LIBERTARIAN TLAPEK MAKES SECOND RUN FOR CONGRESS

Greg Tlapek knows he stands little chance of becoming 8th District congressman.

But that didn't stop the Cape Girardeau discount commodity broker from filing Monday as a Libertarian Party candidate.

Tlapek, 38, is running to bolster Libertarian views. He opposes taxes in general and wants to abolish the federal income tax.

"The Libertarian view is that taxes are immoral," he said. "When you take money away from the people against their will, it is stealing."

Tlapek hopes to establish a grassroots organization in Cape Girardeau that would encourage voters to get more involved in local politics and oppose tax increases.

"I am going to start one ward and one precinct at a time," said Tlapek.

This will mark Tlapek's second run for political office and the second time he has run for the 8th District seat.

Tlapek said he has "a snow ball's chance in hell" to win the election.

Tlapek ran as a Libertarian candidate for Congress two years ago. He won about 3.5 percent of the vote in the November 1994 election, coming in a distant third behind U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson and Democratic challenger Jay Thompson of Bourbon.

Emerson captured about 69 percent of the vote in winning re-election to an eighth term.

Emerson, who is battling lung cancer, is expected to file this week for re-election. He will be opposed in the August Republican primary by Richard Kline, who lives in Gipsy in southwest Bollinger County.

Perennial candidate Thad Bullock currently is the lone Democratic candidate for the congressional seat.

Tlapek believes there is little difference between Republicans and Democrats.

"Basically both the Republican and Democratic parties are socialist parties," he said.

"It should be obvious now that the government really has no intention of reducing spending," said Tlapek. "We need to simplify government."

He said too few Americans are informed about political issues. "A democracy presupposes that people give a rip and that they are somewhat informed, and that is just not the case."