Sowing seeds of mistrust

Re: “We must give our leaders a chance during this crisis,” March 25 guest commentary

In his recent column, Sage Naumann urges us to give our elected leaders the benefit of the doubt during this period of unprecedented crisis. I applaud his message. I was amused, however, when he mentioned “a cultural mistrust of government.”

Naumann’s Republican Party has spent decades sowing the seeds of that very mistrust, telling us time and again that big government is the enemy. To paraphrase Grover Norquist, many conservatives want to shrink government to the size where they can drown it in the bathtub. If they achieve their goal, then when the next big crisis strikes the United States, we will all drown.

David Myers, Littleton

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Wednesday’s column by Sage Naumann, communications director for the Colorado Senate Republicans, is a complete outrage.

“In uncertain times such as these, it is quite easy to become perplexed by the actions of those at the top.” That’s quite true. Let’s assume that “at the top” means our esteemed president. There isn’t room here to lay out Trump’s meandering discourse, but sometimes the coronavirus is not a problem, sometimes it is a problem but it’s completely under control, sometimes it’s a Democratic hoax. He visits the CDC and ruminates “I like this stuff. I really get it. People are surprised that I understand it. Every one of these doctors said, ‘How do you know so much about this?’ Maybe I have a natural ability. Maybe I should have done that instead of running for president.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Trump have publicly disagreed on how long it will take for a vaccine to become available. Fauci has made clear that he does not think the drug chloroquine holds the potential that Trump says it does. “It’s a game-changer.” (Not to mention that the Trump-induced run on the two drugs in question is shrinking stocks for those who need them for legitimate medical purposes.) But Fauci also has said there was a limit to what he could do when Trump makes false statements. “I can’t jump in front of the microphone and push him down.”

But then, why worry? This will all have passed by Easter, when the church pews will be filled to overflowing.

Robert E. McCullough,