To the editor: Vice President Kamala Harris conceded the election in a timely and dignified manner, yet many on the right must still feel threatened by her. Why else would they continue to personally denigrate her as Charlotte Allen did? (“Harris’ real error — not bros, not Biden, not the border,” Opinion, Nov. 14)
Allen cites the Al Smith dinner in New York, where she says Trump helped raise millions of dollars for charity while he “merrily roasted Democrats” and “Harris didn’t even show up.”
While we don’t know why she did not attend, this was no merry roast by Trump. With the Catholic archbishop of New York close to him, Trump vomited the same poisonous smears he used at his rallies. He in no way put aside the acidity of politics for a greater cause, which is the point of this charity fundraiser.
As for Allen’s claim that the Democrats and Harris wanted free surgeries for transgender prison inmates, the record shows that providing gender-affirming care to federal inmates when doctors determined it medically necessary was approved under the Trump administration. When asked about this, Harris said she would obey the policy that Trump followed.
The large crowds showing a cross-section of Americans that came out in support of the vice president are a repudiation of Allen’s mean-girl take on Harris.
Joy Rockport, Van Nuys
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To the editor: I agree with Allen that Harris made a disastrous wrong turn in the course of her insanely short and energetic presidential road trip.
I kept thinking midway through the campaign that this does not sound good — her dissing back at Trump, losing her lightness and her true self, wasting time on the MAGA garbage that the media were glomming onto.
Therein lies the problem — the corporate media, the money machine. As William S. Burroughs said: “What does the money machine eat? It eats youth, spontaneity, life, beauty and above all it eats creativity. It eats quality and [excretes] out quantity.”
I too felt Harris’ relief in her concession speech. Still, I wish Biden had followed through on his pledge to serve as a bridge to a new generation of leaders, implying he would not seek reelection. It may not have been the joyful Harris who emerged the nominee, but I can’t help thinking (and I know I’m not alone) that things might be different right now.
But Trump continues to get what he wants and thrives on his cruel words spread in the media. Remember the bullies on the playground: When they stopped getting so much attention, they lost their power.
Unfortunately, the monster is out of the box, and it feels like there’s no defeating it.
Heidi Santschi, Los Angeles
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To the editor: Allen writes that Harris doesn’t like to “pore over boring binders of policy papers and U.S. code sections.”
That’s laughable, as it’s known that Trump’s policies come from the last person in his ear and he doesn’t read anything longer than a few pages.
Dave Gershenson, Van Nuys