PUBLIC FORUM : IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY BACKFIRED ON GOP DLIM.

An interesting twist to this election is that it has resulted in the political demise of GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich. But, although it was the first time since 1934 that the party in the White House gained seats at midterm, the loss of five Republican House seats should come as no surprise.

The determining factor was the GOP's overreaching with Kenneth Starr's report, the videotape release and the impeachment inquiry nonsense, which was a case of crass partisanship. As a result, the Democratic backlash hurt GOP candidates in California and across the nation.

In California, Gray Davis' victory was virtually assured since June when he outpolled Dan Lungren in the open primary, even though Lungren was uncontested for his nomination.

Voters were tired of 16 years of GOP rule in Sacramento, and Lungren was too conservative for California. But Barbara Boxer, who was in trouble after the primary, probably would have lost the election had it not been for the blatantly partisan overreaching of the Republican Congress.

The backlash against the GOP Congress swung moderate voters, who are the key to victory in California, into Boxer's corner, and she overtook Matt Fong.

Davis' victory grew to landslide proportions, the greatest since Edmund ``Pat'' Brown's in 1958. Democratic incumbents in marginal districts, like Brad Sherman, won in a romp, while GOP incumbents like James Rogan barely hung on. These margins prove how decisive was the public's reaction against the GOP members of Congress. Impeachment blew up in their faces. As a result in California, the GOP has hit rock bottom.

This election proved that the voters are not swayed by pundits and right-wing talk show hosts, and they are not subject to being railroaded by salacious headlines. The voters have to be given credit for knowing crass opportunism when they see it.

Voters wanted work done on issues that affect their everyday lives, like education and health maintenance organizations. Democrats were talking about issues that influence people's ordinary lives.

Speaker Newt got exactly what he deserved.

- Wayne F. Madura 

Reseda

It saddens me that the media and socialist arms of the political parties focus their efforts on otherwise decent people and demonize them to extent that the public will take up the cry of kill, kill, kill.

I have sat back and watched these ``harbingers of truth'' try to destroy people of goodwill, such as Kenneth Starr, Newt Gingrich, Paula Jones and Linda Tripp, to name just a few.

And what are the sins of these people? Starr was handed the job of investigating shady operations in the Clinton administrations in Arkansas and Washington. That there was some funny business going on cannot be questioned.

I don't know when a person has been as demonized as Gingrich. Almost by himself he established the Contract with America that got the GOP in control of both houses of Congress for the first time in decades.

Most of the contract was passed by Congress for the betterment of U.S. citizens. Then the press, the White House and the Democratic Party sent out attack dogs and demonized this man until Gingrich's popularity among the populace was lower than that of Attila the Hun.

There should be a process to indict those who have sought to destroy innocent people by lies and the juggernaut of demonizing. The Constitution must be re-established as the law of the land and replace the whims of a vengeful president.

- Robert Sharp

Arleta

GOP's social issues

Regarding ``Lungren's loss shows GOP flaws; support for individual rights eroding in party'' in Opinions on Nov. 8: Did anyone else find Scott Holleran's argument absurd?

It is intellectually dishonest and self-serving to equate opposition to abortion with religion. Science has proved that life begins at conception. Murder is, in most cases, still illegal. There are plenty of nonreligious people who reason that intentionally taking innocent life is wrong. One's religious views are irrelevant and a straw-man argument.

It is comical to suggest that the Republican Party is on the verge of collapse because of support from the Christian right or its position on abortion. Before the Republican Party platform took a stand against abortion, the GOP didn't bother to run candidates in many Southern elections. Now we see Republican dominance there.

Am I the only one who sees the Republicans maintaining control of both houses of Congress for three consecutive terms for the first time in 70 years? Dick Gephardt can only wish his party had taken such a catastrophic beating.

The demise of the pro-life movement and of the Republican Party is greatly exaggerated. Perhaps Holleran should open his eyes to what has happened to the Democratic Party since its pro-abortion president entered office. Both houses of Congress were lost to the Republicans. Now 60 percent of the governors are Republicans, and more than 200 formerly Democratic officeholders have switched to the Republican Party.

Incidentally, I'm not a Republican - just a thinking reader.

- Gregg Frazer

Pacoima

Recent commentary accusing social conservatives of contradicting their principles of support of individual rights and responsibilities by opposing choice in abortion is misguided and indicates confusion regarding pro-life sentiments.

We, social conservatives, believe that choice must be wisely exercised before the conception of a new life. A woman has the freedom to choose to respect her power to create life by refusing sex when the natural consequence, childbirth, would be inconvenient.

After life is conceived, we steadfastly maintain that the right of the unborn child to life takes precedence over any other rights except the life of the mother.

For example, I am within my rights if I choose not to work. But, if as a result my children die of hunger, have I not committed a crime against them as well as society?

We defend the defenseless. Comfort and convenience are not excuses for ending a human life.

- Peter Marlow

Granada Hills

Clinton vs. Saddam

It looks as if our great warrior-president has put us through another chitty-chitty-bang-bang war. Saddam Hussein played him the way an Itzhak Perlman plays a fine Stradivarius. This impression is especially true in the eyes of most of the Arab world, where it really counts.

- Paul Wasserman

Northridge

Aid for N. Korea

We have 37,000 American military personnel in South Korea on the 38th parallel facing 1 million communist North Korean troops, some 45 years after the war.

Things have not changed. North Korea insists on keeping 1 million men in the military and not on the farms producing food for its starving people, and the stupid government of the United States, led by a man with no military experience or understanding of the communist North Korean mind, is giving hundreds of millions of hard-earned dollars from American taxpayers in food and fuel to North Korea, which all goes to its military machine.

Has the United States ever previously fed and supported enemy troops who have killed more than 54,000 Americans? It is costing the United States more than $13 billion a year to maintain our military in South Korea.

Now we hear Clinton is giving the North Korean communists an additional $15 million in aid. What is going on with our leaders? Feeding cancer will not cure it. Isolating it as necessary will.

- Donald L. Mellman

Studio City

New smog rules misdirected

The Daily News' Nov. 8 editorial justifying tougher rules for sport-utility vehicles, pickups and minivans to minimize smog is a myopic view of the problem. As usual the burden of reducing air pollution has fallen on the individual car driver, with little consideration given to other factors which can also solve the problem.

Consider that the utility deregulation will more than likely force the shutdown of the city of Los Angeles' electric power generation plants because of their use of costly fuels. Even if economics were not a factor, importing electricity from other areas and shutting down Department of Water and Power generating plants would reduce air pollution.

Eliminating busing of Los Angeles Unified School District children would take more than 1,000 buses off the streets daily. The improved flow of traffic would reduce the air pollution contributed by thousands of other vehicles as well. Replacing Metropolitan Transportation Authority diesel-powered buses with electricity-powered buses and expanding train routes throughout the Los Angeles Basin would also do much to make our air cleaner.

The hypocrisy of our government on this issue is staggering. The private citizen has been legislated to smaller vehicles, while the lifestyles of our elected officials remain the same. For example, to vote on Election Day, Vice President Al Gore flew Air Force II between Tennessee and Washington, burning thousands of gallons of fuel.

If he had voted absentee, a little bit of our environment could have been saved from the threat of global warming.

Not until all these issues have been studied and solutions implemented should private citizens be asked to change their lifestyle.

- Duane L. Halpape

Woodland Hills