Rose-colored view of political history
Re “40 years have seen openness, civility fade as cynicism gains,” column, Nov. 2
I doubt the rose-colored version of the political past that George Skelton paints. I wasn’t alive to see Ronald Reagan as governor, but I understand that he said, “If it takes a bloodbath to silence the demonstrators, let’s get it over with,” in reference to the 1960s student unrest at Berkeley. Is this quotation apocryphal? Students there started the Free Speech Movement in 1964, a watershed that led to the antiwar movement. From there, the “culture kampf” has divided this country ever since.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Nov. 8, 2006 For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday November 08, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 42 Editorial Pages Desk 1 inches; 33 words Type of Material: Correction
Senate committee: A Nov. 5 letter stated that Joseph McCarthy served on the House Committee on Un-American Activities. McCarthy was a Republican senator from Wisconsin who chaired the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
I hardly think that Richard Nixon and Joseph McCarthy were kind and gentle when they worked on the House Committee on Un-American Activities. A quarter of the country was struggling over getting rid of Jim Crow laws. The softball coverage that the White House press corps has given President Bush, at least up until this year, shows that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
MICHAEL N. ESCOBAR
Los Angeles
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox three times per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
