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Show Sunday, October Election Political public forum policy With elections coming Nov. 8, The Daily Herald has received its usual flood of letters to the editor expressing political opinions and attacking candidates. Normally when letters duplicate each other in content and tone. Herald editors choose a Orton hides true colors from voters couldn't help but smile as I read JoAnne Peterson's editorial (Oct. 8) regarding Rep. Bill Orton 's voting I record. Ms. Peterson stated that Mr. Orton's voting record shows that he votes according to his ' 'conscience" and for "what he thinks is the best policy." If such is the case, Mr. Orton's voting record shows an in- consistent ' 'conscience . ' ' In 1992, Mr. Orton voted against the adoption of a conference report which (House Vote would lift the ban on researching fetal tissue obtained from abortions. Yet, in May of 1993, Mr. Orton voted in favor of the exact bill which he (House Vote had voted against in 1992, under the Bush Administration. Had his "conscience" somehow changed with the new Clinton Administration? Such a vote does not promote the cause. Of course, Mr. Orpro-lif- e ton is content in referring to his "conservative" votes (H.V. when seeking while ignoring his equally "liberal" ). votes (H.V. But, perhaps Mr. Orton's biggest faux pas was the slick trick he pulled regarding the A-- Z Bill. Mr. Orton made the mistake of claiming responsibility for entitlement spending (i.e.. welfare, health care) reduction proposals. While it is true that Mr. such a proposal Orton the A-- Z Bill what Mr. Orton failed to mention was the fact that he was the key person in killing the bill by refusing to vote it out of committee. It makes one wonder if Mr. Orton and his "conscience" require a dose of Prozac to regulate such bipolar behavior. In truth, such drastic changes in Mr. Orton's voting record are not difficult to explain. One needs but glance at an FEC (Federal Election Committee) report to see what dictates Mr. Orton's "conscience." It is money. According to the FEC, Mr. Orton received 81 percent of his financial support from PACs in the 1993 calendar year. More disquieting is the fact that a whopping 94 percent of his money came from sources (i.e., special interest groups). Just who is Mr. Orton being paid to represent? Obviously, an elected official will represent those who are supporting himher. At present, Mr. Orton is supported by a wide range of special interest groups. He votes for his constituents in the Third District just enough to keep us ignorant of what he is doing with the other 62 percent of his votes. Are we not paying him enough? Let's vote someone in that 102-214- 7) 103-117- 102-214- 7) 103-1178- te won't compromise principle for capital. Let's vote for Dixie Thompson this November. David Bjamason Provo Hatch's voting record disturbing to vote for Sen. The quandary Hatch or not? When I lived in California, I once voted for Gov. Brown. I never voted for Nixon, at any time. I voted for Reagan, but not for Bush. I voted for Bill Orton against Rep. Snow who, at that time, was the Republican representative. I say this only to show that I vote for the man and not the party; and, by the way, I will vote for Dixie Thompson this year. Sixteen years ago, I worked for the election of Orrin Hatch and have voted for him ever since. But this I year, I have this dilemma. Should vote for him again? Sen. Hatch has saved us from many bad bills and has voted better than the average senator. But, this year I have a problem in voting for him because of the following: 1. HR 2995: Fiscal 1994 Foreign Aid. A second chance to vote against this unconstitutional giveaway of money that we first must borrow. Total cost: $13.0 billion. Average cost per household: $135. 2. HR2518: HHS, Education. A second chance to vote down this bilwelfare-stat- e nightmare. $3.7 total lion more than last vc.ir! cot' n i $258.3 billion. ov Average household: $135. 3. HR 2520: Eliminate National Endowment for the "Arts." A vote to end all unconstitutional taxpayer funding of obscene trash! 4. HR 2491: Fiscal 1994 VA. HUD. Over a billion dollars more There has been much discussion representative sampling for publication. However, this year the in the media as to ho" liberal Bill Orton is. Putting a label on him seems to be a waste of time. What is important is how he voted. Bill Orton opposed investigating Her- ald is devoting several pages to the publication of virtually all letters to the editor that pertain the House Post Office scandal and allowing the public release of related documents paid for by the tax- to the election. No politically oriented letters will be run after Nov. 4. payers (House Resolutions 222, 223,434, 456, 519, 520, 526.) A similar vote attempting to block the than last year! Housing and Urban Development is unconstitutional. Total cost: $88 billion. Average cost per household: $902. 5. HR 3450: NAFTA. Surrenders to international control the constitutional duty of congress to regulate U.S. trade. Minimum five-yecost: $4.5 billion. Also, GATT. 6. Savings & Loan Bailout. Taxpayers nailed again to clean up the S & L mess. Government shouldn't be in the insurance business. Cost so far: $18.3 billion. Average cost per household: $185. Senator Hatch also: Voted for the Genocide Convention, which allows American citizens to be taken outside the U.S. to stand trial before international tribunals without constitutional safeguards. Voted for the omnibus Crime Bill, which is a massive federal power grab. It federalizes dozens of crimes, which have property been the sole province of the states for over 200 years. It imposes new gun controls, and sets up a new national police corps. (Read, "The Bill of Rights," Article X; this explains states' rights). Calls for a new Constitutional Convention. There is no guarantee that the delegates to this convention would not make radical changes to our constitution or scrap it altogether. Supports President Clinton in ar putting American troops under United Nations command. Instead of defending American lives and property, they will play the role of "Globocop." Supports the IMF: The international Monetary FundWorld Bank. This is the power people that runs United NationNew World Order. When our banks loan money to any third world governments and these governments go broke, our congress will charge this monetary loss to you, the taxpayer. Is it too much to expect that those we send to the U.S. Senate should abide by the Constitution which they have sworn to uphold? Vernon Baugh Orem vote for Orton a vote for liberals A I have met and listened to Congressman Bill Orton. He is charismatic, articulate, and bright. I believe that he works hard and is a good person. I voted for him. There is one thing, however, that he is not. He is not a conservative Republican. I am. I believe that most of Utah is. Contrary to what Mr. Orton's supporters would have us believe, he does not represent us. If he were a conservative Republi- can, he would have run as such. He is running on the Democratic ticket because that is what he is. He recognizes, however, that he could not hope to be elected if he were to package himself as a sometimes conservative Democrat who is susceptible to the inevitable pressures brought to bear by his party leadership. That is why he has voted one way when under public scrutiny, and another when in the protected seclusion of committees. Witness his complete turnabout with the A to Z spending bill. He helped sponsor (along with 250 others) a bill that would potentially have done more to curb the pork in our budget than anything in a long time. He then voted against the discharge petition which would have allowed it to come to the floor for a vote! There are only two scenarios in which Mr. Orton can be First, he can make us believe that he is really a Republican who happens to be running as a Democrat, or second, that it really doesn't matter what party he is running w ith. Some young people I know use the same arguments when explaining why they are wearing gang colors and are carrying guns. A third scenario would be if only a small minority of us vote. Whether or not Mr. Orton wants us to acknowledge it, a vote for him is a vote for the Democratic Party, i's leader1 ;rv and its prcsidfnt. heard Dixie Tiiomp-soI have speak. She is bright, articulate, honest, and a Republican with an established conservative record as an elected official. This time I'm voting for her. Ronald Asay Orem n House Bank investigation (HR 440) failed. His action indicates that he wants to save the House Leadership or Democrats, as a group, from embarrassment, rather than getting to the bottom of the corruption. The Third District was not represented in his vote for the Striker Replacement Act (HR 5). This act guarantees that strikers cannot be replaced and punishes workers who refuse to strike. This bill gives strikers the power to extort or destroy a business, if management does not give in. This bill blatantly violates ethic. We can Utah's thank Senators Hatch and Bennett for saving us from this bill. There are also his votes that weakened the pro-lif- e position. These allowed taxpayer funds to be used for abortions in Washington D.C., via an indirect route (HR 5517), and lifted the ban on using fetal tissue for experimental therapies (S 1) which increases the demand for tissue from induced aborright-to-wo- tions. Our property rights are seriously threatened by the Biological Survey Act (HR 1845) which he also voted for. He has voted against choice in schools (HR 1 804). Orton's performance in these matters makes his behavior of and then derailing the A-- Z budget cutting bill quite predictable. There is simply no need to say he is Conservative or Liberal. These votes simply do not represent my value system. Furthermore, his office got real huffy when a friend of mine and I asked about these issues. They went so far as to accuse us of working for Dixie Thompson. I don't. I certainly support Dixie, but I still have the right to have my current representative answer for his votes, since he will be my representative until the end of his current term. We can stop President Clinton as he claims to be. Roll Call votes 86 (denying parents a say in education), 55 (Tax relief for families by way of family tax credits) and 70 (making peaceful protests in front of abortion clinics a federal crime), would indicate that Mr. Orton isn't morally Conservative either. Just what is Mr. Orton, then? Mr. Orton is an incumbent Democrat who will do anything to stay in Washington, including lie. He claims to be one thing and only votes that way half of the time. The other half of the time, it would seem that our Dr. Jekyll votes like Mr. Hyde. I don't want to come across as some dogmatic preacher of what and who is right, but I do feel the responsibility as an informed citizen to let the voters know who they are voting for. I am tired of election year lies, and Mr. Orton seems to be full of them. It is time to remove Mr. Or ton. Kelly Casaday Sandy Don't believe lies about Haymond J4 the Third House because of his organizational abilities. This prestigious assignment has responsibility for all of the auxiliary functions of from overseeing the legislature all of the volunteer labor and paid staff to coordinating all of the daily functions of the legislature. Rep. Haymond has done a magnificent job. This is the first time in recent history that this position has been given to a freshman, and Brent responded by creating an organization that ran smoothly and efficient- - of his campaign contributions from PAC (Political Action Committee.-)- . It has been learned that some union ' dues have been funneled into the treasury of Demcxratic Candidates without authorization. It is wondered if Mr. Orton has . asked the source of his contributions. How many other Rcpub!i: cans are having their union dues unjustly allocated to those running on the Democratic ticket? W.G. Emmctt' Bountiful In addition to this assignment, Rep. Haymond handled several very difficult pieces of legislation which have as their foundation the preservation and protection of the families in our state. Sometimes these activities require a legislator to miss floor votes on legislation or resolutions which in order to bring are about government reform. To be critical of legislative choice and overlook the valuable contributions Rep. Haymond has made is a real mistake. Thompson a refreshing change non-bindi- Dixie I would like to comment on the kindness and personal concern shown by Dixie Thompson, candidate for United States House of Representatives. Several years ago, our family purchased some property in Emery County in the mountains. In connec- tion with our "ranch," we have , several times turned to Dixie Thompson. Emery County commis- sioner, with questions and requests, She has always been friendly and . helpful. She is a good listener, and then she acts. I have been favorably impressed from this experience. Dixie is personable and effective though quiet ' it seems more appropriate to cull ' her a "public servant" rather than a "politician." What a refreshing change! I admit that I would like to see the Republicans have a chance at being the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives for a change. And it is certainly time for positive change in the Congress. Steven E. Jones " Provo . hope the good people of Legislative District No. 65 will see through the political negativeness being thrown around and Rep. Haymond to the Utah House of Representatives. Martin R. Stephens Majority Leader Utah House of Representatives (Submitted on House of Representatives letterhead. ) I It has come to my attention that Rep. Brent Haymond is being falsely criticized by his opponent for his record during the last legislative session. Those that believe these allegations obviously do not understand the legislative process and do not recognize the substantial contribution Rep. Haymond has made in his four years in the House of Representatives. Briefly, Rep. Haymond, after only his first term, was chosen by the Speaker of the House of Representatives to serve as the Speaker of ct Something fishy in contributions According to the news media, Congressman Orton is getting most ki rt t he issue ; L VM -- tyll 4 and the Democratic Leadership from harming our district further by 1 taking their congressional support away. Let's put Dixie Thompson in congress to support us, instead. Dixie supports property rights, is uneand favors the quivocally pro-lif- e ih each state and of people right locality to make their own decisions. She will work to get the federal government, its mandates and hidden taxes out of our lives. Dixie supports all our constitutional rights and will better represent the Third District and its values. Jeff Mitchell Orem Dr. Jekyll votes like Mr. Hyde rt ! i riH ?Jfr.0 H't-- tfjjstf lit $3m- " 6MJ' aao5 ftjini' Jfn .Vl$ Ap ' Vi Judging from the rhetorical buffoonery in the press as of late, it must be an election year again. I always find it interesting to see how an incumbent will defend himherself when their record is not in line with the idealogies of the majority of their constituents. Such a person is Bill Orton. I want to state from the outset that I have nothing against Mr. Orton, as a person. He seems nice enough. However, I have kept an eye on his voting record over the last four years, and I am surprised at who he claims to be. Can this man be taken seriously as a Conservative?! We must be fools to keep him in office. Recently, Mr. Orton (by command of the Democratic House Leadership) came out hard against the Republican Contract i Hi .li$jtffV ft With America. Judging from his voting record, I would suppose that he would be in favor of this legislation. He has voted for many of the bills found in the Contract in the past. As examples, I cite his support of H. J. Res. 290 (Balanced Budget Amend212 (Slight ment), HR 4454-Vot- e reduction in money for "franking" Congressional mailing privileges), 213 (Slight reand HR 4454-Vot- e duction in Congressional budget). In light of other votes that contradict these Conservative votes, I am confused as to where Mr. Orton really stands. With HJ RES 103, Orton voted against a Balanced Budget Amendment. Also, his votes for S.3, Rick Santorum's (R-Pamendment to HR 2506 and HR 379 thoroughly eradicate any gixxl Orton may have done for Utah by increasing the costs of Congress, the size of the Legislative Empire, and killing campaign finance reform. Other votes (HR 2442, HR 1804, and H. Con. Res. 218) prove that the man is not fiscally conservative, !Z O A13 Election Mitel! IMfc Fiironoi Orton's votes reveals agenda - Page THE DAILY HERALD, Provo, Utah, 30, 1994 3V1 I tfYic, rs)-- r Sii-H- fc |