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March 26, 2008
To the Editor:
I read with great interest Congressman Ed Whitfield’s long diatribe regarding “doping” in the horse racing industry (Courier-Journal Op-Ed; March 23, 2008) and could scarcely control myself in asking aloud, “Are you serious?”. With all the problems Kentucky’s First Congressional District faces, Congressman Whitfield chooses to focus his attention on the problem of steroid use in the horse race industry rather than problems that face average, every day citizens of the district for which he represents. Surely, as Mr. Whitfield points out, there are problems within the horse racing industry which should be addressed. However, during a time when our economy is reeling from the immense debt incurred by an unsustainable war, when people in Western Kentucky see their decent paying jobs shipped overseas with each passing day and when tens of thousands of his constituents find themselves without health insurance, Mr. Whitfield can find something more applicable to his constituents about which to write a 14 paragraph rant than injustices within the horse racing industry.
Mr. Whitfield has been the Representative for Kentucky’s First Congressional District for thirteen years. During that time, he has introduced just one piece of legislation, which bans eating horse meat. I contend that the people of KY-01 are more interested in making ends meet than the problems with horse meat. Mr. Whitfield is so out of touch with the people for whom he was elected to represent that it is not only frightening, it is dangerously close to a dereliction of duty.
On November 4th, remember that when Mr. Whitfield had the opportunity to write a long article regarding important problems that affect the people of his district, and his solutions to said problems, he instead chose to write about horses shooting-up steroids.
Heather Ryan
Democratic Candidate
U.S. House of Representatives, KY-01
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