Nelson Dorsey III, in a thoughtful and well-constructed op-ed (“For Democrats, it’s political posturing at any price,” Nov. 9), chastises the Democrats for not engaging in debate and searching for compromise with Republicans, especially with respect to the current government shutdown.

He has a point, but this has long been the party’s strategy. It must have been his parents’ or grandparents’ memory that Mr. Dorsey was relying on when he described the Democratic Party as one that “… once built bridges for all Americans,” because it cannot have come from his own memory.

Back in 2005, when it was recognized that the Social Security system was in crisis, then-President George W. Bush offered reforms that had been first advanced by his Democrat predecessor. Bush’s proposal was rejected by strong Democrat opposition, voiced by now soon-to-be-retired Nancy Pelosi.

She demanded unanimous opposition to all Republican legislative initiatives and told Time magazine that all the Democrats had to do was deny that there was a crisis, that by doing so they would not have to offer an alternative plan of their own.

Michael Smith
Wells