Regarding the editorial “Where have all the good Republican candidates gone?” (Sept. 30): Where have all the good Republican candidates gone? Probably back to doing the things that occupied potential GOP candidates in what now seems like the distant past: making a living in the private sector, taking active and involved roles in the growth and development of their children, and taking part in various community organizations such as the Jaycees, the Knights of Columbus and the VFW that support enterprise and what was long understood to be the American way of life. And generally being productive, proud, and active citizens of their communities and the nation.
What good potential Republican candidates are not doing is joining the circle of sycophancy that the Donald Trump-led GOP has become. A candidate who truly believes in such traditionally conservative principles as fiscal prudence, limited government, skepticism of Washington and a strong but restrained military would be castigated by the president as somehow anti-American. The lemmings Trump has placed in positions of power would join in the ridicule, dooming such a candidate’s chances at the GOP nomination.
Even if the candidate were to miraculously win the nomination, Democrats would ignore the facts and attack him or her as a “MAGA Republican.” Escaping the heavy burden of the Trump administration’s idiocy would be nearly impossible.
Why enter a fight in which your way of thinking is represented by neither side?
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There is no room in Trump’s GOP for those who espouse the conservative principles that prevailed in the party before Trump and his lickspittles took control.
— Mark M. Quinn, Naperville
Motivated by self-interest
It is not surprising to see GOP candidates speaking out against the war over diesel fuel prices just before an election. Of course, these same politicians were nowhere to be found in the past six months of this useless war. Now they wave flags and drone on about the horrors of war and higher prices, but once elected, they will once again bend the knee, claiming it’s for the greater good.
I certainly hope that once elected, these flip-flopping candidates will be held to proper scrutiny when voting on issues going forward. Unfortunately, this is just another example of politicians willing to say just about anything to get elected.
Years ago, I worked on behalf of candidates seeking election and was fooled into believing claims that they would be their own man or woman and vote their conscience. Only to see them, after winning elections, get strong-armed by the party, then offer lame excuses as to why.
I was raised believing that folks elected to office were dedicated to working for the betterment of all citizens. Now it seems that too many are only interested in the betterment of those who fund their campaigns and themselves. I have voted in every election cycle for some 50 years, and it used to feel like an honor. More and more, voting seems like a burden trying to find candidates truly worthy of the office they seek.
— Ken Stead, Aurora
Commonsense positions to have
The recent wire article “Many Democrats campaign as centrists” (in print Sept. 28) describes how the Democrats are running to the middle to win the 2026 midterm elections. Positions such as not defunding the police, having a strong border and going after drug dealers are believed to be a winning formula to winning the House and Senate.
I can only hope that this commonsense approach stays with the party for 2028, so that they avoid nominating candidates such as former Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna or other progressives, and can therefore win the next presidential election.
— Steven Bosse, Northbrook
An Orwellian use of word
What a shocking choice in Sunday’s top story (“Oversight body beset with division tied to blitz”) to describe the U.S. government’s action as an incursion rather the large presence of people unlawfully present in the U.S. as an incursion.
How Orwellian.
— Jon Arendt, Clarendon Hills
Our status as a sanctuary city
Regarding the article “Chicago may charge suburbanites more to park. How neighborly” (Oct. 1): We Chicagoans retained our status as a sanctuary city during Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, potentially at great cost. We maintained it because we had declared it and viewed that stance as the right thing to do.
How does that fit with the latest cockamamie idea to tax our suburban neighbors for supporting Chicago with visits and money to sustain what greatness we seem to be losing?
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— Jacqueline Roig, Chicago
The list goes on and on
Yes, absolutely, voters should look beyond the price of gas and ask questions before they vote (“Voters fixated on gas prices,” Sept. 29). Here’s a few more: Has the letter writer considered how much those “migrants streaming into our country” have actually contributed to our society? Perhaps he has never eaten a fruit or vegetable, stayed in a hotel or been in a hospital. And how does he feel about the U.S. provoking a war in the Middle East? Does he think this war will end in an agreement that is any better than, or even as good as, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed in 2015 by several countries, including Russia and China, and from which the Republicans withdrew in 2018?
What about the health of his family? Is that important? How can he explain a record surge in measles cases, a proposed $5 billion cut to the National Institutes of Health or an administration that insists its policies will reduce drug prices by 600%?
How about banning news media from the White House? From the Pentagon? Refusing to consider regulations on artificial intelligence? What about the administration’s tariff policies? How does he feel about alienating our closest allies? Or the administration’s personal enrichment through cryptocurrency ventures?
The list goes on and on. The most important thing any of us can do as citizens, as voters, is ask questions. Lots of them. And vote accordingly.
— Barbra Butler, Downers Grove
Rising cost of many things
I agree with letter writer David Howard (“Voters fixated on gas prices”) in his closing comment. Voters should think beyond the price of gas. They should think about the rising costs of nearly everything: food, housing, insurance and more.
While Republican bend over to kiss the ring of Donald Trump, he has brought our country to its knees with costly tariffs that have done nothing more than raise prices, an unnecessary war with Iran that has done the same, the senseless alienation of out allies that no longer see America as a partner they can trust, a total disregard for the problems faced by the people of our country, useless bullying of countries around the world, attacks on people across the country who try to lead a normal life and contribute to America, and failure to do anything to face the world’s climate crisis while his ego drives him on to demand multimillion-dollar projects such as a monumental and senseless arch and a ballroom where he can reign like a king.
Rising gas and diesel prices are only the most obvious indicator of Trump’s failure to lead America to a better, more secure future.
— David Kravitz, Chicago
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