Letters to the Editor: The GOP has had little power since Prop. 187. How’s that gone for California?

To the editor: George Skelton indicated that the Republican Party has lost considerable power since the passage of Proposition 187 in 1994, and he cites a number of reasons why.

With the Democrats in control of the Legislature and most state offices for the last 25 years, they should have had enough time to fix the various problems facing California.

We have some of the highest tax rates in the country, so why is it we have a massive homeless problem, high gas prices, a poor education system, bad highways, extremely high home prices and a boatload of other problems?

If Skelton is correct about Republicans being marginalized in California, then the party in power is not doing a very good job. Thanks to Skelton for his keen observation.

Paul Salerno, Riverside

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To the editor: I am a registered Democrat and consider myself moderate or even libertarian. Like many, I often look at the candidates and vote for the lesser of two evils.

I have voted for Republicans in the past. I don’t know exactly when I stopped, but it definitely was when the Republicans started nominating far-right (in my opinion) candidates.

The most memorable was the 1998 governor’s race between Democrat Gray Davis and Republican Dan Lungren. I did not like Davis, but I sure wasn’t going to vote for Lungren.

Maybe that was when the GOP should have seen it needed to change.

Dennis Watson, Ventura