LETTERS: THIRD PARTIES ON MOUNT RUSHMORE

To the editor:

What's worse than having to endure another one of my political letters? It's having to read a Speak Out comment that is based on unintelligent babble. For anyone who thinks it's a waste of time to vote for a third party, you better read up on the faces that grace Mount. Rushmore. Each and every one of the faces on Mount Rushmore were third-party members.

George Washington, as we all should know, was the first president. He was a member of the Federalist Party. He was unanimously drafted in 1789. He then stepped down after two terms in 1796. This man gave us freedom and in large part the Constitution.

This might sound a little confusing to some but, Thomas Jefferson was elected as the first Democratic-Republican. The other party at the time was the Federalist Party. We can thank Jefferson for individual states' rights.

The Republican Party was organized in 1854 and captured the presidency in 1860 under the leadership of Abraham Lincoln. To this man we owe our thanks for an end to slavery.

Theodore Roosevelt started with the Bull Moose Party. He was then elected as a Republican serving two terms, from 1901 to 1909. He was an advocate of conservation and world politics.

There were also other third parties to have their members as president: Democrat Andrew Jackson and Whig William Harrison. However, they didn't get their faces on Mount Rushmore. Next time someone tries to tell you that voting for a third party is a waste of time, give them a lengthy history lessonCAROL POOLE

Jackson