High crimes and misdemeanors


Republican, Democrat, what is the difference?
Gene Healy and Timothy Lynch have a new paper up at the Cato site that really takes President Bush to task for breaking the law. As Radley Balko pointed out at The Agitator, a similar Cato paper blasted President Clinton during his second term.

That raises an issue I really want to discuss. One of the things I have been criticized about is my "support" of Mr. Bush. It's not that I like or support Mr. Bush, it's just that both times I felt he was the least bad choice.

For example, in the 2004 election, Senator Kerry "reported for duty" largely on the strength of his VietNam war record and the protests that followed. Except that the Senator never signed the full disclosure for his military records, and still hasn't to this day. He has released selected portions, but never given permission for the Department of Defense to make his whole record public. At the very least, that is odd for someone running as a war hero.

When I raised these questions in a couple of online groups I belong to, it was like I was attacking Senator Kerry and praising President Bush.

Other times when I pointed out that most of the criticisms of Mr. Bush end with some variation of "our guy would have done better," just like the Republicans had said during the Clinton years, it was like I was defending the President.

Here is a classic either/or, you either support our guy or you are attacking him.

It's partisan gamemanship, sleight of hand that keeps you focused on everything except the problem.

Ordinarily I would cheer the party deadlocks because they would keep the government from actually doing anything until the problems are mostly solved. But there are two legacies of the 20th Century that have placed us squarely in danger.

First of course is the stranglehold that the two major parties have on the nomination process. You can't get elected without getting nominated, and you can't get nominated unless you have an in with the party machines. Even that wouldn't bother me if "None Of The Above" was required on the ballot for every election.

But second is the ever expanding government that grows even without Congressional action and despite the guarantees made by the Bill Of Rights.

People look to government for solutions, never once considering the cost to their own freedom.

For example, let's look at hurricanes. How many decades has the Federal government coordinated hurricane relief? How successful has it been?

This is why I created the site. It's not an either/or. It's more than black or white. There are more than two options, and people have been conditioned to overlook the obvious one.

The Democrat solutions don't work. They fail to keep their promises.

The Republican solutions don't work. They fail to keep their promises.

That is because both depend on government to solve problems and perpetuate their power.

That is the problem.

Government.

Government threatens individual liberty.

The more you depend on government to do, the more freedom and taxes it will cost you.

The Republican and Democrat dance is just to keep you from realizing that.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Tue - May 2, 2006 at 07:38 AM  Tag


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