More of the Same in 2008

This is a an opinion by Charley Reese in the Citrus County Chronicle, 12.8.2007, I am surprised that the Chronicle carries his opinions. The Chronicle is noteworthy in it’s bias against anyone who can think and look at evidence.

To borrow a wise-crack from an old friend, I don’t know who is going to win the presidency, but I know who’s going to lose – - the American people. Only Rep. Ron Paul recognizes the Constitution and the rule of law, and he has no chance at all. He has no chance because the majority of the American people have never read the Constitution and pay no attention to it. In case you haven’t noticed, contemporary political debate is all about plunder and patronage. Patriotism is being willing to bomb foreigners if they decline to do what the American emperor wants them to do — provided, of course, they are defenseless. The contest is all about who promises the most goodies by robbing Peter to provide them to Paul.
There is no intelligent discussion of foreign policy. There is no intelligent discussion about the economic problems that are harming the American people. There is no discussion, intelligent or dumb, about the systematic loss of civil liberty that has occurred under the Bush administration. There is no serious discussion about reforming the tax laws, which require thousands of pages of small print. There is no discussion about the erosion of American sovereignty.
These politicians are all word people, and their word is no good. You can’t even rely on them to keep the superficial promises they make. It’s obvious that not a one of these nabobs has any idea what he or she will actually do should he or she wind up in the White House, other than continuing to campaign and raise money for the next election. Talk about conservatism and liberalism is meaningless, because there are no conservative or liberal candidates, only opportunists. Again,the exception being Ron Paul. Conservatives who claim to be against gay marriage, abortion and driver’s licenses for illegal aliens only reveal how unconservative they are. A true conservative would recognize that those are state issues in which the federal government, including the federal courts, has no legitimate role at all. A true liberal would be raising holy hell about the loss of civil liberties and unconstitutional wars and giveaway programs.
You tell me what the philosophical differences are between Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. Both are politicians who managed to become millionaires. Mrs. Clinton claims to have executive experience solely on the basis of having shared the bed of Bill Clinton. There is, under the Constitution, no office of first lady The first lady is nothing but the wife of the president and has no authority whatsoever, she shouldn’t even have a staff or a budget.
Mr Giuliani, the self-promoting former mayor of New York City, simply promises to keep doing the unconstitutional things the current president is doing. Giuliani is neither a crime-fighter nor an expert on terrorism. As a prosecutor, he took evidence developed by the FBI and did what all prosecutors do. Prior to the attack on the twin towers, he had failed to make sure all the first responders could communicate and stupidly put the city’s emergency command post in the twin towers, against the advice of real experts. After the attacks, he walked up and down the street in front of TV cameras, made speeches and went to funerals. That’s neither expertise nor leadership.
After writing off Ron Paul as being too much like the Founding Fathers to get elected, the best of the sorry lot IS probably Mike Huckabee, who lost 100 pounds and plays the guitar, and Bill Richardson, who speaks Spanish and has actually had foreign-policy experience. The rest would be a disaster. But keep in mind, this election is not about change. It’s about more of the same.