To the editor: In his April 9 column, “The latest sign that Republicans are abandoning even their most deeply held principles,” Jonah Goldberg could have mentioned that, since 1981, the Republican Party had exhibited exactly one deeply held principle: greater enrichment of those who were already rich.
For all the talk about small government, fiscal responsibility, staying out of citizens' private lives, respect for law and order, and more, these were all simply fungible talking points that quickly faded. discarded without resistance once political expediency required it.
Goldberg might want to review the actual facts and conclude that his party never cared about its conservative values following the elevation of wealth over principle facilitated by the 1980 presidential election.
Eric Carey, Arlington, Virginia.
..
To the editor: Goldberg is disingenuous when he claims that Republicans have only recently begun to support government intervention in the economy.
For decades, the Republican Party has embraced subsidies – even to long-mature industries like oil and gas – and huge military spending, even though they distort the (mythical) free market and require central planning. .
Portions of these subsidies and war profits are then donated to political campaigns to continue the cycle.
Brad Bonhall, Reno
