Greetings from the battleground state of Ohio. If it brings you any cheer, I've had conversations with two diehard Republican voters who have decided to either vote Kerry or sit out this election.

But I'm staying up late tonight to write a rebuttal to this letter-full-of-RNC-talking points, the longest letter printed in today's Courier:

DEMS WILL NEED TO RE-PACKAGE

During the DNC convention the Democrats have a big job ahead of them, repackaging John Kerry, again. It's quite a dilemma, when you consider all the flop flops he has had. Instead of buying into the hype and partisan press, let's decide for ourselves who John Kerry is. The best way to know a person is by looking at what a person has done. Here are some facts about John Kerry, not my opinioin, but facts to help one form an opinion.

In 2003, Kerry voted with extreme left wing Kennedy 93 percent of the time.

Kerry claims he is for fiscal responsibility, but here is his record.

Kerry Has Voted At Least 350 Times For Higher Taxes.

Kerry voted for the biggest tax increase in American history under President Clinton.

Kerry voted against President Bush's historic 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.

Kerry has voted against balanced budget amendments at least five times.

Kerry has voted against major tax relief at least 29 times.

Kerry has said he is personally against abortion. Really? Kerry voted at least six times against banning partial-birth abortions. Kerry has voted at least three times against requiring parental consent/ notification for minor's (sic) abortion. Kerry voted to allow federal funding of abortions and to provide abortion counseling in federally-funded clinics. So he may be personally against it, but not man enough to stand up against it.

On flip flopping, here is one example:

In the first Democratic debate, Kerry strongly supported the president's action in Iraq. Kerry said: "George, I said at the time I would have preferred if we had given diplomacy a greater opportunity, but I think it was the right decision to disarm Saddam Hussein, and when the president made the decision, I supported him, and I support the fact that we did disarm him."

Kerry later claimed he voted "to threaten" use of force in Iraq. "I voted to threaten the use of force to make Saddam Hussein comply with the resolutions of the United Nations," Kerry said. Later when asked by Chris Matthews if he was anti war, Kerry said, "I am - yes." Does he know what he really thinks?

Ken Jenkins, Findlay

So I'm up tonight, googling Mr. Jenkins' talking points, and writing my response. It probably won't get printed in the Courier when it's done, so I'll post it here, too. I hope to have it done by tomorrow afternoon.