it fails to identify the danger of becoming a “one-party” state.

History has shown that when power is concentrated in one political party, the prospect of losing some of our freedom is real.

This country enacted a constitutional amendment limiting the number of terms an individual can serve as president, fearing that concentrated power in the executive branch of government could undermine our democracy. Single-party governments throughout history have demonstrated that the people in power tend to disregard those who do not fully agree or comply with their ideology.

Time will tell if history repeats itself.

Frank Deni, Lake Forest

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To the editor: Since we are close to having effectively a one-party state, wouldn’t this be the ideal time to overthrow the horrible “top two” system of elections that has proved to be a real hindrance to democratic choice?

This effectively eliminates any third-party candidate from appearing on a general-election ballot, and it has certainly shown itself not to result in more moderate candidates. If we went back to party primaries, then at least we could have a chance to elect from a broader field.

I’m a Democrat who would love to see a variety of parties represented in Sacramento — Republican, Green, Libertarian and more. We could be more like a European parliamentary scheme that seems to work better than our two-party system in solving problems.

Carole Lutness, Valencia

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To the editor: The comment from a former Republican Party official that the GOP “exists in small regional pockets, where there are enough white, non-college-educated working class communities,” underscores exactly why the party has become all but irrelevant in California.

The Republican Party’s leadership at both the state and national levels is run by people who prey on the fears and insecurities of their supporters. The California electorate has rejected the tactics of these party leaders.

One can only hope that the old adage, “as California goes, so goes the nation,” is correct.

Gary Tereshkow, Palm Springs

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To the editor: What can the Republican Party do to turn California red again? Frankly, as a conservative, I believe we can do nothing to make that happen.

But there is a monster on the horizon that could do the trick: single-payer healthcare. The progressive left has been emboldened by the election of Gavin Newsom, who ran on his support for single-payer, to succeed Gov. Jerry Brown. The results will be major payroll and sales tax increases to support this monstrosity.

Upper-end earners will flee California, and healthcare costs will spiral out of control. Taxpayers will revolt, and the people of this state will turn to conservative values once again.

Joseph Schillmoeller, Gardena

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