LETTERS: QUESTION IS HOW BOND VOTED

To the editor:

When folks hear news that they just don't like, they sometimes resort to name calling. Maybe this is why Larry Dowdy peppered his attempt to defend Senator Bond's environmental record with personal attacks on me. The main argument that Mr. Dowdy offered to defend Bond's environmental concern was that the senator chairs a committee that endorsed funding the Clean Water Action Plan. Mr. Dowdy didnt point out that Bond voted against funding this plan in 1998. The question is not what Congress did, but how Bond votes on the issues. Bond similarly voted against President Clinton's Environmental Resource Fund and the Clean Water Action Plan during consideration of the 1999 budget. Additionally, I would note, the senator's support for agroforestry can hardly be touted as evidence of a profound conservation ethic. In equating environmental issues with a small town football game, Mr. Dowdy revealed the level of importance that he attaches to the environment. I really wish candidates and their supporters would have the guts to state publicly that certain issues are not important to them instead of trying to scam the voters into thinking that they are everything everyone wants them to be. At least Jo Ann Emerson went on record publicly in a Kansas City Chamber of Commerce meeting to state that she doesnt have a strong environmental record because she feels her constituents are not concerned about such issues. ALAN JOURNET

Cape Girardeau