Hey bowers,

Feel free to vote for your freedom-loving Repubs. from Ohio. I'll take my chances with the Dem running against Slade. And Wit45, stop trying to make it sound like you have some factual economic reason to vote GOP. You may have an economics-based OPINION as to why you'll vote GOP, but let's not confuse opinion with fact. Sure, the richest 10% of the population pays the vast majority of taxes, but that's how it should be. You pay according to your ability to pay. Gee, you think I feel sorry for a guy who has to pay a 36% rate when he makes 100 million dollars a year. No, I don't. Poor guy, now he only has 64 million to spend this year. And anyone who isn't naive knows that the more money you make, the more ways you have to shelter your income, so there aren't many millionaires paying in at 36%. However, the poor slobs like me who make 30-50K/year have a hard time "hiding" income. So, who's your friend, GOP or Dem? Guess that's just a matter of OPINION.

And don't start with me on the personal freedom issue, either. Sure, the GOP will fight for you to keep your guns, but what are they doing in MY bedroom and doctor's office. And why do they insist on using the Bible to justify these intrusions, when the church-state separation required by the Constitution is crystal-clear? And why does the GOP feel the Second Ammendment is written in stone, but the First Amendment isn't? These are personal freedom issues the GOP doesn't want to talk about, because their hypocrisy is illuminated.

Are the Dems without errs in judgment or hypocrisy? Not at all, just look at the theives in the S&L scandal years ago that cost us taxpayers billions. Slimy Repubs AND Dems alike, caught with their hand in the cookie jar. And in case you memory has wavered, Neil Bush was one of the main players in that scandal. Funny how Neil is hardly spoken of now.

One other thought. You do realize that being a veteran doesn't make you any more or less of an American than anyone else, don't you? You speak as if your vote is more important, or carries more weight, than mine because you're a vet. and I'm not. Well, I'll say this: You and other vets, especiallly those who served during times of war, are brave beyond description, and should be respected by ALL Americans. But your vote is no more meaningful than mine, and your opinion is no more meaningful than mine. That being said, I thank you for your service to our country.

I'm voting AGAINST Slade, simple as that. I don't care if his opponent wears a hammer and sickle patch on his/her jacket, since they, too, can be voted out of office. I'm far more leery of someone who rants about freedom, while special-interest money flows into his pockets, than I am of a communist insurgence into US politics. Just my OPINION, and I won't claim it's a fact. But I WILL VOTE in November, and I'll be voting against Slade Gorton.

Fish on........