Cloudy early, then off and on rain showers for the afternoon. High 61F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%..
Cloudy with light rain early...then becoming partly cloudy. Low 48F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Updated: April 1, 2026 @ 5:35 am
Editor,
Letter writer Bob Wackerman correctly called the Democratic Party “elite,” having defined elite as “the richest, most powerful, best educated or best trained group in society.” Unfortunately, he opted to replace the word “or” with “and” when drawing his conclusion. So compared to the Republican Party, the Democratic Party is indeed the best educated and best trained group compared to Republicans, but not the richest or most powerful.
Blue states nationwide have higher levels of education than red states do. As a result, they are the best educated and best trained, and unlike Republicans, they believe in science and fact-based evidence. Remember when Trump proclaimed “I like uneducated people” when speaking to his base? He wasn’t kidding.
However, Wackerman goes on to cite three Democratic billionaire donors whose combined wealth is $15 billion as further proof of the party’s elitism. But if that’s his criterion for elitism, what does that say about the 27 Republican billionaire Trump donors whose combined wealth is $441 billion? Even worse, Trump’s administration includes at least 13 billionaires, making it the wealthiest in modern history. Their combined net worth is estimated to exceed $460 billion.
“Elitism,” like “woke,” is a tired term meaning only what you want it to. But the Republican Party as the party of the rich and powerful is not debatable.
Irv Brenner
Palo Alto
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(3) comments
Thanks for your letter, Mr. Brenner, but if we consider your generalizations, then…we can conclude that blue states with the “best educated and best trained” are unable to translate their education and training into success and wealth? Should we conclude that these “best educated and best trained” folks might have majors in underwater basket weaving or Taylor Swift history instead of finance and business? Or, can we say the “best educated and best trained” have become Republicans because they’ve seen the flaws in being a Democrat? Regardless, “elitism” and “woke” and “racist” and a multitude of terms mean only what you want it to be. As is the definition of “rich” and “powerful” wouldn’t you say?
"the media is the real elite. it is powerful enough to limit "choice'' to one subject
If Scam Bondi would ever release the Epstein List - we would know who is really "Elite" on both sides of the aisle. My guess is that the list hits too close to home for Trump - so we will continue to remain in the dark.
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