Letters to the Editor: We need to treat Trump’s GOP like a cult that can bring down the country

To the editor: Thank you for your strong May 6 editorial, “Liz Cheney isn’t the only victim of the Republican Party’s Trump cult.”

You state that the GOP “is still in the thrall of the former president.” But, oh, it is so much more than that, so much more serious than that, and a lot more dangerous to our country and democracy. The GOP is no longer a political party. As you refer to it in your headline, it’s a cult.

Any cult tends to take on the characteristics of the cult leader. As bombastic lying coupled with pathological narcissism drives the leader, so goes the cult, as we can clearly see in Arizona, Texas, Florida and elsewhere.

Unfortunately, cult members tend to be shut off from any sense of reality. Usually they follow their leader over the cliff.

We must call the Republican Party what it is, and we must be strong so the cult doesn’t drag the rest of us down with it.

Shelly Cohen, Studio City

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To the editor: Reading your description of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) as a “toady” was so satisfying.

However, it is devastating to realize that honesty and courage — hallmarks of true stateswomanship — as displayed by Rep. Liz Cheney, are grounds for replacing her.

Mary Leah Plante, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Jan. 6, 2021, will stand in history as the day on which a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in a failed attempt to shut down the government. What kind of government did the mob want to install in the elected lawmakers’ place?

The insurrectionists showed themselves to be anti-police and against law and order, so clearly they were not conservative. The fact that they were ardent Donald Trump supporters and that he supported them raises questions about the former president’s conservative credentials.

Attention should be paid to these questions in light of the rift in the Republican Party, which calls itself conservative.

Beryl Palmer, Redondo Beach