|
Up to the minute notes on the current state of free thinking and free living: Kentucky moonshine - original analysis and reporting from MoreThings, and all round pop culture museum of sight and sound - photo galleries, mp3 and video downloads.
Al Barger and MoreThings - getting people's goats since 1998.
Live free or die!
----
|
September 09, 2002
A challenge to South Dakota voters
Why Al is not a professional speechwriter
In November, Republican South Dakota congressman John Thune is challenging incumbent Democrat Tim Johnson.
By rights, it should be a walk for Thune. Voters here went for Dubya in 2000 by a big margin. These are among the most conservative folks in the country. Rural white folk, predominantly Republican, they have a good percentage of farmers. Should be easy pickins.
Greed, however, gives Johnson a good chance at re-election. Their other US senator is Tom Daschle, the Democrat majority leader who runs the institution. Crafty enough to get elected in the first place, the good conservative folk of South Dakota would hate this obstructionist liberal if he weren't theirs. As it is, their little state has never had anyone this high in national leadership, and they are loathe to lose this influence. They may even re-elect this hateful little weasel Johnson rather than risk the Democrats losing control of the senate, and thus losing their state's leverage.
This argument holds such sway that people [well, reporters actually] have been asking Mr. Thune if he would promise to vote for Daschle as majority leader, rather than the Republican in order to preserve the influence of South Dakota. The desirability of keeping Daschle's influence rates so strong that Thune has apparently left open this possibility.
Mr. Thune is an idiot if he thinks this will get him over the hump. If keeping Daschle's ability to bring home the bacon ranks as their deciding issue, they ain't voting Republican.
As an alternate strategery, let me offer the following proposed script for a Thune campaign ad:
Voters of South Dakota, you have a decision to make. It boils down to this: will you select the senator whom you believe will be best for the whole nation, or selfishly back the hack who will keep the pork rolling into our state?
Which do you value more, the good of the nation or a few extra bucks we get from having Tom Daschle running the senate? Sure, we get some extra grease with Daschle at the wheel- a water project here, some highway funds there. That's nice.
But you know also what this costs the nation, and the money's the least of it. As long as Tom Daschle runs the senate, the president will have hell defending the country. This is because Daschle is an extraordinarily partisan hack who obviously rates his political position as more important than anything else. This does not come from any loyal philosophical opposition to the president's foreign policy [that might actually be worthwhile], but from the fact that he is more interested in knocking down any possible Republican presidential initiative than he is in serving the broader national interest.
Consider how much damage Daschle does to the whole country, not just on defense issues. For example, he'll happily have the entire federal courts system grind to a halt rather than even allow a vote on Bush judicial nominees. How far will you support this destruction for the sake of some piddling local pork? Daschle is the most destructive partisan hack on the American political scene today. You know it, I know and the American people know it.
So, come November, vote for John Thune as the next senator for South Dakota. Do it for the children. Or do it for the veterans, or whomever. But do it, because you know better than this nonsense you're sponsoring now.
posted by Al at 9/09/2002 02:42:00 PM
Link Soup
morethings master
photo gallery index
MP3
new album
releases
lyrics
sammy davis
little richard photos
buddy holly pictures
fats domino images
chuck berry pictures 01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/
01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/
01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/
01/02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12
01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
08/
09/
10/
11/
12/08/
09/
10/
11/
12/
la
24
lucille ball images james
blunt photos
clint eastwood pictures lena
horne images team
america pictures
robert mitchum photos
bruce springsteen pictures
mariah carey pictures
ann coulter photos
george clooney images
loretta lynn pictures
beatles pictures
white stripes pictures
andy griffith pictures
kill bill pictures
beverly hillbillies pictures
robin williams
frank zappa pictures
jerry lee lewis pictures
richard pryor photos
june carter johnny cash pictures
vic mackey shield pictures u2 photos
four seasons images
james cagney images
elvis presley pictures
country music
blog
dolly parton pictures
olsen twins photos
tom petty photos
tori amos pictures
joaquin phoenix images David
Bowie photos
Quills movie images
reese witherspoon pictures rolling
stones photos
fiona apple images kim
novak images ray charles photos marx
brothers pictures
prince rogers nelson pictures blazing
saddles images
sinead o'connor images
eddie murphy photos aretha
franklin photos
south park pictures homer
simpson images
bob dylan pictures elizabeth
taylor photos madonna
images
saturday night live pictures willie
nelson images hee
haw pictures james
brown images pete
townshend photos
tina turner pictures
dixie chicks photos
margaret thatcher photos
guns
n roses pictures
paula abdul pictures
jodie foster photos
amy winehouse
eminem
frank sinatra photos
van
halen images
satan
blondie photos
joni
mitchell pictures
merle haggard
images
rocky horror pictures
monty
python
|
|
