MAILBAG:

On Nov. 4, the evening of the general election, I attended a gathering of Orange County Republicans and made some general remarks about why Republicans lost in the election.

During those remarks I made an off-the-cuff, yet inappropriate, comment about Debbie Cook and the election in the 46th Congressional District that was published in the Los Angeles Times Nov. 7. After the remark was brought to my attention, I called Debbie and apologized for the remark. The bottom line is that what I said was wrong. There is never an appropriate occasion to engage in disparaging remarks about people with whom you disagree, and for this I apologize to Debbie.

Scott Baugh

Chairman of the Republican Party of Orange County

 

Hoping for signs of change to disappear

I’ve had the pleasure of living in Huntington Beach for about 18 years now. There are three things that are guaranteed here in good old Surf City:

Beautiful, year-round weather, the greatest Fourth of July parade West of the Mississippi and a liberal rant by Tim Geddes in the H.B. Independent monthly.

Well, I think I’ve finally got some valuable information from Geddes’ letters. Geddes states in his latest rhetorical production that he hopes Debbie Cook will continue to challenge Dana Rohrabacher for the Congressional seat in the 46th District.

I personally found Cook to be an inexperienced empty suit that Geddes attempts to portray Dana Rohrabacher as. Only Rohrabacher has accomplishments and experience and a successful record to run on.

Debbie Cook’s only election strategy was to spout exactly what Barack Obama said and promise hope and change and ride the Democrat tidal wave to victory.

Cook also tried to run on an environmental platform, so while reading Geddes latest letter, it dawned on me. The reason that so many Cook election signs still litter the wonderful Huntington Beach landscape is because she is starting her campaign now and plans to just leave the signs up until the next election.

As Ronald Reagan would have said, “Mr. Geddes and Debbie Cook, tear down those signs!�

James Jones

Huntington Beach

 

Increased density will worsen PCH corridor

Before it was called Huntington Beach, Pacific City could not get tourists to visit the beach community because of lack of transportation. Henry Huntington stepped in with his Red Cars and solved the problem.

If the city proceeds in its move to ultrahigh density development, history will repeat itself but in a contemporary version. Huntington Beach’s rush to ultrahigh density development will so clog the Beach/Edinger corridor that visitors simply will not buck the traffic and will go elsewhere.

And the increased densities envisioned in the Downtown Specific Plan will only worsen the situation along the Pacific Coast Highway corridor. It is ironic that in the upcoming celebration of our city’s centennial, one of the themes is tourism, and yet the city seems hell-bent to choke off that critical element of our community’s livelihood.

David Carlberg

Huntington Beach

 

Difference of opinion is OK on abortion issue

If Linda Dobson (Mailbag, Nov. 20) had read my letter to the editor (Nov. 13) more carefully, she would have noticed that besides Ira Werner, I also mentioned Mark Sheldon.

He is the one who, in a piece “attacking� Michelle Marr for her opinion that Obama was not a good choice, stated that printing such a column right before an election was “bad journalistic practice,� (Oct. 30).

I merely stated that there was no “bad journalistic practice� in evidence, as I continued getting election materials, and reading political editorials all the way up through Nov. 3.

On abortion, either you believe that an unborn child is a person or you don’t.

If one believes it is a person, then the one has every right to speak against abortion. If one does not believe that an unborn fetus is a person, then step up and call yourself pro-abortion, as that is the only possible truth.

Why would one be pro “choice� if one did not believe that the unborn was really a person? Obviously, if it is not a person, then I say, if one wants to get rid of it, go ahead, no harm, no foul.

Now, as to my anger, Dobson said that I “continued to flail at Werner.� Did I really flail? Or did I state that the Left believes in freedom of opinion, as long as it meshes with theirs? Dobson, a perfect example!

Also, as to me finding a focus for my “anger,� I have plenty of ways that I work that out. That is most definitely not MY problem, but hers. I do get tired of the Left acting like theirs is the only correct opinion. That ticks me off no end. This is a free country!

Linda D. Couey

Huntington Beach