Political Farce

Political Farce

October 2000

The Presidential Race

A few days ago I was reading a book review in Compass (P.O. Box 781, Wauna, WA 98395-0781 and 800-994-2323), a newsletter written by my friend Otto Scott. Compass is billed as “A Journal of Contemporary Culture,” which it is in spades. Everyone should subscribe to Otto’s newsletter. I consider Otto, who is in his 80s, to be one of the cornerstones of rational thinking in our society.

He was reviewing Heather MacDonald’s book The Burden of Bad Ideas: How Modern Intellectuals Misshape Our Society. In her introduction there’s a sentence that really stands out: “Too many writers and commentators--it seems to me, at least--are in the grip of an inflexible ideology that prevents them from seeing clearly the reality in front of their eyes, if it doesn’t square with theory.”

Heather is a John M. Olin Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor to the City Journal, a quarterly urban magazine.

Many of us seek the “truth” or basic “fundamentals” of life. When we discover a truth or fundamental, we grab onto it. Most others don’t seek; they just follow any mob that suits them. And when it comes to the media, most editors are afraid of diversity in the idea department. As a result, our society lives in an intellectual vacuum and is incapable of rational thought or discourse.

Farce of the Highest Order

One consequence of this is our presidential race, which is a farce of the highest order. Only two candidates, although there are many more (239 according to The Oregonian), receive 99.99% of the coverage. I don’t believe it’s a conspiracy; it’s just the way it is. It’s mass ignorance and political correctness that governs the masses and the media.

The masses reflect the media and vice versa. The media markets to the masses, so it’s very sensitive to reactions from the mob. It curries favor by appeasing rather than stimulating. In fact, it criticizes any person, institution, or publication that offers up ideas that run counter to the prevailing trend.

So it also goes with the major political parties and their politicians. If someone speaks the truth and the truth highlights myths and unspeakable madness, you can rest assured there will be some backlash toward those that had the nerve to speak out.

I write a beef cattle management column that is published in a small number of beef cattle-type publications. I expose numerous myths that exist in that industry with facts and different perspectives on commonly accepted practices. Some of the publications run my column with a disclaimer clause at the end. In other words, they think that reading my column may be dangerous to their reader’s mental health and they don’t want to be held responsible.

What do I write about that’s so horrible? Well, I write about management practices that can lower costs per pound of beef produced and increase beef production per acre of land. The primary beneficiary is the cow-calf producer, the primary reader of the publications. Of course, who are the big advertisers? You got it: they’re feed stores, machinery and equipment outfits, truck dealers, drug companies, sale barns, and feedlots. They don’t want to see cow-calf producers cut costs. So the editors of the publications are uncomfortable with my column.

Al Gore and George W. Bush are like the editors of those publications. They don’t want to rock the boat and sound offbeat. They aren’t out to educate the world, just get elected. So they spout the old tried and true political feel good crap that’s been oozing forth from politicians ever since the founding fathers got through writing the Constitution.

Now we all know that Al is slime. Oh, he may be faithful to his wife and family, but that’s where the faith stops and the slime begins. The man has no ethical standards. He’ll appeal to the most ridiculous off-the-wall beliefs in an effort to gain the “last” vote. (He’s also so ignorant he believes most of his own off-the-wall beliefs.)

I Wanna Be Like Daddy

George W., on the other hand, is a nice guy who wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and be the big cheese. Like Al, he likes the power. George W.’s not on a mission to “save” the country from its deviant path that leads in the opposite direction our nation’s founding fathers carefully mapped out. He wants to be the leader of the government as it is now, because it offers so many opportunities for ever-greater riches for his family and friends. Besides, being president is a family tradition.

If George W. were sincere, he’d talk about the national debt. You know, the one that Al says he’ll pay off by 2012 or whatever. But good ol’ George W. wants to appeal to the masses with a tax cut instead, because it’s your money, right?

Well, if George W. was real instead of phony, he’d be screaming bloody murder about the government’s debt. He’d be saying that we’ve got to raise taxes or cut spending or both for the “sake of the children.”

But why would he do that? Isn’t the debt going down?

Direct from the government’s own Bureau of the Public Debt comes this data:

The Public Debt to the Penny

Fiscal Year 2000

09/29/2000 $5,674,178,209,886.86

08/31/2000 $5,677,822,307,077.83

07/31/2000 $5,658,807,449,906.68

06/30/2000 $5,685,938,087,296.66

05/31/2000 $5,647,169,888,532.25

04/28/2000 $5,685,108,228,594.76

03/31/2000 $5,773,391,634,682.91

02/29/2000 $5,735,333,348,132.58

01/31/2000 $5,711,285,168,951.46

12/31/1999 $5,776,091,314,225.33

11/30/1999 $5,693,600,157,029.08

10/29/1999 $5,679,726,662,904.06

Prior Fiscal Years

09/29/2000 $5,674,178,209,886.86

09/30/1999 $5,656,270,901,615.43

09/30/1998 $5,526,193,008,897.62

09/30/1997 $5,413,146,011,397.34

09/30/1996 $5,224,810,939,135.73

09/29/1995 $4,973,982,900,709.39

09/30/1994 $4,692,749,910,013.32

09/30/1993 $4,411,488,883,139.38

09/30/1992 $4,064,620,655,521.66

09/30/1991 $3,665,303,351,697.03

09/28/1990 $3,233,313,451,777.25

09/29/1989 $2,857,430,960,187.32

09/30/1988 $2,602,337,712,041.16

09/30/1987 $2,350,276,890,953.00

Source: Bureau of the Public Debt

What this clearly shows is that the federal debt increased during the fiscal year ended September 2000. You’re right; it only increased $17,907,308,271.43, or at the rate of a paltry $49 million a day. But it’s up. You’re also right when you say the government’s debt held by the private sector went down, and that the Social Security system (SSS) actually bought more bonds than the government issued, so the government’s debt to the private sector actually decreased. But to think that reduces the government’s debt is to ignore reality. The SSS has an obligation now and into the future. If the money the SSS is supposed to set aside today for future obligations is loaned out to the government, then the loan is not an asset on the SSS books. That’s because the SSS and the government are the same entity. How can a guy loan money to himself? It’s a stupid joke if a guy does that. But it’s fraud when others are involved in this kind of sham.

Investigate the Alternatives

Obviously George W. doesn’t care, and Al certainly doesn’t care or the math is beyond him or both. So, who are you going to vote for? Power-mad candidate A or power-mad candidate B? If you vote for either one, you’re no better than they are. If you are a man of principle and integrity, you’ll vote for candidates that reflect your beliefs. I like Howard Phillips. Visit his Web site.

While we’re on the topic, I find it interesting the kind of people CNN quotes on its national program. There are millions of rather ignorant people in this country. CNN seems to find them all and parade them through our front rooms. The other night CNN showed a family of “independents” discussing the “presidential debates.” Those people were morons, yet CNN proudly presented their comments as good examples of how Americans should be analyzing the position statements of the candidates. Those poor idiots were actually comparing candidates on the basis of which one was going to provide Americans with the greatest benefits. In other words, they wanted more benefits, more government intervention in their decision-making processes (that’s assuming they can make decisions on their own), and more tax relief, all at the same time.

This is the problem with folks today. They don’t understand the big picture. They don’t understand the fundamentals of government the same way our founding fathers did. Simply put, they are ignorant and the media panders to that ignorance.

In closing, I must state that this election is not about voting for the lesser of two evils. It’s about building a base for future positive change. A vote for George W. or Al is a totally wasted vote. If anything, it only empowers the two major parties and weakens the only opportunities we have for creating change--and that’s to elevate capable third-party candidates, such as Howard Phillips, into the limelight.

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