Schism between Democrats
Regarding “Harris is new fundraising star for Dems” ( July 13) and “Pelosi sees a way forward for Democrats” (July 11): Joe Garofoli has written recently about the fundraising prowess of Sen. Kamala Harris and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Perhaps these articles should be in the business section.
They are only half the story since the Democrats cannot seem to win elections regardless of soliciting mountains of donations. The bigger and more important story is the widening schism within the Democratic Party.
Let’s examine the looming potential of the breakup of the party in the coming years since establishment Democrats are showing no inclination to move in a progressive direction.
The recent revelation of the new bumper strips was completely disheartening, especially the one about being better than the other party. The Hillary Clinton campaign attempted President Trump bashing, thinking that would be enough to win the election. It failed, so why are the Democrats trying it again? Enough with the fundraising obsession and platitudes.
Adina Haun, San Francisco
Misogynist talk
Regarding “Lawyer tips the scale” (Editorial, July 14): Why should it surprise anyone that President Trump’s administration’s top civil rights lawyer sees most rapes as “boozy encounters and unhappy breakups?”
The president himself bragged that as a celebrity, he could grab women by their private parts, and even claimed he would have dated Ivanka — if she wasn’t his daughter.
Expect more campus rapes and sexual assaults to occur during Trump’s tenure in office.
Judging by his three marriages and numerous misogynistic comments, Trump lacks a basic understanding of women’s issues and how to deal with difficult matters like rape. Jennifer Erickson-James,
San Francisco
‘Benign racism’
Regarding “Not sure about racism” (Letters, July 13): Ruben Navarrette Jr. provided plenty of evidence to support the case that the two Asian American actors were offered a lower salary than their Caucasian co-stars. Being paid 85 cents to the $1 earned by a Caucasian person smells of everyday institutional racism. Should they just be happy they have a job and take what they get?
Absolutely not! I have heard or read the “not sure” claim so often over the past year or so that I am starting to see a trend called “benign racism.”
Pat Willard, Redwood City
Energy transition
Referring to “Choose the future, not fights” ( July 12): California greenhouse gas emissions will have to decline five times faster annually than they have over the last decade if we are to reach our 2030 legislated goal for emissions. The extension of California’s cap-and-trade system should be concerned with how California can both encourage the higher prices of gasoline and electricity produced from natural gas necessary to make the transition we seek and how to protect vulnerable citizens from these higher prices and industries from being undercut by imports not subject to carbon pricing.
We need more discussion on how to deal with the excessive amount of banked allowances, which will work to keep auction prices too low to give the market signals we need. Until these banked allowances are used up, the floor price will tend to prevail. There would be less fear of higher prices if some of the auction revenue was returned to households in the form of a climate dividend and research on how to apply a border adjustment tax was made a priority.
Pam Brigg McKown, Kensington
Panhandling
It might be time to start driving to the city. We took BART home about 8:30 p.m. the other evening. We got off the escalator at the Powell Street BART Station and were immediately assaulted by panhandlers. We got down to the platform and there was one homeless guy under the influence surrounded by garbage, muttering to himself.
By the time we got to West Oakland, we were hustled in the car by two people trying to get money. San Francisco has a homeless problem, which is being pushed onto BART.
Leonard Dorin, Lafayette