The next time you're really bored, as in "I think I'll watch a rerun of George W. Bush's second inaugural speech" bored, take a stroll through the Republican Campaign Platform for the state of Maine. ( http://www.mainegop.com/PlatformMission.aspx )Maine doesn't make the news too much. Aside from Bush Sr.'s summer home in Kennebunkport, the Clay-Liston fight in 1964 and the recent prominence of Senator Olympia Snowe (Am I the only one who thinks Olympia Snowe looks like Ichabod Crane's kid sister?) Maine has remained a quiet bastion of Yankee moderation. There is, however, a quixotic nature to these cold weather nor-Easters. In 2006 the Green Party won 9% of the vote in the gubernatorial election. Sadly, most Americans would barely shed a tear if the entire state were traded to Quebec for season tickets to the Canadians.
What we didn't know was that under all that moderation is a state mad as hell and unwilling to take it anymore. Seriously, according to Republicans, Maine is so angry they are prepared to join with their states-rights compatriots in the South. We should have seen this coming. Ross Perot (remember him?) did better in Maine than any other state. Mainiacs, or whatever they call themselves, are apparently headed for the barricades of what they see as an insidious, over-reaching, liberal government. The list of grievances in the GOP platform would make you think that the Pine State had been relocated to central China or Myanmar.
The platform owes much of its rhetoric to the founding fathers. In fact if the estates of Jefferson or Madison were thinking of suing for copyright infringement, they would have a reasonably strong case. Phrases like "In the course of a nation's history..." and "we the people" might cause readers to wonder where they might have heard those words before. The good news for Republicans is that, given their ages, there's an even chance their members were around when the words were first written.
Maine is apparently besieged on all sides by the sinister forces of "one world Government" and opponents of "Austrian Economics" (For an explanation of Austrian Economics see http://mises.org/etexts/austrian.asp I'm not doing your homework for you!) There are firmly stated objections to several United Nations agencies, global treaties and any agreement that surrenders the sovereignty of America. Wow! Who would have guessed the Laws of the Sea Treaty and the Treaty on the Rights of the Child could stir the blood of the good people of Maine?
Domestically, the threats come in bunches. The Maine GOP is opposed to any attempt to restrict a citizen's right to own a gun. Mainers feel so strongly about this, it's mentioned twice. (Never mind that no attempt has been made by the administration or anyone else to confiscate so much as a single firearm and that every court decision in the recent past has supported the senseless and unnecessary ownership of guns. I guess you can never be too careful.) Maine's Republicans are also opposed to motor-voter laws, political correctness (Mainers like to call a spade a spade), amnesty ("ever") for illegals and (this is a new one!) any attempt to allow foreigners to vote. Man, there is some insidious s--t going on in Maine.
There are a string of anti-incumbent/term limit provisions along with a serious wish list of stuff elected officials can and can't do. These folks not only hate their elected officials they hate the people they haven't elected yet. There is actually a "read the bill" clause for congresspeople. No one mentions if there will be a test. Naturally, no gay marriage, no abortion, no bail-outs and no cap and trade (The document actually refers to the "global warming myth".) Yeses include: prayer in schools, zero based budgeting, and parental corporal punishment for children.
In an interesting nod to Ron Paul, patron saint of the Libertarian Right, Maine seeks to eliminate the Federal Reserve. All those who think the average Maine farmer has the slightest idea of the role of the Fed, signify by saying Yeah, right!
Maine's Republicans are particularly unhappy with the healthcare bill and the penalties for being uninsured. Taxes for Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare as well as federal income taxes don't seem to bother Mainers much but,healthcare has them pulling down Old Betsy from over the fireplace. "Healthcare is not a right. It's a service. Clearly the authors of this platform missed the "inalienable rights" of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" in their plagiaristic meandering.
How can a society that has been given so much be so unfeeling regarding the simplest effort to care for others?People who donate kidneys to strangers will leave the hospital to protest the concept of medical for all.
Maine's Republicans are right about one thing: we are under attack. We are under attack by people who see compassion as weakness. We are besieged by a relatively small but vocal group of scared, old people who want simple answers and Glenn Beck solutions. The complexion of America is changing. Securing the border (even if it were possible) won't change that. We have enemies; people who mean us harm. Shredding the Constitution will not stop attacks like Times Square and we need to stop acting and talking like it will. Wailing about your right to own a gun ignores the fact that too many people own guns and too many people die because of it. We need to stop hunting for ghosts under the mattress and stop listening to politicians who pander to our
basest fears. We're a big, strong country. We can tolerate a little chaos. What we can't tolerate is a return to Austrian Economics...whatever that is.
Showing posts with label Gun owners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gun owners. Show all posts
Monday, May 17, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
...or do patriot groups think irony is how bullets taste?
Washington D.C. was awash in gun lovers yesterday. They were commemorating: a) the battle of Lexington and Concord, b) the seventeenth anniversary of the assault on the Branch Dividian compound in Waco, c) the fifteenth anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, or d) the 67th anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising. (This last commemoration is unlikely given the klanish nature of the groups involved.) Two groups convened around the Capital. One organized in Fort Hunt Park in Alexandria, the other mustered around the Washington Monument. (The First President never expressed a view on gun ownership but the lock and load crowd consider Washington one of them.)
The groups that assembled in the Capital were armed with signs, placards and silly Revolutionary War costumes. Had they arrived with guns,they would have been re-enacting the Boston Massacre with the DCPD in the role of the British. In Virginia the "Don't Tread On Me" brigade was armed to the teeth. The authorization for carrying guns into a national park was recently signed by (irony alert!) Barack Obama. This fact is lost on the "patriots" who are convinced that this President intends to confiscate all their toys. Like the Reagan administration, the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. has made no statement or suggested any legislation on guns, for or against.
Nevertheless every real , red-blooded, God-fearing, (read "white") American knows that a black, well educated, liberal, urban President is just waiting for his opportunity to sneak up on every gun owner in America and pour cement down the barrel of their Remington assault rifle. After all, any elected official willing to risk all of his political capital to guarantee that Americans would be able to secure decent medial care for their families, can't be trusted with anything as sacred as the Second Amendment.
All of this paranoia would be troubling if it weren't so illogical. Gun owners and tea-baggers rail continually about "taking the Country back". From who? Blacks? Liberals? The Elite? Well unless my calendar is faulty, that chance will come in 214 days. Voting for the candidate of your choice would appear more likely to effect change than waving your Smith & Wesson around a park in Alexandria. Gun owners appear ready to shot big holes in the very system of government they wish to preserve. America hasn't been taken over by Hugo Chavez. The current administration was voted into office by a citizenry sick to death of Republican lies and mismanagement. If your team lost, tough. You don't pick up a gun and attempt to manufacture reasons why the President is a socialist, or a fascist, or a Kenyan.
This approach was attempted in 1860 when South Carolina expressed its displeasure with the outcome of a presidential election. Four years and 600,000 dead later the South learned the error of its bellicose ways. (Actually secession was considered briefly in 1812 in of all places New England on the brink of the war with Britain. Nevertheless secession always sounds more likely when spoken with a Texas accent.) Now Oklahoma is considering organizing a militia to defend itself. From what I have no idea.
Everyone understands that frustration is rampant in the land. Many people feel that government is too large and too expensive. Taxes seem high and jobs are elusive. Logical arguments fall flat. Changes, even small changes, are scary. The past feels safe. No one goes to a tea party rally dressed as someone from the future. The old ways seem Comfortable and secure. Older white Americans sense something slipping away. A snake-oil salesman like JD Hayworth in Arizona can propose the "preservation of American Culture" (code for "let's keep the salsa off America's hotdogs")and not be condemned as a blatant racist.
A 240% increase in militia groups and a four-fold increase in gun purchases should tell us something. Take a chill pill, America. Stop helping Glen Beck get rich. Think for yourself. Go to a park...without a gun. If you don't like the direction in which the Country is going, pick up a phone not a weapon. Support a candidate. Standing around the Washington Monument in a tricorn hat with a gaggle of guys who think like you, only makes you look silly...even on Fox News.
The groups that assembled in the Capital were armed with signs, placards and silly Revolutionary War costumes. Had they arrived with guns,they would have been re-enacting the Boston Massacre with the DCPD in the role of the British. In Virginia the "Don't Tread On Me" brigade was armed to the teeth. The authorization for carrying guns into a national park was recently signed by (irony alert!) Barack Obama. This fact is lost on the "patriots" who are convinced that this President intends to confiscate all their toys. Like the Reagan administration, the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. has made no statement or suggested any legislation on guns, for or against.
Nevertheless every real , red-blooded, God-fearing, (read "white") American knows that a black, well educated, liberal, urban President is just waiting for his opportunity to sneak up on every gun owner in America and pour cement down the barrel of their Remington assault rifle. After all, any elected official willing to risk all of his political capital to guarantee that Americans would be able to secure decent medial care for their families, can't be trusted with anything as sacred as the Second Amendment.
All of this paranoia would be troubling if it weren't so illogical. Gun owners and tea-baggers rail continually about "taking the Country back". From who? Blacks? Liberals? The Elite? Well unless my calendar is faulty, that chance will come in 214 days. Voting for the candidate of your choice would appear more likely to effect change than waving your Smith & Wesson around a park in Alexandria. Gun owners appear ready to shot big holes in the very system of government they wish to preserve. America hasn't been taken over by Hugo Chavez. The current administration was voted into office by a citizenry sick to death of Republican lies and mismanagement. If your team lost, tough. You don't pick up a gun and attempt to manufacture reasons why the President is a socialist, or a fascist, or a Kenyan.
This approach was attempted in 1860 when South Carolina expressed its displeasure with the outcome of a presidential election. Four years and 600,000 dead later the South learned the error of its bellicose ways. (Actually secession was considered briefly in 1812 in of all places New England on the brink of the war with Britain. Nevertheless secession always sounds more likely when spoken with a Texas accent.) Now Oklahoma is considering organizing a militia to defend itself. From what I have no idea.
Everyone understands that frustration is rampant in the land. Many people feel that government is too large and too expensive. Taxes seem high and jobs are elusive. Logical arguments fall flat. Changes, even small changes, are scary. The past feels safe. No one goes to a tea party rally dressed as someone from the future. The old ways seem Comfortable and secure. Older white Americans sense something slipping away. A snake-oil salesman like JD Hayworth in Arizona can propose the "preservation of American Culture" (code for "let's keep the salsa off America's hotdogs")and not be condemned as a blatant racist.
A 240% increase in militia groups and a four-fold increase in gun purchases should tell us something. Take a chill pill, America. Stop helping Glen Beck get rich. Think for yourself. Go to a park...without a gun. If you don't like the direction in which the Country is going, pick up a phone not a weapon. Support a candidate. Standing around the Washington Monument in a tricorn hat with a gaggle of guys who think like you, only makes you look silly...even on Fox News.
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