Kocher's take on the election (long)

[George Hill]

I am so glad you read my webpage fellas... I was wondering why I had one. Heinlen, gotta love him - a man ahead of his time.

Let me post another bit from my page:
"Gun control is NOT AN ISSUE. CRIME CONTROL is the ISSUE. EDUCATION is the ISSUE. TAXES and what the heck the Government is doing with them is the issue...
Gun Control is not about the Guns, it’s about Control.
Let me put it this way; There are three bodies of Government… We have a thing called “Checks and Balances” where one government body does not over rule the other. Well, let me tell you something. There is a Forth body that keeps all three in check and in balance. It’s called The People. As in “WE THE PEOPLE” and “By THE PEOPLE – For THE PEOPLE.” The American public is the one body of government that is supposed to be core reason for the government. This has become skewed. Seems like The People now days only exist to support the government.
We have got to do something about our countries administration. . Ever see the show “Little Shop of Horrors? It is a perfect allegory of the US Government.
You see, the government is the alien-plant. The little plant started out with a helpless beg "Feed me..." Then it grew... "Feed me!" became a demand... As it has continued to grow overtaking everything the one time small beg is now a threat "FEED ME!" Always requiring MORE and MORE of our blood. Taking over every aspect of our way of life. Drink our life's blood... devouring our FREEDOM."

George W Bush has expresses his opinion that the Governement is too large already. While I dont expect any cuts in any areas... I dont expect a lot of growth either. However Gore has put forth ideas that will require large expansions of Government agecies and powers. Thats the last thing we as a people needs. The Last! And its not just about taxes. Taxes are important - but so is Authority and Isolation From Responsability.
No one was punished for "Wacko" or Ruby Ridge. Reno decided to FIND NO FAULT.
Its funny.
Gore has an Agenda. We wants Absolute Power for a reason.
Bush has no Agenda - but wants to restore some practical common sense and integrity to the office.
Now I am hearing because Bush doesnt have a Plan... He is a lesser choice?
I'm sorry - this is fuzzy to me... You'll have to explain how Gore is better because he has an Agenda and a lifetime of Political Debt to pay back. Gore didnt get to where he is on his own. There are lots of people who helped him on an agreement.

Oh - I'm Texan as well. Raised in Plano with fond memories there. I remember the construction of the water tower bearing the name PLANO on it. It was built almost in my back yard.

 

[Dennis]

Well, well. Brother George. Suddenly a whole lot o' questions find their answer.

C'mere, pardner. Have a Shiner on me!
-----

And folks, read well what Brother Art writes. He and a few others represent what was - and, in my opinion, still should be.

When folks used to buy and sell herds of cattle or sections of land on a handshake, then document it later with the county or them bureaucrats in Austin, integrity was a way of life.

We were "Southern Democrats" back then and we were a lot more distict from the mainstream Democrat Party than the Republicans are now.

We've lost a lot of ground. Where, oh where, we will ever find a leader we can empower to regain so many lost Rights which are part of our heritage?

 

[Hutch]

I disagree with us expressing such vociferous displeasure with the mainstream Republicans. I am much more of an Alan Keyes (or even Harry Browne) fan than I am of the "Us too, but cheaper" Republicans. Let me help clarify some muddy thinking by some of my fellow idealogues. We can't change or influence ANYTHING without holding elective office. Maybe leftists can, but we CAN'T! We have no "Camera Jackson" who gathers attention and media by showing up at the scene to harangue a somnolent and ignorant electorate. Conservatives and libertarians generally swear off the pursuit of power by attempting to mold public opinion in the media. Of course there are conservative/libertarian advocacy groups, and they can raise money. They just can't raise a crowd. The cameras follow the crowd. While the NRA may have 4 million members (for now), but did they swing the election ANYWHERE???? Michigan, Pennsylvania, Iowa. All lost. Consider what the NRA spends money on, and compare that to the Pew Charitable Trust, the Kaiser Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Who does a better job of shaping the debate about role of government in our lives?

The way to change the course of this ship of state is to take the wheel and GRADUALLY steer it in the proper direction, not to sow mines in its path or to wish that the captain-elect had promised to scuttle it rather than to see it proceed on its current course. It's time to close ranks and work for change from within. Let's find a place in the new administration for Alan Keyes. Let's let Cheney have HIS shot at re-inventing (dare I say de-consructing?) government.

 

[Bogie]

Well, the sad part about the Republican party is that it there are still people in the upper echelons who don't understand why Dan Quayle isn't a good candidate. It's gone in the tank ever since the holy rollers did the coup. Their media folks are probably more afraid of hacking off their own folks than they are of the Democrats. That's just piss-poor pitiful. I can just see it - One of the peter-principle folks toward the top has an idea, however hairbrained, and all the lemmings rush to say "yes."

 

[Glock-A-Roo]

In all this blame-trading about the Repub party/Bush/Keyes/Gore/etc. and why Dubya didn't achieve a national landslide, I think ya'll are leaving out perhaps the primary element: the voters.

Here's the facts: half of the eligible people in this country don't vote. Many of those who vote do so based merely on how fat their wallets are, who they blame for their problems, and the potential for more gov't handouts.

Most don't even realize that the U.S. is a representative republic, not a democracy. Until the last 2 weeks, asking them about the Electoral College would bring replies like "yeah, I think my brother-in-law got a business degree there."

You guys quote Heinlen and wax eloquent about personal responsibility and independence.

Get a clue: most of this nation's citizens DON'T GIVE A RAT'S ASS about such qualities.

Even if you transposed Reagan's great spirit into Dubya's body, added a dose of Keyes, and leavened it with Heinlen, it wouldn't matter because most Americans are disinterested, clueless, and apathetic to the point of insanity.

Dubya has his faults, but to dump on him like Kocher did is to willfully ignore the overriding reality about U.S. politics today: most Americans flat out don't give a damn.

One last comment on Kocher's essay: if Dubya is such a dunce, how did he manage to even tie Gore after 8 years of unprecedented economic prosperity and relative world peace? If Dubya was the loser Kocher makes him out to be, he would have lost to Gore by double digits.

 

[TheBluesMan]

102K.

Closed due to large size and long load time.

Feel free to begin a Part II to continue the discussion.



------------------
RKBA!
"The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security"
Ohio Constitution, Article I, Section 4
Concealed Carry is illegal in Ohio.
Ohioans for Concealed Carry Website