Readers sound off on the new Republicans, interviewing Putin and an NYC encounter

All done in the service of an unelected leader

New City, N.Y.: Oh, how I wish we could exhume the dead Grand Old Party of our recent past. You know, the sane, professional persuaders of policies. Although I’m a Democrat, I have — dare I say — occasionally voted for a Republican if I agreed with the substance of the candidate’s offerings. The New Republicans (my term) are not only extremists but are energetically and actively working on changing the face of our country towards a more nihilistic, autocratic one. This is not my opinion, these are the words and actions of the party members and its leader.

How could any serious representatives of the people (that’s us) expect to get everything they want without any compromise? That just doesn’t work. It’s not a serious argument. It’s simply a disguise for delays, vengeance and personal advancement in the hopes of reclaiming complete power.

I am genuinely and deeply concerned about our future. If the New Republicans, like House Speaker Mike Johnson (photo), get their candidate in the Oval Office, what can we expect? Rep. Elise Stefanik just said that if she was the vice president, she wouldn’t count the electoral votes if her team was losing the election.

That a person is running the party who is not in office and has 91 criminal indictments pending against him should send chills up your spine. With a few words from him, his sycophants blew up the border deal simply for campaign reasons. Lies are bald-faced without guilt. Hypocrisy is shouting from the rooftops. This upcoming election is more important than any in my lifetime. May sanity rule its outcome. May truth once again sustain us. May we all live in peace. Christine Ierardi

He tried

Brookfield, Conn.: Voicer Herb Paserman wants to know why the “Repubs” passed on the border bill. They dumped it because it would’ve cost a fortune and accomplished nothing (kind of like the Inflation Reduction Act). He asked if anyone had a better plan. Donald Trump had a better plan and it was working before President Biden canceled it. Lay the blame for the border mess where it belongs. Fred Schoeneborn

Foolhardy

Parkland, Fla.: We all know that the dead-on-arrival border bill which was/will be rejected by the Republican Party is the best deal they’re gonna get. Knowing that it is a political ploy because they want Donald Trump to be in office is dumb because they will never get a better deal. President Biden and the Democrats offered them everything they want. Should Trump win, I would love to see what will eventually pass under his leadership (or lack thereof). Take the deal now, dummies, it ain’t gonna get better. John Squicciarini

Biden ambassadors

Manhattan: Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs was a pitchman for Pfizer’s COVID vaccine, which was delayed when Trump was president. That delay cost thousands of lives. Taylor Swift first endorsed Biden in 2020. With the outstanding victory of the Chiefs in those last three seconds of overtime against the San Francisco 49ers, 25-22 in Super Bowl LVIII, they are now winners two years in a row. Travis and Taylor have more oomph as a power couple after Sunday’s win, with a presumed endorsement of Biden in 2024. They are thought to be a threat to Trump and those who support him in the next election. Make-believe theories exist on the far right. The world awaits to see if the Justice Department has the courage to follow the Constitution and do what’s right for America instead of making excuses for Jan. 6, 2021, and everyone responsible for it. Alan Lehrer

Disrespectful

Rockaway Point: Trump’s dig at Nikki Haley’s husband for not being around — because he is in military service — is an offensive, stupid comment that no true patriot would make. Comments like these are further proof that Trump’s enablers have little to no influence over him. Yet these same people want us to believe that Trump will suddenly take their advice if (God forbid!) he takes office? Trump is currently controlling our MAGA GOP Congress from the outside, and he instructed them not to sign the desperately needed new immigration/border bill until he, Dictator Trump, can claim credit for it! There are infinite reasons Trump is not like Jesus, a glaring one being that Jesus suffered for our sins. Trump wants us to suffer for his. Patricia J. Murphy

Low blow

Auburndale: I wonder if ex-President Trump could list the exact dates on which his children were born. What a cheap shot Robert Hur took for bringing up the date of President Biden’s son’s death. I hope Hur never experiences the same pain. Cathi Venis

Troublemaker

Jamaica: The Orange Guy (Trump) is bad, hateful and trouble. He wants to be a dictator, so goodbye democracy. God bless and help America! Charlene Black

Try talking

Henderson, Nev.: Re “Tucker Carlson in Russia, possibly to meet Vladimir Putin” (Feb. 9): The essence of democracy and debate is the willingness to listen to differing points of view, even if you disagree with them. Americans have lost the ability to debate, as they are not being properly informed by Big Tech and the mainstream media, which tend to censor information or perspectives they don’t like. Thus, we have also lost the ability to resolve conflicts via diplomacy, which leaves war — brutal war that may lead to the end of humanity — as the only remaining option. It’s a very sad day in the world when you have to justify interviewing anyone, particularly one of the world’s most powerful leaders. Kudos to Carlson for practicing one of the fundamental tenets of true journalism by interviewing Putin despite massive criticism from the mainstream media. Michael Pravica

No fun

La Jolla, Calif.: How lame is the feature “Word Wheel”? Five out of six days, the word is a plural, which is lame and shows no imagination. Recently, the word “teashops” was the answer — a word that isn’t even in the “Concise Oxford English Dictionary”! Get rid of it. Jeff Prescott

Win if by land

Wallington, N.J.: Regarding the British man who flew British Airways to JFK Airport and was sent back, having no passport or plane ticket: Someone should tell him to simply run across our southern border, where no paperwork is necessary. He will not only be allowed to stay in the United States, he will also be welcomed with a free cell phone, housing and all types of financial incentives! Ronnie Deckert

State of insecurity

Maspeth: Despite all the left-leaning politicians trying to downplay the rise in crime in NYC, I have one question they should be asking anyone who lives in close proximity to migrant shelters: Do you feel as safe in your neighborhood as you did before these migrants? With all that is going on (the latest being a 15-year-old with a gun and our police being set upon by these migrants), how can anyone feel safe if the police are not? They were not vetted — they can be gang members, criminal thugs from their own countries or just plain freeloaders coming here for free room and board as well as prepaid cash cards each month courtesy of Gov. Hochul. Veronica Kwiecinski

A night to remember

Rome, Italy: My stylish and siren-like 19-year-old mother was off to a New York party on a snowy January night in 1924, a swirl of cocktails and gossip tales, clinking of glasses and tinkling of piano keys. An inviting young musician invites her to sit down next to him on the piano bench. He plays something old-fashioned as she sips her old fashioned. Then he asks her reaction to the opening bars of a new-fashioned piece he is in the middle of composing. A two-finger trill, a two-and-a-half octave slide up the keys, followed by an explosion into a new age of American music. My mother took another sip and told the piano player she thought those few measures were the cat’s pajamas. A hundred years ago last night, 1,100 more people heard the same George Gershwin play the first performance of his “Rhapsody in Blue.” Jeff Davidson