To the editor: As a Democrat, I’ve always admired Eric Swalwell and would doubtless have voted for him for governor. And yet, according to this Los Angeles Times story, his alleged penchant for sexual aggression was well enough known on the hill — an “open secret” is what they called it — that staffers were warned in advance (“Swalwell scandal sparks fears of deeper rot on Capitol Hill,” April 14). That makes me wonder about people who are so moved they feel they have to warn staffers, but not moved enough to warn the public. What kind of ethics are we fostering? Is it about party loyalty? Employer loyalty? Job security?
It is certainly possible for a man to be both an outstanding politician and a despicable sexual bully. I can think of several such instances in my lifetime alone. But, as a nation, I would like to think we have evolved to a point at which, once such behavior is discovered, that political career is over.
I don’t know if Swalwell committed the acts of which he is accused, but we can only hope that his exit from public life will serve as a warning sign to all: Brutality is not tolerated, and silence is complicity.
Bart Braverman, Indio
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To the editor: “A deeper rot in Congress” — is that possible? We need a bumper sticker that says, “Let me suggest 535 layoffs,” accompanied by an overhead view of a joint session of Congress.
We don’t want lower taxes on billionaires, oil interests promoted over environmental energy sources, ICE, a costly war and the Kennedy Center renamed, for starters.
Joel Athey, Valley Village