LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: GOP CHARGE AGAINST HOWARD IS SLEAZY STUNT

To the editor:

This is a letter I sent to Ann Wagner, state chair of the Missouri Republican Party in Jefferson City:

As a Republican who believes that politics in its truest sense can be noble and self-sacrificing public service (George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Byron White and John Danforth are prime examples), I am disgusted by the actions taken by Daryl Duwe, described in the Southeast Missourian as a Republican Party spokesman, in holding a press conference in Cape Girardeau Monday to claim that state Sen. Jerry Howard has committed felony stealing.

Sleazy stunts like this are the sort of shenanigans that make the majority of citizens sick of politics and politicians. Whether or not these claims about Senator Howard eventually prove to be true, this election-eve public-blitzkrieg smear is an embarrassment to the Republican Party.

If Duwe thinks a crime has been committed, he should report it to the appropriate law enforcement agency and await a thorough and competent investigation. A tacky press conference like this, held before any real criminal investigation has even begun, hampers any true criminal investigation and nauseates everyone who comes within smelling distance of the spectacle.

John Danforth's recent Waco investigation showed us all how a true professional investigates alleged wrongdoing. Duwe has now given us the other extreme. Please do what you can to stop people like Duwe from doing further harm to our Republican Party by pulling odorous hatchet jobs like the one in Cape Girardeau this week.

H. MORLEY SWINGLE

Prosecuting Attorney

Cape Girardeau County

Jackson, Mo.