Letters to the Editor: Democrats’ whining over $276 million for the recall is blatant hypocrisy

To the editor: Some columnists at The Times are upset because we had a recall election driven by real voters and not the political elite. Surely, we should depend on big media columnists and political consultants to tell us when we can have an election.

They ask about the estimated $276 million needed to put on this election. Liberals who decry our lack of spending on issue after issue are now outraged over the cost of a voter-mandated recall election.

The target of the recall election oversees a government responsible for at least $11 billion in fraudulent unemployment benefits being distributed. If we could just get back the $1 billion that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration sent to incarcerated people, we could pay for three recall elections.

Scott Macdonald, West Hollywood

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To the editor: As with the 2020 election, this recall victory leaves me feeling relieved and resentful. Hundreds of millions of our tax dollars and countless precious hours of my time were spent fixing a problem that was created to gain power by what’s left of the Republican Party.

Before 2020, I volunteered with Moms Demand Action to reduce gun violence only to have one man, then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), prevent any national legislation from passing. I stopped advocating for Moms Demand Action and started working to “ditch Mitch” so that the will of the people would prevail.

Now with the filibuster, Republicans are blocking the will of the people in the Senate; in various states, they are passing anti-democratic legislation. So, back to the trenches I go, spending my precious time getting out the vote to get them out of office.

The recall failure was a victory for democracy in California, but we have a lot of work to do across the country. I look forward to a future where my volunteer hours can go back to saving lives instead of saving democracy.

Fiona Carroll, Mission Viejo

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To the editor: I do not want Newsom to think that surviving the recall was a vote of confidence. I’m so sick of the Democrats’ holier-than-thou rhetoric and villainization of the wealthy who have been footing the bills for the state.

I voted against recalling Newsom for the simple reason that it wasn’t a fair way to gain the governor’s office.

Gov. Newsom, don’t get complacent. There is still a lot of work to be done, and it should not be done along party lines.

Linda Von, Tarzana

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To the editor: I’m so ecstatic with the outcome of the recall election and the ineptitude of the California Republican Party that I’m thinking about celebrating at the French Laundry.

Robert Aragon, Duarte