To the editor: House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy couldn’t be more right about his party’s leadership needing “a new face.” (“We need a new face,” Oct. 9) I’m tempted to take a page from characters in “The Wizard of Oz” and say that the new face should come with a brain and a heart.

No, while what the Scarecrow and Tin Man lacked sometimes seems apt, what Republican leadership really needs is a fresh infusion of common sense. But that would require what the Cowardly Lion lacked: Courage.

Who among the GOP’s congressional members has the courage to confront and amend glaring ideological shortcomings that ever more erode the party’s viability?

Sandra Perez, Santa Maria


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To the editor: Democrats claim that the Republican Party is in disarray because it is only against things. This is denied by conservative true believers. Here, in opposition to progressive assertions, are some things conservatives claim they are for:

Antichoice movements, anti-immigration movements, antigovernment movements, antiunion movements, antiregulation movements, antitax movements, antientitlement movements, antihealthcare movements, antigay rights movements and , and anything anti-Obama.

But Republicans aren’t just for being against many movements, they also support many causes: guns, wars, death penalties and secret money groups are a few of their warm choices.


Certainly we can see the validity of the claim that the Republican Party is only against excessively negative people. That claim certainly explains a lot about the current state of the party.

Steve Bell, Laguna Niguel

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To the editor: The Republican House majority’s difficulty in choosing a speaker shows that those who are skeptical of government also have a hard time with governance. Both processes require compromising one’s particular needs or beliefs for the good of the whole. They just don’t get that.


Daniel J. Stone, Beverly Hills

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To the editor: I am looking forward to having columnist Jonah Goldberg explain how the current GOP chaos — in which they are demonstrating that not only can they not govern the country, but they can’t even govern themselves — is actually the fault of President Obama and/or liberals. This should be fun.

Craig Zerouni, Los Angeles


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To the editor: The party is so divided and disenfranchised by conservative extremists that a totally dysfunctional government in Washington has resulted.

It is outrageous that the country and the GOP itself has been held “hostage” by a minority group of individuals. There’s never been more of a reason to create a third party to remedy this political toxicity.

Paul Shubunka, Santa Clarita


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