Open Forum

I was very pleased and wish to compliment newly elected District 12 Sen. Paul Koering for introducing legislation banning partial birth abortion. He said he was going to do it and he did! I understand it will be introduced in the House shortly.

I was a little puzzled about the phone campaign from the top Minnesota Pro-Life organization concerning this bill. I believe Minnesota should take the lead in passing as much pro-life legislation as possible given the fact that there is a good chance to pass this bill with the new composition of the State House and Senate and a pro-life governor to sign it into law.

Full speed ahead, Sen. Koering, and thanks for your support of ethanol and the cleanup of the Hennepin Paper site.

Floyd J. Richmond

Little Falls

Voting your pocketbook

Bashing liberals is fashionable these days and has been since it reached fever pitch about the time of Newt Gingrich's "Contract with (on) America," which was a blatant attempt to begin the process of eliminating social programs anathema to Republicans, such as Medicare, which is cherished by the elderly. He wise-cracked, "We don't get rid of it (Medicare) in Round One because we don't think it's politically smart."

That working-class people vote Republican in surprisingly large numbers is a puzzling phenomenon. As Andy Rooney said recently on Donahue, "I can't understand why working people vote Republican when that party represents the rich and the big corporations." Taking into account the virulent diatribes on talk radio accusing liberals of everything from wife-beating to treason, it's not surprising. What is surprising is that they allow talk show hosts do their thinking. Ignorant of information critical to making sound decisions in the voting booth is no vice, I guess. It's still a free country. Perhaps if they were reminded of programs enacted by Democrats over fierce opposition by Republicans: Social Security, Voting Rights Act, Minimum Wage, Rural Electrification, Federal Aid to Education, Guaranteed Bank Deposits, School Lunch Program, Pure Food and Drug Act, Securities and Exchange Commission, Civil Right Act, Medicare, etc.

The rich vote their pocketbook. Getting the non-rich to do so will be difficult as polls show that 19 percent believe they're in the top 1 percent income-wise and probably approve of Bush's tax cutting fervor, which is at the heart of the conservative agenda: starve the government of money to pay for social programs that help ordinary people. The GOP outspent Democrats by $184 million in the last election and their Faustian bargain with corporate America may come back to haunt them.

John Niedenfuer

Deerwood

Critiquing Koering

This evening I saw on TV where Sen. Day wants to put a wage freeze on all employees that get money from the state, State workers, teachers etc. In this county that is several thousand families. Standing right behind Sen. Day was Sen. Koering. He had that big honest country smile on his face. He looked very happy. Was this because of the thousands of families that this bill will hurt in Crow Wing County or maybe all the business that will suffer because all of these people can't buy all of the things that they used to? I am sure that new car sales will take a big hit, I know that I will have to make mine last another couple of years. I think that a lot of people will have to do the same.

By supporting this bill and hurting many people how does Sen. Koering think that his 100-vote winning margin will hold up in four years. How many of the local voters will get hurt in his second month in office.

Scott Pakarinen

Rural Brainerd