Readers React: Draft Nancy Pelosi for president. She knows how to beat Trump

To the editor: Watching the Democratic candidates for president, I am brought back to the 1928 contest between Democrat Al Smith and Republican Herbert Hoover, the first presidential campaign I remember. As we all know, Smith, a big-city progressive, lost to Hoover, who went on the preside over the 1929 stock market crash and the early years of the Great Depression. Smith was a Roman Catholic who could not overcome voters’ anti-Catholic bias. (“Are Democrats helping Trump by promising healthcare to undocumented migrants?” July 9)

Today’s Democratic candidates are similarly widening the rift between the two parties. Republicans regard the Democratic candidates as being solely concerned with the rights of immigrants and wanting to “give away” their tax dollars in the form of free education and healthcare.

So far, the Democratic candidates appear to be off the mark by a wide margin. Most have shown no sign of wanting to address Republican voters’ needs or desires — and without Republican votes, whichever Democrat is nominated for president will ultimately fail.

Right now, I can think of only one prominent Democrat who has shown she knows how to consider the wishes of Republicans. As speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) has worked in the interest of all Americans, trumping President Trump at every opportunity. She has the ability and the knowledge to lead our country.

Please, Speaker Pelosi, say you will run for president. If you do not, I hope the delegates to the Democratic National Convention next summer draft you onto the ticket.

Harry Norkin, Thousand Oaks

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To the editor: As a Democrat, I’ve been watching the candidates with a sense of impending doom.

The threat of a Republican repeal of the Affordable Care Act was powerful issue for Democrats in 2018. Now, however, many of the leading Democratic candidates for president seem to be handing Trump their most winning issue by taking extreme positions on healthcare, including “Medicare for all” and insurance for undocumented immigrants.

Trump would have a field day with this. The Democratic nominee would have to play defense on an important issue that helped sweep the party to victory in 2018.

This scenario will unfold if the Democratic candidates pander to the views of the far-left minority who favor a cataclysmic upheaval of the U.S. healthcare system. Why is it so difficult for candidates to see that after years of Trump, people are growing tired of chaos?

Ignoring the wishes of the more moderate majority of voters can be disastrous. If the Democrats fail to recognize this, they deserve to lose in 2020.

Matthew Singerman, Newbury Park

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To the editor: Some presidential candidates have ideas, and others just want to be president.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and former Vice President Joe Biden, in particular, seem like they just want to be president. On the other hand, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has ideas.

Most of all, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has ideas — deep and thoroughly considered ideas that are the results of study, observation, research and analysis. She is running for president because of those ideas. I applaud her for this.

For myself, I confess I’m more than ready for a president who thinks about something besides himself. Having someone like Warren — who is intelligent, articulate, compassionate and a decent human being — is almost more than I dare to hope for.

Barbara Carlton, El Cajon

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