“R.I.P. to the Bergen GOP” (Editorial, June 7) states that Bergen County Republicans need “a leader as smart and pragmatic as the Democrats’ Joe Ferriero.”

Really?

The Record has, up to now, put a priority on ethics in government, excoriating the pay-to-play corruption that has permeated and distorted our state’s public sector from top to bottom.

If Bergen County’s newspaper of record holds the view that winners in the pay-to-play game are worthy of emulation, then New Jersey truly is doomed to become no better than a Third World kleptocracy with indoor plumbing.

Record Columnist Mike Kelly asked if county Democratic boss Joe Ferriero and pay-to-players “have no shame” (“Have they no shame?” March 29).

Good question for your editorial board.

Robert Stern
Englewood, June 7