No, Larry Bargenquast (“Liberals. Am I right?,” New Times, Sept. 1), you are not right. First, the media is full of negative comments about Hilary Clinton’s emails, access to the State Department by Clinton Foundation donors, etc. The reason Donald Trump gets more negative press is that he makes outrageous statements (i.e. Mexico will pay for the wall), insults war heroes and people with disabilities, and displays an ignorance rarely encountered in a presidential candidate.

Second, your commentary illustrates many of the qualities so repugnant in Trump. 1. A sneering tone, “this woman” referring to former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. 2. Nasty language, “She will continue to vomit the Clinton-Obama poison.” 3. Distortion, “This party that’s been usurped by … self-styled … New Age Democrats who have deluded themselves into thinking that everyone deserves the same reward regardless of differences in effort or ability … .”

To reply to No. 3, I don’t know any Democrats, New Age or otherwise, or for that matter conservatives, independents, Republicans, or progressives who think that a dentist, lawyer, CEO, teacher, or fireman should be paid the same salary as a salesperson or a hamburger flipper. 

What liberals do believe is that people who work should receive a living wage that pays for adequate food, shelter, health care, their children’s needs, and transportation. We know that isn’t impossible on $9 or $10 an hour and that many people work two low-wage jobs just to get by. We also know that the USA has the largest income gap in the “developed” world and are disturbed that the gap continues to grow.

-- Judith Bernstein - Arroyo Grande

-- Judith Bernstein - Arroyo Grande