Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 28, 1994 TAG: 9410280039
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In the past few weeks, I've listened to the candidates for the U.S. Senate - Oliver North and Charles Robb - bash each other in many television ads. I haven't made a decision on who I'll vote for in the November election. Therefore, I try to pay attention to the issues at hand and weigh the pros and cons fairly.
However, Robb's most recent ad exposing the ``real issue'' in this campaign really bothers me. Isn't the real issue about who will do the best job for the people? To my knowledge, senators represent their constituents. I would think that they would like to let the public know what they'll do for us, rather than what each of them may or may not do behind our backs.
I'd like to hear more about what North and Robb are going to do for their constituents than what they know or think they know about each other's background.
M. ELLEN WIRT ROANOKE
Damage from road is a sure thing
THANK YOU for publishing on Oct. 5 Liza Field's commentary, ```Those people' vs. Disney,'' articulating the affinity of so many of us for Virginia's natural heritage. I wish that I could write, better yet, think as well, with such elegant and sensitive insight.
I hope those moved by her commentary also are concerned about the Virginia Department of Transportation's plan to construct a four-lane superhighway through the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. The Forest Service has issued a notice asking for comments on the expected impacts of the U.S. 58 proposals. Comments submitted will help determine whether the Forest Service conducts a full environmental-impact study. The results of the study will be important in determining whether a special-use permit is issued to allow VDOT to irreparably damage this natural treasure.
Whether the U.S. 58 proposal will produce any economic benefits can be debated indefinitely. What is certain is the damage that a four-lane freeway will do to the Mount Rogers area.
JAMES R. HENDERSON IV TAZEWELL
State values more than theme parks
JACK WAINWRIGHT (Oct. 15 letter to the editor, ``The dream team: Disney and Salem'') is totally amazed to learn that there are people on Earth who value things besides amusement parks - a Florida swamp, for example.
Well, many of us are proud to be from Virginia - a place full of natural and historic treasures, and a state that's not afraid to stand up and defy giants.
If being normal is equated with wanting a Disney Park here, then I'll be happy to be called abnormal.
NANCY YOUNG BLUE RIDGE
Robb sold out to the White House
AS ELECTION Day nears, Virginia voters will hear repeated attacks against Oliver North. Some will try to scold us into being politically correct and voting for Sen. Charles Robb. As we hear the attacks, we must remember the following:
North didn't vote to put gays in the military; Robb did. North didn't vote to allow immigration of AIDS victims; Robb did. North didn't vote to increase taxes on Social Security benefits; Robb did. North didn't vote to confirm Joycelyn Elders as surgeon general; Robb did.
Also, North didn't vote to allow tax-funded abortions; Robb did. North didn't vote to fund homosexual ``art;'' Robb did. North didn't vote to raise income taxes; Robb did (twice). North didn't vote for Clinton's pork-barrel stimulus package; Robb did. North didn't vote against term limits for Congress; Robb did. North didn't support the insanity of sending troops to Haiti; Robb did. North didn't shred his marriage vows; Robb did.
No, Virginia, Robb is wrong. He has turned his back on us, and he has sold out to the '60s hippie counterculture that dominates the White House.
North won't.
SAMUEL J. WALLIN ROANOKE
Out of step with the 5th District
I COULDN'T believe what I heard in an L.F. Payne campaign ad on television recently. The announcer stated that Payne was ``independent'' and ``one of us.''
The fact is, he supported the liberal Clinton agenda 86 percent of the time, which is more than any congressman from Massachusetts. Payne also went against his constituents when a vast majority of them said no to Clinton's historic tax increase, tobacco taxes, placing U.S. troops under United Nations command, and stripping away Second Amendment rights to firearms. He likes to appear as a conservative, but his flip-flop record tells otherwise.
This is why it's so important for people of Franklin County and the 5th District to support George Landrith for Congress. He's a true conservative who will work for an additional $500 tax credit per person on federal taxes, a balanced-budget amendment, and victims' rights over criminals' rights. Landrith will fight any legislation that limits your constitutional rights to a firearm, will work to stop socialized medicine and to keep your life out of bureaucrats' hands.
ERICK A. MOORE FERRUM
by CNB