A little payback letter. (my LTTE) (Tom Delay)

[txaslftist]

My "Pay it Back" Letter:

Dear Editor:
Although the ultimate question of whether Tom Delay committed a crime will be decided by a jury, certain things are true, and even Tom Delay would not deny them. First of all, it is against the law for corporations to directly pay candidates for elected office in Texas. Second, several large corporations, including Sears, paid about $190,000.00 into Tom Delay's outfit, who then forwarded the money to the Republican National Committee. The RNC then turned around and gave individual candidates exactly $190,000.00 for use in their campaigns.

Tom Delay's defense is not that this did not happen. His defense is either that he did not know it was happening (which is a little hard to believe) or that by sending the money through party Headquarters, this extra "Texas Two Step" made it a legal transaction. While that issue is for a jury and judge to decide, the facts remain. The money was paid by the big corporations and the exact same amount of money wound up in the coffers of people running for office.

If the spirit of the law is to be followed, not just the letter, then these contributions amount to corporations paying for representation. While some may say that this is okay, the secrecy that went with the transactions meant that people didn't know who was paying for the ads we all saw on TV for this candidate and that. Not surprisingly, Delay voted for big business interests every time he had a chance.

West Texans deserve better than that. We have a right to know who is footing the bills for our representatives so we can have an idea where they are going to stand on the issues.

Representative Jeb Bradley (R-New Hampshire) apparently agrees. He has volunteered to pay back the $15,000.00 he got from ARMPAC, one of Delay's political action committees. Randy Neugebauer also recieved $15,000.00 from one of Delay's PACs, without a whisper to the public of where the money was really coming from. Shouldn't Randy take this opportunity to show his constituents that he's not on any one's payroll? Shouldn't he take this chance to show that he's not for sale?

Pay the money back, Randy. Prove to us that you aren't for sale to anyone.

[txaslftist]

1. If you have a Republican rep., you might consider...

...sending this letter or something close to it to your local paper.

[John Q. Citizen]

2. Just a tad long for most editors. you might want to cut it down if

possible so as to increase the chance of publication`and to make sure you have control so it isn't cut by the letters editor.

[Melodybe]

3. Love it, I think that you did a great job!

[txaslftist]

4. Like this?

My "Pay it Back" Letter:

Dear Editor:
While a jury will decide if Tom Delay is guilty, we know some undeniable facts: First, it is against the law for corporations to pay candidates for elected office in Texas. Second, large corporations, including Sears, paid about $190,000.00 into Tom Delay's outfit, who sent it to the RNC. Third, the RNC then turned around and gave individual candidates exactly $190,000.00 for their campaigns.

Delay's defense is either that he did not know it was happening (which is a little hard to believe) or that his extra "Texas Two Step" (laundering the money through the RNC)made legal. The facts remain. $190,000.00 was paid by corporations and $190,000.00 wound up in the coffers of people running for office.

If the spirit and not just the letter of the law is to be followed, then these contributions amount to corporations paying for representation. While some may say that this is okay, the secrecy that went with the transactions meant that people didn't know who was paying for the ads we all saw on TV for this candidate and that. Not surprisingly, Delay voted for big business interests every time he had a chance.

West Texans deserve better than that. We have a right to know who is footing the bills for our representatives so we can have an idea where they are going to stand on the issues.

Representative Jeb Bradley (R-New Hampshire) apparently agrees. He has volunteered to pay back the $15,000.00 he got from Delay's ARMPAC. Randy Neugebauer also got $15,000.00 from one of Delay's PACs, without a whisper to the public of where the money was really coming from. Shouldn't Randy take this opportunity to show his constituents that he's not on any one's payroll? Shouldn't he take this chance to show that he's not for sale?

Pay the money back, Randy. Prove to us that you aren't for sale to anyone.

[John Q. Citizen]

5. At 300 words your chances should be a little better.

The letter is great, by the way.

Different papers have different rules for their letter to the editor pages. I'd check with the paper you intend to send it to so as to increase your chances of being published, and being published without being edited.

Here's my editing suggestion:

If the spirit and not just the letter of the law is to be followed, then these contributions amount to corporations paying for representation. While some may say that this is okay, the secrecy that went with the transactions meant that people didn't know who was paying for the ads we all saw on TV for this candidate and that.

to

It appears these contributions amount to corporations paying for representation. The secrecy that went with the transactions meant that people didn't know who was paying for the ads we all saw on TV for Delay's candidates.

Then in this paragraph:
West Texans deserve better than that. We have a right to know who is footing the bills for our representatives so we can have an idea where they are going to stand on the issues.

to
West Texans deserve better than that. We have a right to know who is footing the bills for our representatives.

and finally here :
Representative Jeb Bradley (R-New Hampshire) apparently agrees. He has volunteered to pay back the $15,000.00 he got from Delay's ARMPAC. Randy Neugebauer also got $15,000.00 from one of Delay's PACs, without a whisper to the public of where the money was really coming from. Shouldn't Randy take this opportunity to show his constituents that he's not on any one's payroll? Shouldn't he take this chance to show that he's not for sale?

Pay the money back, Randy. Prove to us that you aren't for sale to anyone.

To

Representative Jeb Bradley (R-New Hampshire) apparently agrees. He has volunteered to pay back the $15,000.00 he got from Delay's ARMPAC. Randy Neugebauer also got $15,000.00 from one of Delay's PACs, without a whisper to the public of where the money was coming from. Mr. Neugebauer should take this opportunity to show his constituents that he's not on taking payoff money. He should take this chance to show that he's not for sale.

Pay the money back, Rep. Neugebauer.

Of course, take my suggestions/edits with a grain of salt. Feel free to use them or not. And good luck!

[txaslftist]

6. Thanks very much!

[John Q. Citizen]

7. You are welcome. I love it when I can get someone to

edit my writing. I don't always agree with their suggestions but often they help me tighten up and improve my piece.