MRFPAC ENDORSES BUSH-CHENEY

The first endorsement in a presidential race by a national motorcyclists

rights organization

By pledge and by performance, Governor Bush has demonstrated that he is the

candidate of choice for the American motorcyclist committed to safety and

freedom of the road.

Washington, D.C. -- Meeting in convention in the Chicago suburb of Oak

Brook, MRFPAC, the political action committee of the Motorcycle Riders

Foundation, endorsed Governor George W. Bush for President of the United

States.

By pledge and by performance, Governor Bush has demonstrated that he is the

candidate of choice for the American motorcyclist committed to safety and

freedom of the road, said Mr. Tom Pauley, MRF President and member of the

board of MRFPAC. With MRFs combined organizational membership of over

250,000, the voting bloc of American motorcyclists numbers in excess of one

million voters who are now primed to get out the vote for Bush-Cheney.

The endorsement -- the first presidential endorsement ever made by a

national motorcyclists rights organization -- was announced at MRFs

premier annual event the Meeting of the Minds (MOTM) a political

leadership summit attended by some 600 MRF members and key leaders of state

motorcyclists rights organizations in every state and by MRF members and

allies from 6 foreign nations.

The endorsement decision was explained by Thomas C. Wyld, MRF Vice President

for Government Relations and MRFPAC board member: We dispatched a letter

to the campaign headquarters of Gore 2000, Inc., and Bush-Cheney 2000, Inc.,

on September 18. The letters contained identical background on issues of

paramount importance to rider rights and safety and posed questions to the

candidates on how their Administrations might tackle those issues.

Noting that we were conducting our leadership summit September 21 through

24, we requested that the campaigns make their responses available to us by

September 24. Unfortunately, a representative of Gore 2000, Inc., indicated

to us in a telephone conversation that the campaign may not be able to

respond in the timeframe we had requested.

On September 22, we received the response of Governor Bush. We telephoned

the Gore Campaign to alert them that Governor Bush had responded and that

our board was inclined to make a decision forthwith. Later that day, the

Board of Directors of MRFPAC chose to endorse Bush-Cheney.

Across a wide range of issues -- from rider road access to health care and

the proper role of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Governor Bush has pledged to work for rider rights, Wyld explained. As

Governor of Texas, he was a strong, vocal supporter of TEA-21, signed

legislation to create a Motorcycle Education Fund Account to enhance rider

safety and, in 1997, signed into law the repeal of the states mandatory

helmet law for motorcycle operators or riders 21 years of age or older.

A complete announcement containing excerpts from the MRFPAC September 18

letter and the Bush-Cheney response appear on the MRF web page ( www.mrf.org

http://www.mrf.org/).

The first motorcyclists rights organization to establish a full-time

legislative advocacy presence in Washington, the Motorcycle Riders

Foundation is the only Washington voice devoted exclusively to the street

rider. MRF established MRFPAC in the early 1990s to advocate the election

of candidates who would champion the cause of rider safety and rider

freedom. MRF proudly claims state motorcyclists rights organizations and

the very founders of the American rider rights movement among its leading

members. Motorcyclists worldwide can thumb-start their search for rider

rights and safety on the web at www.mrf.org http://www.mrf.org/ .

--- MRF: My Ride is Freedom ---

For further information contact Tom Wyld at 202-546-0983 or by e-mail at

wyld@mrf.org