Gore tactics are true shock

I voted for Gov. George W. Bush on Nov. 7. However, before the grossly inappropriate behavior demonstrated by Al Gore, the Gore campaign and leading Democratic officials during the past few weeks, I believed that Vice President Gore was a fine man, who would make a good president if elected. Recently, for at least one specific reason, my feelings regarding Mr. Gore have changed considerably.

My father and uncle both served in Vietnam. My uncle, Roland Donohue, lost his eyes in an ambush. My own father, Matt Donohue, was wounded in combat. Neither of them liked the idea of fighting a war on foreign soil for a foreign cause; both, however, answered the call. Our nation is made up of millions of Americans like them, who stand willing to answer the call.

When I learned that Gore attorneys had issued a five-page memo on how to disqualify military absentee ballots, I was shocked. Is this the same Al Gore who gave Tipper that big Hollywood kiss at the convention? The same Al Gore who pledged, in the third presidential debate, to spend twice as much on the military as Gov. Bush? With time running out, I thought perhaps the Gore lawyers were interested in knocking out all overseas ballots, trying to simplify the situation in Florida while, at the same time, winning a slight edge due to the conservative nature of most military votes. Interestingly enough, however, they issued no memo on how to disqualify the ballots of Americans living in Israel, which tend to lean Democratic. No, they weren’t trying to bypass all overseas ballots, just military overseas ballots.

It appeared my fears were real: Gore was trying to erase military votes, casting aside those people who protect us every day with their lives, dismissing the loyal Americans who stand for our rights and freedoms. Does this only bother Republicans? Our right to vote was purchased by the blood of American soldiers. It remains our right only because we live in a nation of citizens proud enough to answer the call to serve. Do we really want a president who would throw away a soldier’s vote simply to serve his own agenda?

Snohomish