Readers' forum: Freedom Works, Hatch

I for one resent outside groups such as Freedom Works riding into town to tell us how to vote. I get calls almost every week from them, inviting me to meetings with the sole purpose of defeating Sen. Orrin Hatch in November. They don't extol the virtues of the opposing candidate, only blast Hatch.

If they were to sponsor a fair debate between Hatch and their candidate where both sides could present their ideas and defend themselves against the allegations Freedom Works makes, that would be less offensive.

Shouldn't we be able to study the issues and the candidates and make up our own minds without this group and their out-of-state money undermining our natural political process? And for those who think we need new blood in the Senate, you don't understand the system. Experience and seniority count. Orrin Hatch stands to become the chairman of the finance committee, making decisions that could affect all of us in major ways, not the least of which is retaining charitable deductions on our income taxes.

Let's not let these interlopers come to Utah and succeed in deceiving us.

Ruth Ann Smith

Orem