Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 15, 1993 TAG: 9304150463
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SUSAN VINALES
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
SUPPORT FOR PEROT IS GROWING STRONGER
I READ Victor Kamber's contemptuous diatribe (March 30 commentary, "The campaign's over, but Perot won't go away") concerning Ross Perot and United We Stand America, of which I am a proud member. Kamber feigned surprise that Perot is still around, and did his best to condemn and ridicule the underlying reasons for the formation of this fine organization. He questioned what Perot's ulterior motives might be, based solely on conjecture. It probably hasn't occurred to Kamber that Perot, like many others is genuinely concerned about the future of this country. Perot has unselfishly devoted time, energy and a great deal of his own money to seeing that reforms are implemented. I know this idea of selfless dedication is a concept foreign to many of our elected officials, but there are many of us who still love this country and want to do the right thing.Kamber reminded us that President Clinton won the election and insinuated that Perot is bitter because he came in third. Well, I would like to remind everyone that Clinton won the election because he intentionally deceived voters by making promises he knew he would be unable to fulfill. Not only will his plans to reduce the deficit fail, but he wants to place an added burden on us with many new programs, and now there is speculation of sending aid to Russia. What has Russia done for us lately, or ever? So where is all the additional funding supposed to come from for these new expenses? Maybe Clinton can plant a big, bushy money tree right next to that new $900,000 jogging track he's having installed.
Guess who the first group of "contributors" will be? The elderly - retired citizens, people living on fixed incomes, people who have paid taxes all of their lives and never took a cent of welfare - are now the first ones being asked to dig deeper into their pockets and to "contribute" more. I am not elderly, and I certainly don't mind paying more taxes to reduce the deficit. But before I pay one single cent more, I want to be assured that those overpaid parasites in Washington are paying their fair share by making certain sacrifices - salary cuts, departmental budget cuts, and hey, while we're at it, let's cut out some of the "bennies" those boys enjoy. You know, the personal barbers, the limousines, the private jets, the exorbitant expense accounts, the private indoor health clubs, the "bottomless" checking accounts, and the $50,000-a-year secretaries who can't type? These are just a few of the excesses that we demand be stopped. And Kamber, that is what Perot and United We Stand America is all about.
Part of Kamber's empty rhetoric included an accusation that Perot had somehow misled the public by quoting the words of P.T. Barnum: "There's a sucker born every minute." The only time I've ever seen the public misled is at election time when we continue to re-elect the same self-serving politicians who seem to have forgotten that their purpose in Washington is to serve us!
An issue that also needs to be addressed is Kamber's credibility. He is president of a Washington-based "public-relations" firm. Kind of makes you wonder who is signing his paycheck, doesn't it?
Yes, Perot is still around and his supporters are growing in number every day. Thanks to him and United We Stand America, our voices will finally be heard, and it's going to be a thundering roar!
Susan Vinales of Roanoke is co-owner of an accounting practice.