The Democrats have a majority and a bit of a problem – The Boston Globe

Party will do everything but take a hard look at where it went wrong

The past is often prologue in politics, and that is why Democrats, stung by losses in Virginia and unexpectedly close calls elsewhere, are scrambling (A disconcerting election night for Democrats, Scot Lehigh, Opinion, Nov. 4). But instead of a clear-eyed understanding about what has gone wrong so quickly on the road to Build Back Better, the partys potentates and their media acolytes have engaged in magical thinking, as if we hoi polloi cannot focus on what our eyes and ears register.

Thus, Democratic prestidigitators suggest, for example, that we are racists, even though the defeated Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Virginia introduced racism when he decried that there are too many white teachers in his states public schools. That was in addition to stating that parents should not question school authorities about educational priorities. If that does not unnerve attentive independent voters, I dont know what could.

The continued bad-mouthing of Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin over their positions on the Build Back Better bill is another stumbling block for the attentive voter.

Of course, the not-so-secret weapon that Democrats have is the loud narcissist named Donald Trump who could singlehandedly give them a win in 2022 by simply doing what he does best.

Stay tuned.

Paul Bloustein

Cincinnati

Lessons from Virginia (get your notebooks out, and sharpen those pencils!)

Last Tuesday, Virginians loudly affirmed the parents right to tell schools what they should teach. Henceforth the Commonwealth of Virginia will allow parents (especially white suburban mothers) to monitor and review their childrens curriculum in every subject.

In physics, for example, they will be able to decide just which subatomic particles may be discussed in class; for example, protons, neutrons, and electrons are OK, but muons are not, and, for Gods sake, absolutely no mention of the Higgs boson. In some school districts, however, they may stick with the pre-Socratic philosopher Democritus and insist that the atom is indivisible (as the Greek etymology of the word makes clear).

And what about the theory of evolution? Banned again? Is it time for another Scopes trial, nearly a century after the first one? Remember what Dubya said: The jury is still out on the theory of evolution.

Pasquale G. Tato

Cambridge

The Democrats govern in prose that in itself is poetic

Of course the Democrats disagree with how to proceed in governing (Its the circular firing squad again for the Democrats, Letters, Nov. 5). They want to do things, things to improve life in our country and for the planet. There are options to be considered, priorities to evaluate, decisions to be made. The Republicans have no such internal competition for ideas. They are content, even eager, to leave everything as it is: Keep people of color and other disadvantaged citizens suppressed, maintain the tax code to benefit the rich, support fossil fuel extraction in the face of environmental degradation and climate change, and remain in thrall to an autocratic, self-serving hierarchy.

We cannot improve as a people unless we are willing to change, and if change and compromise are anathema, we cannot improve.

Tom Powers

Hudson

Work now to boost Democrats majority in Congress

For all who are upset about the disproportionate power that West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin yields in the Senate, there is a solution: Do everything in your power to get more Democrats elected to the Senate and the House. With more Democrats, we wont need the votes of Manchin and Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema as much. Write postcards, send money, work on campaigns to get more Democrats elected. Grass-roots efforts work as long as some states dont strip people of the voting power.

Annette Pietro

Canton

Pressley and The Squad stumble by standing on principle

Ayanna Pressley and members of The Squad demonstrated political ineptness and immaturity by voting against the Biden infrastructure bill. At least their self-defeating stance was countered by 13 reasonable Republicans in the House who voted for it. Apparently the bill as passed didnt give them everything they had wanted. They couched their lack of support in noble-sounding terms of refusing to choose between what the bill provides and a variety of things they insisted on.

The essence of mature politics is rational compromise and learning to take a victory even if its only a partial win. You then return to continue the fight another day. Until Pressley and The Squad learn not to stamp their feet when they dont completely get their way, they will continue to endanger the Democrats ability to pass much-needed progressive legislation. The next time we may not be so lucky.

Jeffrey Miner

Belmont

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The Democrats have a majority and a bit of a problem - The Boston Globe