Dear Editor,

In regards to the letter to the editor from Mr. Joe Kaplan titled “Allard not concerned with ordinary people” of Oct. 1, I must express my admiration towards Mr. Kaplan’s vocabulary. I do not believe I have been put down in such an eloquent manner before. Good job Joe, I am sure the voters are more than impressed also! But once again Mr. Kaplan, like so many others like him, must resort to name-calling when they are being beaten up by the facts!

Once more, I will resort to the facts. Fact No. 1, the National Taxpayers Union is a non-partisan, public interest organization that is “dedicated to lower taxes, less wasteful spending, and the principles of rational and limited government.” Mr. Kaplan may consider this “fiscal anarchy,” and “far right,” but a great deal of the working men and women of this country feel they are overtaxed and they believe that more than a great deal of government expenditures are a waste of their hard earned money.

Fact No. 2: Mr. Kaplan states that it takes “large taxes to fuel a war,” correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t the attacks of Sept. 11 have some cost associated with them? The loss of life can never be measured in dollars in my opinion. As far as the cost in dollars, no one knows yet how many billions, maybe even trillions of dollars these attacks will cost America by the time it is all said and done? Maybe if we prevent the next attack, the costs will not be so high.

Fact No. 3: Mr. Kaplan states that Wayne Allard will only fight for the wealthy few. The facts are clear, Wayne Allard voted to reduce taxes on Social Security earnings in 1994, he also voted to repeal the marriage tax and cut taxes for the “middle class.” I am sure that most senior citizens that depend on social security earnings are not reaching millionaire status when they get a break on their taxes. As far as the tax cut for the middle class, I guess some politicians would like to consider the middle-class rich so they could continue to tax them until they have no more to give, but Wayne Allard is not one of those politicians.

As far as Mr. Kaplan being a subscriber to the National Review, so what, going to a garage doesn’t make one a mechanic now does it Joe!

And finally, being a “Charter Member of The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy,” I would not be following my civic duty without mentioning Tom Strickland’s view on “the right to bear arms.” According to the web site, “Issues 2002,” Mr. Strickland believes America should “limit availability of guns by whatever means are effective.” I am certain that the majority of criminals are not concerned with more gun control. It may be, as Mr. Kaplan puts it, “a comic book style slogan,” but if you outlaw guns, only the outlaws will have them. A so-called comic book slogan that rings loudly with the truth!

Doug Meyers

Glenwood Springs