I feel the need to take issue with the letter "Will vote Republican all the way," published in the May 18 Thousand Oaks Acorn. The writer lists a few general Republican ideals-some of which no longer apply-then goes on, in a sarcastic tone, to list and falsely state the Democratic party's general philosophy.

Anyone curious about the California Democratic Party can visit their Internet website at www.cadem.org and find a faithful representation of the Democrats' philosophy.

The writer implies that only Republicans are honest and have integrity. Perhaps we in California should overlook the fact that our own Republican governor is currently under an ethics probe, or that a Republican, U.S. Rep. Randy Cunningham, was recently sentenced to prison on conspiracy charges or that five of our Republican congressional representatives: Doolittle, Ose, Pombo, Rohrabacher and Royce each received direct contributions from convicted multiple felon Jack Abramoff and are now involved in a solely Republican bribery scandal.

Public opinion polls currently show job approval ratings for the Republican-controlled Congress and our Republican president in the 20s with a large majority expressing a high disapproval.

I myself am a Democrat, though I have voted Republican on occasion. I would urge any voter to take their constitutional right seriously, study the candidates and issues closely and take their facts from more than a single biased news source. Dale Ashcraft Newbury Park