Manalapan resident has questions for Congressman Rush Holt
After reading Carol Fox's lavish praise for Rush Holt in her March 12 News Transcript letter, I can't help but wonder if she's his campaign manager. I see him in a different light.

One of her terms for him is "brilliant." Let's examine that claim. In his Dec. 22 e-mail newsletter, Holt said: "The 110th Congress will also be religiously and ethnically diverse, including for the first time two Buddhists and one Muslim who, I am pleased to note, will take his ceremonial oath of office with one hand on the Quran."

The 12th district that Holt is supposed to represent includes Middletown. Monmouth County lost 138 lives on 9/11, more than any other county in New Jersey. Middletown's 24 deaths are more than any town outside New York. Terrorists justify their attacks on the United States based on their book of terrorism, the Quran.

It's mind-boggling that Holt is pleased that one of his colleagues will be taking his oath with one hand on that vile book.

His pleasure is a slap in the face of every family not only in Middletown and Monmouth County, but in the whole country who lost someone on 9/11. Is this an example of the brilliance that impresses Fox?

In my Feb. 12, 2008, letter to him, I asked some hardball questions:

• "What percent of your votes (either for or against) are based on your belief that you are voting in accordance with the desires of the majority in your district, rather than trying to legislate your personal values or responding to the demands of your political and corporate bosses?

• "How do you know how the majority in your district want you to vote on an issue? If you rely on phone calls, office visits, e-mail, and regular mail, how do you know that these more vocal people truly reflect the silent majority in your district?"

Needless to say, I never got answers.

In his newsletters, Holt brags about the various petty problems he helps resolve for people in his district. That conveniently overlooks the bigger issue: why is government so big, complex, and inefficient that people can't resolve their problems on their own?What's he doing about that?

Holt doesn't show leadership or vision. He goes along with the masses. He supports welfare for the educated by funding nonsensical space exploration programs aimed at revealing how the universe began. It's an unanswerable question, and even if it were, what is the practical value in dealing with today's pressing issues?

What's he doing about illegal immigration? Alternative energy sources? Allowing importation of drugs from Canada? Eliminating the regulation that prevents the government from negotiating discounts from drug manufacturers? Cleaning up the corruption at the FDA? I will give him credit for his easy access via town meetings. But that's all. Next election, let's flush Rush.

Raymond Kostanty

Manalapan