Halt America’s plunge

Regarding “Deeply split Democrats struggle to find unity” ( June 18): John Wildermuth’s article on the split in the Democratic party was fair to both sides, but was lacking in real substance. What is truly at stake is not the future of the Democratic Party as such, but the future of America — in particular, its willingness to reverse the growing economic inequality with its attendant increase in human suffering.

People are hurting. Once prosperous Rust Belt and rural communities have been reduced to social rubble: Millions cannot afford to go to the doctor, even with the Affordable Care Act. Millions are not secure in their homes and many do not even have access to clean water.

The Democrats, even when they were in power with control of both houses, have not addressed these issues. They have not challenged the interests that profit from other people’s suffering. That is why they have lost the trust of working people, many of whom voted for President Trump.

This is precisely what RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of National Nurses United and the California Nurses Association, meant by the Democrats’ “stale, really tired narrative” that cost them those thousand legislative seats. And that is why progressives are challenging them. It’s not simply to win control of the party, but to rescue America from decline into third world status. James Cowan, San Francisco