Futo,
I'm afraid we're going off thread here a bit as this is not Buchanan v. Bush. But you wrote a thoughtful article and I’ll try to be as honest as you obviously have
been. I'll try to answer by your paragraph numbers.
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1a.(First a smile) Age brings experience but not necessarily wisdom. I
would never hold myself out as wiser than you. I’m sure I will come to that conclusion within the next few minutes.
1b. The rest we agree on.
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2a. I agree, “Absolutely we should all at the very least try to pull the
Repubs in the freedom direction.”
2b. I’m not sure about voting for Buchanan in the primaries. Frankly, I
prefer Keyes (by a bit) right now only because I don’t know much about
Buchanan. BUT, just for the sake of this thread, I’ll say okay to your
plan so far.
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3a. I agree we have a two-party system. However, just as the
Republicans replaced one party of a two-party system I believe the
Republicans are so close to the Democrats that the Republicans should be
replaced. Apparently that is our first disagreement.
3b. Our second disagreement would appear to be the invulnerability of
the Republican Party. (If all gun owners voted for the same third party
candidate, we would win in a landslide!)
3c. Our third disagreement (perhaps part of the first or second) is the
inevitability of either a Democrat or a Republican becoming President. It
does NOT have to be that way. (Repeat: If all gun owners, etc. etc.)
3d. Our next disagreement is a bit volatile (for both of us), the “viability”
of any third-party candidate depends solely upon our integrity, our
honor, and belief in the Second Amendment, Bill of Rights, and our
Constitution.
- If we insist on compromise, then freedom is not viable.
- If we unite and vote for our rights, we can not lose!
3e. To “...forget about a third-party candidate...” is to forget all that I
hold dear. The compromise that you propose is too great for me to make
- I simply can not do it. When people scoff and degrade me voting for
“principles”, their scorn embarrasses me not for myself - but for them.
That they can cloak their compromise of our liberty in words from our
Founding Fathers I find to be either immoral or (at a minimum)
self-deluding. I have tried not to say this before because I realize it
sounds insulting. But, here as in court, the truth is a perfect defense.
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety...." Benjamin Franklin
Therefore, to vote for a representative of any party which advocates gun
control would be, FOR ME, immoral. I clearly understand that others who
share neither my goals nor my perspective have every right to disagree.
3f. And since you used the comment about head in the sand, let’s see
whose head is in the sand.
- It is a reality, we agree, that the Republicans and Democrats worked
together to implement gun control.
- It is a reality, we agree, that the Republicans and Democrats will bring
us MORE gun control. They both have PROMISED to bring us gun
control.
- Therefore, to vote for a Republican or a Democrat hoping for no gun
control is the ultimate example of “head in the sand”!
3g. If either a Republican or Democrat becomes President we will be
cursed with more gun control. Now THAT is reality. That is FACT.
3h. Those who vote Republican only to vote against the Democrats are
wasting their vote. Rather than vote for the “lesser of two evils”, we all
could vote for what is right, honorable, and uniquely American. We could
vote to rescind the evil - to rescind gun laws. That can NOT happen
voting for the Republicans or Democrats. To win our freedom all we have
to do is vote for it. We do not have to take up arms as our ancestors
did; but, like our ancestors, we must unite!
- Just as our forefathers had to cope with the English, we must cope
with the Democrats.
- Just as our forefathers had to cope with Tories, we must cope with
Republicans.
- But If we unite and vote both the Republicans and the Democrats out
of power, we can win our revolution at the ballot box.
3i. The argument about what type of Supreme Court Justices a
Republican rather than a Democrat would nominate is an argument
without substance! If we elect a real pro-gun President - one who
advocates rescinding gun laws instead of creating “less evil” gun laws -
we could have pro-gun Supreme Court Justices such as we have not seen
in this century. There ARE some judges who are pro-gun. Would you
like to see Emerson and his kind in the Supreme Court? NO Republican
will nominate them and ruin his Republican career. So the Rep/Dem
argument is without merit because the third solution is available.
3j. As Dr. Stephen Covey states, your mind creates your reality. You
and I look at the Democrats and say, “No way”. You decide a third party
candidate is not “viable” therefore he is not. I look at the people, all
people, who feel that way and say, “For shame!” All we have to do is act
together and we could ELIMINATE gun control.
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4a. The difference between Democrat gun control and Republican gun
control pales before the vision of NO MORE gun control or RESCINDing
gun control - therefore, voting for the “lesser evil” is too evil for me.
(Previous comments apply.) I do not hurt my country by voting against
gun control rather than voting for it.
4b. I find it inaccurate and insulting that anyone would call my vote a
“protest” vote.
- You are voting Republican only to hurt the Democrats. THAT is a
protest vote.
- My goal is not to vote against the Republicans or the Democrats. My
vote will be cast to eliminate gun control. Nothing more, nothing less. Nobody
who votes for a Republican or Democrat can say that.
4c. Your suggestion that we “...should hold out JUST a little longer. It's
not yet time for a constant stream of protest votes, followed by a
revolution if necessary...” can only appeal to those who wish to restore
our liberty by use of violence. I want to do it at the ballot box, therefore
I can not wait to see how oppressed we can become before we try to
revolt using pitchforks and sharp sticks because the government has taken
most of our firearms.
4d. To say that one evil is one hundred times better than another evil is
to disregard the good one can do by encouraging neither. Again, all it
takes is gun owners working together - for a change.
4c. If I had to pick one infuriating concept from your post, it would be
the widely held belief that “There's really nothing we can do, NO MATTER
WHO WE VOTE FOR, to stop the legislative crap, because the media's on
their side.”
- The media is informative - not legislative. We already know voting for gun
control is wrong. Those who have ears to hear let them hear, etc.
- We can replace the President, large numbers in the legislature, as well
as federal judges, the Attorney General, and Supreme Court Judges if we
vote with honor and integrity rather than fear and compromise.
((And let me add here, that only those who have no principles would dare
to use that term with scorn!))
4d. “Now, you can still voice your opinion in several ways:...” Yes, sir. I
chose to lend my voice to what is right rather than what is compromised.
If we wrest control of our government from the combined,
mutually-reinforcing hands of the Democrats and their “me, too”
Republicans, we can restore honor to our government. We can restore
liberty and freedom to our citizens. But we can not do it voting for “lesser
evils”. We can not do it by casting protest votes against the “greater
evil”. We must do it by voting for what is right rather than wrong. We
must unite as did our forefathers to say, “No more!”
And you don’t say, “No more!” by voting for those who oppress you.
4e. You say, “What I'm saying in a nutshell is that the power of the
court to change history in a heartbeat and instantly "decapitate"
hundreds of violative provisions is mind-boggling.”
I will not put my children’s existence in the hands of George W. Bush!
He promised more gun control. He believes in gun control. He has said
so in public! His “pro-gun” stand in Texas was a political maneuver to
win the governorship from the pompous and despised Ann Richards!
Bush promises more gun control but by Almighty God it will not be
because of MY vote!
4f. As you say, “All this from someone who hates the Repubs, as they
too constantly try to take away our freedoms.” You are correct. But in
your hope that the Republicans will not destroy as much of the Second
Amendment as the Democrats you are ignoring the fact we could stop
the erosion of our rights, we could restore American values to America, if
we only had the integrity, honor, bravery, and common sense to unite
and overthrow the current government the way Jefferson intended - at
the ballot box.
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The strongest argument against me you have not used. As Fubsy says, "Give me a name." I have none at this point.
But just as I know arsenic and hemlock are poisons, I know the Democrats and Republicans are poisons to our freedoms.
Somewhat like Diogenes, I go forth with my lamp searching for an honest candidate who will free me from this burdensome gun control. I find none in the major parties. I continue my search.