LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: SWINGLE LETTER IS BACKHANDED SLAP AT DARYL DUWE

To the editor:

This is a letter I sent to Morley Swingle, Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney, in response to his recent letter regarding Daryl Duwe's press conference alleging criminal wrongdoing by state Sen. Jerry Howard:

I am appalled at your backhanded slap at Daryl Duwe, one of the most courageous and respected foot soldiers for the Republican cause in Missouri. To publicly berate someone who is trying to expose the possibility of corruption in an elected official is disappointing. Seeing it come from someone who is sworn to uphold the law borders on frightening.

Particularly disturbing is this sentence from your disgraceful letter: "Whether or not these claims about Senator Howard eventually prove to be true, this election-eve public-blitzkrieg smear is an embarrassment to the Republican Party." Are you saying that, even if Senator Howard is guilty of felony stealing as we suspect, the voters don't deserve to know about it? We have an obligation to make this evidence public. Without some pressure from a public citizenry interested in justice and good government, it would be far too easy for queasy prosecutors to sweep things under the rug instead of taking on a state senator.

Remember former state Sen. Jet Banks? He used to be a powerful St. Louis Democrat who wielded so much clout even Governor Carnahan was afraid of him. Then one person who came across some evidence of corruption by Banks decided to do something about it. He filed a complaint with the Missouri Ethics Commission and made it public. Politicians in high places begged him to withdraw it. Friends who feared for his safety begged him to withdraw it. It took courage, but that person stuck to his guns, and now Banks is a convicted felon who was forced to leave the Senate. The person who had the courage to take on Banks is the same Daryl Duwe you so shamefully accuse of pulling an "odorous hatchet job" in Cape Girardeau. What he did then was not "an embarrassment to the Republican Party." He performed a valuable public service. The same rules apply here.

Ironically, all the spicy terms you use to unfairly bash Duwe can more accurately be applied to you. Duwe's willingness to publicly take a stand on another state senator is not a "sleazy stunt," but your eagerness to grab the spotlight at his expense sure is. The only "odorous hatchet job" pulled in Cape Girardeau is your unbridled display of personal opportunism on the back of a decent, honest and courageous individual.

In your letter you asked me to do what I can "to stop people like Duwe from doing further harm to our Republican Party." On the contrary, Mr. Swingle, I don't think we have enough people like Mr. Duwe who are willing to stand on principle in the face of threats from the opposition and reprehensible backstabbing from within his own party.

ANN WAGNER

Chairman

Missouri Republican Party

Jefferson City, Mo.