Letter to the Editor

Your View: three from 9/17

Friday, September 17, 2004

I watched the Republican National Convention last Wednesday night and heard Sen. Zell Miller, distinguished gentleman from Georgia, deliver the greatest speech of the century. I was privileged to hear a true statesman and patriot. Senator Miller spoke from the heart with such compassion, eloquence and honesty. I believe we got a glimpse of the past, of the type of speeches that our founding fathers gave in Independence Hall as they forged the governing system that has provided the liberty and freedom that we enjoy today.

The gentleman from Georgia stood as a giant and roared as a lion as he methodically exposed the obstructionist voting record of Sen. John Kerry. Point by point, line by line, Senator Miller exposed what Senator Kerry has done to try to stop the technical advances and prevent the production of the sophisticated weapons that were vital in defense of our nation and the victory in the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. On every proposed weapon bill, Senator Kerry voted "NO!" And he wants to be the commander in chief of our armed forces? As Senator Miller said, "commander in chief of our military, to fight with what? Spit-wads?" What kind of commander in chief look to the United Nations to tell us when and where we may deploy our military? What kind commander in chief need get permission from the ungrateful likes such as France and Germany to approve our military deployments?

My friend, if you are a member of today's Democratic Party, I am sure that you can see that the Democratic Party of today is not the party that we once loved and embraced. It is not the same party that John F. Kennedy lead to the White House in 1960. For it is a party that has moved so far left that no decent, honest and God-fearing patriot can fully support it. If you go back and listen to the speeches President John F. Kennedy, he sounds more like a Republican than a Democrat. The Democratic Party of today that is led by the likes of Tom Daschle, Patrick Leahy and Charles Schumer, these men are nothing but obstructionists.

The crushing disappointment in this party is what caused an honest man, Sen. Zell Miller, a Democrat from Georgia, to speak to the Republican Convention. It was not with malice that he spoke, but a passionate love for his family and their security, a love for his country and its future, a love for truth and honesty. He gave us an unbiased view of the record of both President Bush and Senator Kerry. The record, consistency and honesty screams "President Bush is our man."

In one of the previous presidential campaigns we heard the phrase "It's the economy, stupid!" I submit to you, it's utter stupidity that says, "It's the economy and not our security that is most important in this election." "What profit is it to a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?"

President Bush has falsely been blamed for our economic problems. Listen! On Sept. 11, 2001, 11 million jobs were lost in one day when those Twin Towers fell. I guarantee you, it wasn't Mr. Bush who caused the loss of those 11 million jobs. Furthermore, if you look at the massive military budget and debt that we anchored because of the attack on our country, you can't help but see that the economy would be affected significantly. The terrorists are to blame for the devastation and destruction. The terrorist are the ones we are after and the terrorists are the ones who will pay.

God bless America and God bless President Bush!

Tom McCanless, pastor Kewanee Missionary Baptist Church

In this election year the battle lines in the culture war cannot be clearer. We must not waste time with political wishful thinking. I have done some inventory on my own political feelings in the past few weeks.

The left side of the culture war is socialistic, pro-abortion, pro-gay rights, pro-gun control and anti-America first. The right side of the culture war is free enterprise pro-life, pro-marriage, pro-gun rights, and pro-America first. There is no gray area.

Informed voters are either one or the other. The left is united in Bush-bashing, traditional moral values bashing, and united behind the Democratic Party. Unfortunately, the right is somewhat divided. Will the right hand over victory to the left and lose the culture war? Would there have been a bill to ban partial birth abortion laid on Governor Holden's desk had the Democrats been in power of the Missouri House and Senate? Would we have a pro-marriage amendment in the Missouri Constitution if it were not for Republicans? What party continues to block judicial appointments of President Bush? Do we want to continue having activist judges appointed by Democrats?

As I ask myself those questions, I'm forced to rethink my wishful political feelings and vote for those candidates who are Pro-life, Pro-marriage, Pro-gun rights, Pro-America first, and who will protect our nation from terrorism. I must vote for those whom I know have a chance of beating candidates of the left. To do otherwise may actually help hand over victory to the wrong side and ultimately lose the culture war.

Yours for a traditional America, Richard D. Swift

The taxpayer-funded "You Drink & Drive. You Lose." campaign is both alarmist and intentionally misleading. ("Those who drink and drive will 'lose' over holiday," Sept. 1)

It is legal in all 50 states to drink responsibly before driving. Taxpayer-funded campaigns attempting to deny this fact do more than confuse the public - they shift the focus away from the real problem: drunk drivers with high blood-alcohol-concentrations (BAC) and repeat offenders. U.S. Department of Transportation data confirm that the average BAC of a drunk driver in a fatal crash is .16 percent - double the legal limit in every state.

The message, "You Drink & Drive. You Lose." intimidates responsible adults into thinking it is illegal to drink anything before driving. It is an effort to achieve through public relations what cannot be achieved through legislation.

These "public education campaigns" are doomed to fail because they ignore the alcohol abusers who are the root of the drunk driving problem.

If we hope to continue to make progress in the war on drunk driving, we must focus on the cause of the drunk driving problems by targeting high BAC drivers and repeat offenders with harsher punishments and mandatory offender-paid alcoholism screening and treatment instead of engaging in massive scare campaigns against the general public.

John Doyle, executive director The American Beverage Institute