Letter: Wayne Hogan for Congress
Edward A. Slavin, Jr
St. Augustine
Published Monday, November 04, 2002
Editor: I support St. Augustine's Wayne Hogan for Congress. He is running against Rep. John Mica, who is running scared and running for the first time here in St. Johns County. Wayne Hogan refuses to take campaign contributions from lobbyists and PACs. Wayne Hogan will make an honest Congressman, protecting all St. Johns Countians. Mr. Hogan stands for protecting our beaches, our seniors, our environment and our Florida standard of living. His lifelong career is representing average citizens and vindicating their rights. Naturally, big-spending special interests seek to crush him, spending money on deceptive TV ads.
The Record's letters policy says writers will be published about once a month, no more, to allow for diverse opinions. Yet twice in the past few weeks you have printed churlish letters by Derek Boyd Hankerson (one a column) attacking Wayne Hogan. Mr. Hankerson's latest irascible letter (Oct. 31) yet again hurls the pejorative "trial lawyer," promoting group hatred, as if being a "trial lawyer" were illegal or immoral. Several of our American founders were courageous trial lawyers (including Jefferson and Adams). When American doctors were bleeding George Washington to death, American lawyers were writing and perfecting the Bill of Rights. American trial lawyers like the great Republican President Abraham Lincoln (and the majority of his cabinet) helped free this country from the scourge of slavery. When oppression and ignorance were the law of the land, trial lawyers fought for free speech, free press and civil rights. We would not have airbags, seatbelts or padded dashboards in automobiles if it were not for trial lawyers. While seatbelts were present in Roman chariots, Detroit auto manufacturers would not equip autos with them until lawsuits forced them to do so. if it were not for trial lawyers, our schools would still be segregated, all our cars would still be unsafe at any speed, Big Tobacco would still be hooking school children, and all our streams would be polluted.
We respect American trial lawyers for taking on powerful institutions. Derek Boyd Hankerson has still never identified himself, but his writing sounds like he likes the insurance lobby, charging that "doctors and hospitals cannot afford to practice because of skyrocketing malpractice insurance."
How appropriate these scare tactics were printed on Halloween! Mr. Hankerson uses most of the known logical fallacies in his letter, defending the indefensible. Unfair, uncandid, illogical Congressman Mica is a tool of Big Oil, his brother David is a lobbyist for Big Oil, and his votes for offshore oil drilling represent no one in our local economy, which is based on tourism, not petroleum pollution.
Special interests are over-represented. Let's retire the fat cats' Rep. Mica, an unjust steward. Let's elect a true representative who really cares about us. Let's reject the embittered attack on Americans' God-given constitutional rights to jury trials and open courts. Our American Founders are watching you. Go vote.
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