A radicalized party
Re “Cross section of Trump support in D.C. attack,” Jan. 15
All the Republicans who “rode the tiger” of right-wing extremism now seem alarmed by the fact that there was no dismount strategy. Their fear of losing votes has been replaced by a fear of violence committed against them.
The supporters they cultivated over many years with their Reaganesque government-is-the-enemy philosophy have morphed into a destructive mass that shows no respect for our government, and it reaches further than just those who turned up at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
It is time for Republicans to show some leadership. First step: Tell their followers that President-elect Joe Biden won the election and he has their full support. Next step: Educate their followers as to how democracy works. Stop exploiting right-wing, racist and antidemocratic themes.
Marcia Goldstein Laguna Woods jeering and intending to confront Reno. Tom approached the group’s leader, and with a handshake and pat on the back said this: “Hi there, I’m Tom. The mayor sent me over to hear what you have to say and make sure we can tell the attorney general what she needs to know to make things better here. Let’s sit over there and talk.”
Those words, that handshake and that honest concern for a fellow human being defused what could have become an ugly confrontation. We could use more peacemakers like Tom.
I will miss Tom. He left us too soon.
Richard Riordan
Los Angeles The writer was mayor of Los Angeles from 1993 to 2001.
I was one of many thousands of people who knew Tom and was shocked and saddened by his untimely passing. I first met him when he worked at the Department of Water and Power in the 1990s, and I grew to love and appreciate his unbridled love of his native city and his wealth of knowledge about it.
He was a great booster of the DWP, and he revered its most famous employee, the Irish-born William Mulholland. Tom even saw to it that a plaque in Mulholland’s memory was installed in Ireland to help honor the accomplishments of the builder of the Los Angeles Aqueduct.
I spent many happy hours in Tom’s company, and I will always treasure my memories of his amazing dedication to public service.
Fred Barker Burbank