Letters to the Editor: Hey, Democrats, viciously attacking your own wins debates but not elections

To the editor: The only winners in the Feb. 19 Democratic debate were President Trump, Atty. Gen. William Barr, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and all other Republicans whose disdain for the law, civility and integrity is destroying America.

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was ambushed by his fellow Democratic candidates with vicious personal attacks. He was unprepared for the hostility by the candidates and the moderators, who never gave him a chance to talk about his financial and organizational support for liberal and progressive policies.

The Democrats, led by Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, came off as the party against capitalism and the American dream of financial success. This lifelong liberal can only hope few were watching.

Alan Segal, San Diego

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To the editor: Any one of the Democratic candidates would be a better president than Donald Trump. But winning the election requires Democrats to appeal to the independents, conservatives and Christians who voted for Trump in 2016 but are now disillusioned with him.

Let’s be brutally frank: Even though they will never admit it, many of those people will not vote for a self-described socialist, a non-Christian or a gay nominee.

The remaining candidates with the most intelligence, experience and integrity are Warren and Klobuchar. And if anyone has qualms about electing a woman, let’s not forget that Great Britain, Germany, New Zealand, Israel, India, Pakistan, Denmark and Norway have or had a female leader.

It’s the electability, stupid.

Ted Carmely, Sherman Oaks

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To the editor: I was dismayed by one of the debate moderators, Telemundo journalist Vanessa Hauc.

She suggested Klobuchar may not be qualified to be president because she could not recall the name of the president of Mexico in an interview. The senator apologized for that lapse, but Hauc stayed on that point until Warren stepped in and said that probably everyone on that stage had forgotten a name at one time or another, and that did not disqualify that person from running for office.

Every other moderator asked pointed and probing questions, but they did so without an accusatory or hostile tone. I thought moderators were supposed to get candidates to justify, give information, present their viewpoints and explain, not to berate them.

Frances Hayward, Laguna Niguel