Letters to the Editor: Herschel Walker came way too close to power. That’s scary
To the editor: The most significant lesson from the Senate runoff in Georgia is not that Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock won, but that the Republican establishment supported, and almost half the electorate voted for, a singularly unqualified candidate solely for reason of party over the dignity or functioning of government.
The GOP fought to have Herschel Walker join Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) in the menagerie of Republican politicians with no interest in governing or ability to govern, but who instead consistently venture into bizarre narratives involving space lasers, vampires and so forth.
The electorate continues to put these people in positions of power, and that is what’s troubling. The candidates can only be as crazy as the people who vote for them.
Darrel Miller, Santa Monica
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To the editor: Now, with a 51-seat Senate majority, will the Democrats end the unconstitutional filibuster? Or will they once again put their own personal lust for power ahead of the needs of the people when it comes to healthcare, housing, education, reproductive freedom and a living wage?
If not, then their victory is empty for the 99%.
Sue Nash, Idyllwild
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To the editor: This week, three very encouraging events have taken place.
First, Walker lost the race in Georgia. Second, the Trump Organization was found guilty on all counts of tax fraud in New York.
Finally, the family of fallen U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick snubbed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) during a congressional gold medal ceremony, displaying the courage that so many current political leaders seem to be lacking.
Maybe there’s hope after all.
Susan F. Stann, Temecula
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To the editor: Unsurprisingly, Warnock was reelected, as Walker’s flaws were too much for him to overcome.
But Walker conceded, and that makes Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake stand out even more. With almost all of Arizona ignoring Lake’s insistence that her loss was illegitimate, it now seems fair to ask whether “election denialism” is really all that consequential.
And with that, the 2022 midterm election year cycle is now completely over. But give Walker some credit; he had the good sense to concede the race quickly instead of claiming that Warnock’s roughly 97,000-vote margin reflected voter fraud or suppression or rigged election machines or some other nonsensical conspiracy theory.
Despite a lot of fears that the 2022 midterms would end in chaos, most of the “election denier” candidates ended up conceding their races. This year, the MAGA movement ended with a whimper, not a bang.
Brian Goldenfeld, Oak Park
