To the editor: Jonah Goldberg offers some notable observations about the reasons for the close outcome of the 2024 presidential election, but he fails to highlight what many centrist voters believe is at the heart of our deep political divide.
The two major political parties have too much control over the nomination process. For many centrist voters, that dominance essentially marginalizes them entirely in the primary stage if they no longer register as a Democrat or Republican.
However, the impact may be similar for someone like me, who remains a registered Democrat but would have voted for Republican Nikki Haley in our March primary if given the chance. Instead, the only non-ridiculous option I had as a registered Democrat was to vote for President Biden or not vote at all.
Finding a solution won't be easy, but perhaps it's time to start exploring the possibility of a single, nationwide presidential primary in which voters aren't limited by their party affiliation or lack thereof. This is similar to what California does now at the state level.
Russ Swartz, Hills of Granada
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To the editor: The subheading of Goldberg's column was: “This election reflects the fact that both Republicans and Democrats have become minority parties.” Reading this, I thought I would write about independent people like me.
But he didn't mention independents even once, so I'll do that.
Independents became the largest voting bloc because voters grew tired of seeing both Democrats and Republicans controlled by big business and big money. Generally, we are fiscal conservative (we don't spend more money than we take in) and liberal on social issues (pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, etc.).
Hopefully, one day a candidate will emerge who reflects the largest voting bloc in America.
Vaughn Hardenberg, Westwood
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To the editor: Goldberg writes as if this election were simply a political battle. This ignores the culture war stance of the Trump campaign and its pandering to a “Christian” electorate; ignores his criminal behavior and his still unresolved criminal responsibility in multiple cases; and ignores the stoking of fear and anger by constantly lying about history, current events, his lack of resolution to those events, and his own past behavior.
This is not political. Republicans do this by using race, religion, and gender as wedges embedded in the fabric of our society.
This is no longer a sun/moon or moon/moon political battle; It is a man-made assault on the country's democratic principles and institutions. The hurdle of this race is close because the corporate-owned media has sanitized Trump's authoritarian leanings and mental deterioration.
David Echt, Torrance
