LETTERS TO THE EDITOR; MANY REASONS NOT TO VOTE FOR AL GORE

To the editor:

There are so many reasons not to vote for Al Gore. There are so many reasons to believe that a Gore presidency would be bad for the nation. The Democratic Party and their allies in the media are trying to convince the voting public that Gore is a mainstream moderate, a strong family man and someone who can, as president, use the power of the federal government to solve every social ill and appease every interest group. Gore is trying to distance himself from his mentor, Bill Clinton, but there are indications that a Gore presidency would be just more of the lies, incompetence and corruption that we have endured with Clinton.

A prime example is Gore's behavior during Democratic fund raising for the 1996 election. Gore lied repeatedly about his fund-raising appearance at a Buddhist temple in April 1996. John Huang and Maria Hsia, both operating on instructions of the Communist Chinese government, helped the Democrats raise $140,000 from Buddhist monks and nuns who, incidentally, were living under vows of poverty. The money came from rich Chinese with ties to Red China. Huang and Hsia were later found guilty of violating campaign fund-raising laws, and both received minor penalties from the so-called Justice Department of Janet Reno. They were the fall-guys for Gore while he continued to deny that he knew it was a fund raiser even while internal campaign memos showed that he knew it was. Doesn't this sound like the Clinton pattern of corruption, lies and cover-up that we have grown so tired of?

Another example is Gore's fund-raising phone calls from the vice president's office during the 1996 campaign. These were clear violations of federal laws. His defense was that there was no "controlling legal authority" to regulate his behavior. He went on to say that he may have made a "few" calls to raise money. Those "few" turned out to be 86. Gore further denied that he participated in discussions during a November 1995 White House meeting that planned the illegal phone calls, White House fund-raising coffees and Lincoln bedroom sleepovers that raised millions of hard money for the Clinton-Gore re-election. In the now in-famous and ridiculous "iced-tea defense" Gore claims that he had drunk so much tea and must have been in the men's room while those things were discussed. Again, Gore's own office memos show that he knew what was discussed.

On three separate occasions Justice Department prosecutors and the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Louis Freeh, have recommended opening an investigation of Gore for these illegal activities. On each occasion the obedient Clinton lap-dog, Janet Reno, has somehow concluded that his "mistakes" did not warrant even a cursory investigation.

Would a Gore presidency be any different than the lies, corruption and cover-up that have disgraced this nation for the past eight years? That is the question that voters will decide in November. We, as a nation, have an opportunity to put an end to Clinton-Gore administration and the accompanying corruption. I hope we will make a wise choice.

JOHN HELDERMAN

Whitewater, Mo.