Deja Vu - Part Two: 2008

The presidential election in 2008, similar to 1992, presently offers three choices as well. (Ralph Nader, Michael Bloomberg, and other potential wannabes can be dismissed for the time being.) Those choices are John McCain on the Republican side, and a Democrat stalemate between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.

I can never remember whether it is during odd weeks or even weeks that Her Hillaryness reclaims her Rodhamdom. However, if she is going to reclaim her maiden/middle name on a regular basis, Mr. Obama deserves the opportunity to proudly wear his own second moniker. Does John McCain even have a middle name? Perhaps his wife can give him an advance on his allowance to buy one.

As things stand right now, there is not a candidate running who would be reassuring to have in the White House.

The McCain-Kennedy legislation shows the Republican candidate to be a staunch proponent of open borders as a prelude to the advent of MexAmeriNada, and since the Amero (heir to the Peso/Dollar/Canadian Dollar) is not addressed in McCain-Feingold he'll be able to solicit and spend as many of those suckers as he wishes without running afoul of the Federal Election Commission. McCain's penchant for reaching across the aisle and fostering bipartisanship promises to inflict Democrat Lite on the country at best, and a far darker outcome at worst.

Hillary Clinton has far greater problems than the simple fact that she is Hillary Clinton, though that factor alone should be enough to end all her political aspirations. Clinton redux, especially with the gift of a Democrat controlled Congress, will tax the wealthy out of any capacity to create jobs and then saddle everyone with a universal health care program that will ultimately provide less available care of a lower quality than is currently the case. For a tip-of-the-iceberg sneak preview, take a look at the fiasco that is Massachusetts today. Hillary Clinton in the White House could easily see the U. S. Dollar achieve parity with the Mexican Peso by the end of an initial four year term. On the plus side, we will finally get that wall built along the Mexican-American border - by the Mexican government to keep us out of their country.

The final candidate left to consider is Barack Obama. Obama benefits from a very limited public track record. So far, he seems to be all things to all people - without leaving the dirty feeling of having employed a prostitute that dealing with the Clintons to achieve the same sense engenders. With a relatively short political career in Illinois and Washington, Barack Obama also presumably (hopefully?) has a relatively short list of patrons to whom he is beholden. There are signs he is ultimately every bit as dangerous as Clinton - or McCain - but without the time in the game those other two have we are at least afforded the audacity of hoping that his wilder impulses might be curbed or contained.

Accepting that one of the three is all but certain to be the next President of the United States, is there a scenario that at least offers the possibility of surviving the next four years relatively intact and ready to move forward once again? Absolutely.

Since the elections of 2006, elected Republicans at all levels have been abandoning the game in droves. Faced with an unpopular president and a restless electorate, too many experienced Senators and Representatives decided it would be easier to cut and run rather than stand on principle and fight. That last sentence was supposed to read "leaders" instead of "Senators and Representatives", but their actions have proven these men and women to be possessed of anything but leadership. The truly conservative citizens of this country who comprise the foundation of the party should be ashamed that they have given over stewardship of the Republican party into these unworthy hands for the past decade.

The most ideal possible outcome of the elections of 2008 would be for Republicans to find a backbone, stand up for the principles and values of the party that was reclaimed and reinvigorated by Ronald Reagan, and fight for the right and the responsibility for every citizen of this nation to be an American. To work hard and to reap the rewards of that work; to provide and care for themselves and their families first, their communities second, and the larger nation and world third; to stand on their own two feet or exhaust every possible resource in trying to do so rather than feeling entitled to a handout as the first course of action as a matter of birthright; to be responsible for their own actions and expect that same responsibility and accountability in return from their neighbor; in short to be an American - the kind of man or woman who won two world wars and built what was once the greatest nation this planet has ever seen.

Returning to those core values that made us who we once were and reclaiming the House of Representatives and the United States Senate is an important first step. Then, a Barack Obama presidency would be manageable and quite possibly even beneficial to the nation and to our standing on the world stage.

Then, in four years, we could be poised to move forward once again into our future history with resolve. Not as tyrants, not as bullies, not as incompetents full of good intentions but closer to empty of good results.

As Americans - full of the pride and responsibility that title embodies.

Deja Vu - Part One: 1992

The presidential election in 1992 offered three choices: George H. W. Bush, William Jefferson Clinton, and H. Ross Perot.

George Bush seemed to be sleepwalking through the campaign, and it was a tossup trying to decide if he was simply resting on the presumed laurels of the first Gulf War or if he was running for a second term not because he wanted it but because doing so was expected of him. In either case, he was neither forceful nor engaging as a candidate. As much as I desperately wanted to vote for him, Bush refused to give me even a hint of a reason as to why I should.

The Man From Hope Offered me none. While it became obvious early on that of all the candidates he was unquestionably the one I would most want to spend an evening chatting over a case of cold ones with - I'd still jump at that opportunity were it ever to arise - there was no way in the world I was ever going to vote for Bill Clinton. Two terms, boxers-or-briefs, and Monica Lewinsky later that opinion still holds. There is something about the man that screamed he should not be president, and it was something that went far beyond disagreement with his political philosophy.

And that left H. Ross Perot. The man married well and built an impressive business with the proceeds. He talked with a funny accent and funnier idiom, and had ears that were even more prominent than a current candidate for the White House. All in all, he was one of the least likely candidates for the office to ever do as well as he was doing. He was just crazy enough and down-home enough to make him seem like one of us - albeit with a few billion more tucked away in his money market account. His withdrawal from the race in July and later return in October either frustrated and infuriated supporters, or left them with a bemused sense of remembering high school days and trying to nail down a date with that really pretty girl in fifth period.

The polling place for that election was a five minute walk from my home. I was undecided as to who would finally get my vote up until the very end. It was not until the middle of the afternoon, sitting in my living room watching early election coverage on CNN that I finally came to a decision: Clinton would never get my vote, Bush would never give me a reason to give him my vote, and Perot couldn't possibly be the total crackpot his detractors were making him out to be. If nothing else, in the unlikely event he won the election it could prove to be a very interesting four years.

With a nagging sense of betrayal - whether it was me betraying George H. W. Bush and conservative principles, or George Bush having betrayed me and my principles for not aggressively standing up for the cause I'm still not certain - I gave my support to Perot.

Next: 2008

"Coed Shower Law" in Montgomery County, Maryland

Montgomery County, Maryland, has passed legislation that is being popularly characterized as a "coed shower law" since it would allow transgendered individuals to self identify and select the shower facilities they feel most comfortable in according to some interpretations. (The title link for this article is to one of many stories on the topic.) Whether involving showers, bathrooms, or both, similar legislation has been enacted on both coasts and doubtlessly more than one location in between.

There has been all sorts of inane debate over "inclusivity" and not discriminating against segments of the population. Discrimination exists in all areas of our daily lives, and rightly so. I can't attempt to become Miss America or challenge Annika Sorenstam in an LPGA event (even if I could play professional caliber golf). Minority oriented churches, schools, and pageants are widely accepted - while "whites only" operations are discriminatory, racist and forbidden.

The "coed shower" type of legislation is a solution to an issue that doesn't even exist. "Public accommodations" are made available to provide basic needed services to the public - be they restroom facilities or locker rooms intended for changing clothes and showering. The areas have very specific functions, and in no case is sexual titillation or gender identity gratification one of those functions that are either intended or accepted. Pee. Change. Clean. Move on.

Since the liberal brain is apparently incapable of grasping such challenging concepts as "Men" and "Women" I submit the following proposal to end the discussion and permit the intended activities to proceed without further psycho-nonsense interference: Adorn the doors of all such facilities with signs reading "Penises" and "Vaginas". For those who may not have mastered either reading or the English language, images of the denoted organs could also be affixed to the door. That way, a simple glance to the south will enable even the most gender confused or uncertain individual to determine where to conduct their business.

For the hard luck cases lacking equipment of either variety, I suppose Door Number 3 could be adorned with question marks.