Unfounded claims of far-right extremism | Federal Way letters

Published 12:29 pm Monday, July 5, 2010

Tim Burns’ June 30 letter regarding Tony Moore first attracted my interest with his not-so-subtle reference to local columnist Angie Vogt as a “far-right extremist.” Knowing her to be anything but extreme, I wondered what she had done to appear on his radar other than to exercise her First Amendment right to support a candidate. Alas, nothing worth mentioning as the assertion was left dangling and unsupported.

Mr. Burns claims Tony Moore is not from Washington state and is a graduate of an ultra “far-right” (there’s that far-right reference again) religious university. Burns implies, and would have us believe, that Moore is probably a religious bigot who cannot be trusted. Cannot be trusted to do what? Burns leaves the answer to the question to each of us, to answer for himself. We are supposed to fill in the blanks and thus become party to his prejudiced point of view. Progressives often rely on their imaginations when substance is in short supply.

Mr. Burns does not share with us his criteria for length of residency in Washington appropriate for political office. He expects us to assume Moore has not lived here long enough. For the record, Tony Moore has lived and worked in the state for 20 years. That’s more than sufficient time to get a grasp of the special problems and challenges facing the state.

As someone who is familiar with Tony Moore and his family, I can vouch that he is a solid citizen and businessman devoted to the betterment of his community. As a state senator, he will stand firm when fiscal responsibility is required and will act to promote a robust business environment. That is something you can actually trust him to do. Enough said!

Don Payne, Federal Way