U.S. TAXPAYERS PARTY CALLS FOR MORALITY, RELIGION

Officials of the U.S. Taxpayers Party called for a complete ban on abortion and "a spiritual battle" to get America going in the right direction during the fledgling party's first spring rally in Cape Girardeau.

About 100 people attended the rally Tuesday night at the Drury Lodge.

Among them were Bob Wells, chairman of the party's state committee, and Ste. Genevieve resident Alan Redburn, a candidate for the 20th District Senate seat held by Danny Staples.

Also in attendance was Debbie Hopper, secretary of the U.S. Taxpayers Party National Committee.

Wells and Redburn are both disenchanted former Republicans who say they switched to the USTP because they believe the difference between Democrats and Republicans is now negligible. They also maintain that Americans' liberties are being confiscated by a government run by those two parties.

"It matters not which of the major two parties is in power," Wells said. "Our country is headed in the wrong direction."

Wells, who works for Southwestern Bell in St. Louis, called morality and religion "the twin pillars on which our nation rests."

Politics, he said, "has everything to do with character and with faith."

His conversion to Christianity in 1982 led to his involvement in conservative politics. He likens the USTP's uphill battle to change America to the story of Gideon in the Bible.

"It's not going to be done in numbers but with conviction and strength," he said.

Redburn, 42, manages a grocery store in Bonne Terre. He said Staples' vote to uphold Gov. Mel Carnahan's veto of a ban on partial-birth abortion prompted him to accept the party's call to run.

"I'm not doing this to become another politician," he said.

A member of both the National Rifle Association and the Mineral Area Horseshoe Pitchers Association, Redburn said he and his wife, Cindy, prayed for months about whether to get into the campaign.

He said he did so "because it was the right thing to do.

"We've neglected our divine commands, we've neglected our God-given rights," he said.

Many associated with the party are involved in home schooling, they support the right to bear arms and adamantly oppose abortion.

"We stand for banning any legal abortion in America, and we will do that as we come into power," Wells said.

In 1996, the party put forward its first presidential candidate in Howard Phillips. He now is on the ballot in 36 states, including Missouri. Eleven thousand Missourians voted for Phillips in 1996.

Mike Ballou, the party's provisional chairman in the 8th Congressional District, said 10 USTP committeemen and committeewomen will be on the primary ballot in Cape Girardeau County.

The party has no local statewide candidates. Dr. Curt Frazier, an emergency room doctor from Springfield, is a USTP candidate running for the U.S. Senate.

Ron McCubbin, provisional chairman of the USTP Cape Girardeau County Committee, said the party is not interested in just having a platform to promote its ideas.

"We want electable candidates."