Lisa Murkowski: A ‘Lone Voice of Independence’

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/30/opinion/letters/murkowski-impeach.html

Version 0 of 1.

To the Editor:

Re “A Stirring of Conscience in the Senate” (editorial, Dec. 28):

Senator Lisa Murkowski voted against the appointment of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. She also opposed repeal of the Affordable Care Act, voted “no” on the appointment of Betsy DeVos as education secretary, and called President Trump’s policy of separating families at the border “cruel.” Now she says she is “disturbed” by Mitch McConnell’s pledge to coordinate with the president’s legal team on impeachment.

Ms. Murkowski has been falsely touted on numerous occasions as a glimmer of hope that Republicans might break with Mr. Trump. Let’s not get carried away. There is zero indication of a stirring of conscience in the Senate. Ms. Murkowski is not a Republican trendsetter. She’s a lone voice of independence in a G.O.P. Senate whose members have lost their appetite to think for themselves.

William GoldmanPalos Verdes Estates, Calif.

To the Editor:

Re “Don Imus, an Equal Opportunity Offender for 50 Years, Is Dead at 79” (front page, Dec. 28):

I’m sad to hear of the death of Don Imus. While he stepped over the line later in his career, he pioneered the fusion of politics, culture, satire and raunch in ways that changed radio and morning cable TV. He got politicians and pundits to play and make news they didn’t intend.

Paul BaconHallandale Beach, Fla.

To the Editor:

Am I the only Times reader who wishes the prominent front-page obituary in Saturday’s paper was about Jerry Herman, whose heartfelt talent thrilled and delighted generations of theater lovers, rather than Don Imus, whose language and attitudes helped make acceptable the kind of public discourse that has, to everyone’s detriment, become ubiquitous today?

Instead Mr. Herman’s obituary (“Jerry Herman, 88, Composer of ‘Hello, Dolly!’ and Other Broadway Hits”) was relegated to the back of the paper.

Sandie Feinman AntarNew York