Instead of participating in a forum sponsored by the League of Women
Voters in the spring, James Rogan chose to attend a "Tusk'n Trunk"
Republican fund-raiser in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Admission to the league's forum was free, was replayed on community
television, and was open to questions from the public. Tickets to the
Arizona event started at $300, but for an extra $5,000, donors could have
their picture taken with Rogan. He is apparently confused about who his
constituents are, where they live, and what their concerns might be.
It is both expensive and time consuming to respond to televised attack
ads and untrue campaign mailers. The opportunity to respond to false
charges in a live debate, however, is both free and immediate. Yet Rogan
would rather avoid appearing in public. He prefers to raise huge sums of
money outside of his district so that he may continue his attacks on his
opponent from a distance.
Commenting about campaign finance reform, Betsy DeVos, of the Amway
family dynasty, in an op-ed in "Roll Call" states, "I have decided,
however, to stop taking offense at the suggestion that we are buying
influence. Now I simply concede the point. They're right."
John McCain and the majority of the American people feel that buying
influence is wrong, corrupts the political process and contributes to the
apathy that has stopped more than half of the eligible voters in this
country from voting.
Rogan sees buying influence as perfectly OK. Rogan deserves to be sent
packing.
Bruce Babcock
Burbank
