Letters to the Editor: George McGovern in 1972 is a cautionary tale for Bernie Sanders supporters

To the editor: In 1972, George McGovern captured the imagination of idealistic, anti-war, counterculture young voters. (“Who will be the Un-Bernie?” column, Feb. 15, and “Bloomberg drops $124 million on ads in Super Tuesday states. Rivals go on the attack,” Feb. 17)

That would have been me. We were all-in for George. We successfully got him nominated, but he and a badly divided Democratic Party were defeated in a landslide by Richard Nixon.

Please learn from history. And, if Sen. Bernie Sanders does not win the nomination, do not take your ball and go home.

Remember the huge Women’s March right after President Trump’s inauguration? This was true movement politics of the opposition. We weren’t marching for a specific dream candidate; we were marching against the abomination of what we saw coming in a Trump presidency.

Now is the time for a new march, one that balances the hyper-partisanship of the primaries with the energy and promise of a united front to bring this wrongheaded presidency to the end it deserves, no matter who runs.

Robert Huber, Yorba Linda

..

To the editor: Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg’s very late and, in my opinion, faux apology for the disastrous stop-and-frisk practice by police while he was mayor of New York left me cold.

That we are considering one oligarch who defended a racist policy to rescue us from a bigoted, pseudo-oligarch just shows how twisted our thinking has become.

As a strong Sanders supporter, if push came to shove and my candidate should falter, I would much prefer Tom Steyer over Bloomberg.

Richard Robinson, Arroyo Grande

..

To the editor: Now the Democrats’ special grievance brigades are trotting our their purity tests, all to sabotage Bloomberg’s campaign. Strange, they didn’t try to sabotage Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and other great leaders who, while flawed, possessed the critical leadership skills that the country desperately needed at crucial junctures.

These inane Democratic factions seem set on nominating someone Trump will walk all over, dooming the country to another four years of ever darker autocratic hell.

Compared to Trump, Bloomberg is St. Francis of Assisi. Knock off the whining and nominate a proven leader who can trounce Trump.

Mel Farber, Pacific Palisades