shanek
11th June 2003, 07:25 PM
An interesting take on things from one of the Libertarian Presidential hopefuls:
When I changed parties a few years ago, many of my Republican friends couldn't believe it. After all, I'd been a Republican since my first vote.
I had long dreamt of the day when the Republicans would win control of the House and Senate. In 1994 I got my wish. I was certain the policies Ronald Reagan espoused would soon become a reality.
Spending and taxes would fall faster than sweat from a fat man's brow on a hot day in Juarez. Freedom from government regulation would reign across the land. Political expedience in the legislature would come to a screeching halt.
I'm not sure when I realized I'd been hoodwinked....The neo-cons had taken over the party and I was through. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, the party left me.
Here's the neo-Republican record.
The much-hated Clinton "Americorps" program has received hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding.
The Department of Education, once a target for elimination by Republicans has a new benefactor, the Republicans. In his first budget, President Bush asked for a 72% increase for primary, secondary and vocational education. With the passage of the "No Child Left Behind Act," the federal government is more involved in local education than ever before.
How about the despised "Gore Tax" - the hidden tax the phone companies are forbidden to list on your bill? The tax Republicans once called "unconstitutional." It's still on the books.
Did the tobacco lawsuits end? Actually, the Republican attorney general has pursued this extortion plan just like his Democrat predecessor, Janet Reno.
Think Republicans oppose federal interference in state and local affairs? Think again. Federal officials, paid for with your tax dollars, have been actively campaigning against state and local medical marijuana initiatives.
Now we have a larger government than even Bill Clinton asked for, the "Patriot Act", and more debt than you can shake a bankruptcy file at. I do know what's right and I do know who's left. Libertarian thinkers, they're right and they're all that's left.
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCommentary.asp?Page=\Commentary\archive\200306 \COM20030610e.html
When I changed parties a few years ago, many of my Republican friends couldn't believe it. After all, I'd been a Republican since my first vote.
I had long dreamt of the day when the Republicans would win control of the House and Senate. In 1994 I got my wish. I was certain the policies Ronald Reagan espoused would soon become a reality.
Spending and taxes would fall faster than sweat from a fat man's brow on a hot day in Juarez. Freedom from government regulation would reign across the land. Political expedience in the legislature would come to a screeching halt.
I'm not sure when I realized I'd been hoodwinked....The neo-cons had taken over the party and I was through. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, the party left me.
Here's the neo-Republican record.
The much-hated Clinton "Americorps" program has received hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding.
The Department of Education, once a target for elimination by Republicans has a new benefactor, the Republicans. In his first budget, President Bush asked for a 72% increase for primary, secondary and vocational education. With the passage of the "No Child Left Behind Act," the federal government is more involved in local education than ever before.
How about the despised "Gore Tax" - the hidden tax the phone companies are forbidden to list on your bill? The tax Republicans once called "unconstitutional." It's still on the books.
Did the tobacco lawsuits end? Actually, the Republican attorney general has pursued this extortion plan just like his Democrat predecessor, Janet Reno.
Think Republicans oppose federal interference in state and local affairs? Think again. Federal officials, paid for with your tax dollars, have been actively campaigning against state and local medical marijuana initiatives.
Now we have a larger government than even Bill Clinton asked for, the "Patriot Act", and more debt than you can shake a bankruptcy file at. I do know what's right and I do know who's left. Libertarian thinkers, they're right and they're all that's left.
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCommentary.asp?Page=\Commentary\archive\200306 \COM20030610e.html