LPM OnlineOctober 26, 1999 |
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Brian Wright needs a ride to Libertyfest Banquet in
Clinton Twp, 11/6/99. He lives in Ramblewood, Farmington
Hills, near Halsted and 13 Mile. He will pay for gasoline.
For more details, please contact him.
Everyone's invited to the following three great and humongous "Celebrations" furthering the cause of Liberty in our time. Refreshments will be provided. 1. Literature Drops: Saturday and Sunday, October 30 and 31 beginning at 8 AM for a Lit Drop for Rosemary Racchi's Campaign for Roseville City Council, meet at 26511 Belanger, Roseville, MI ( 2 blocks south of 11 Mile Rd., 6 blocks east of Hayes). If you have any free time BEFORE then, and you can help with her other Lit drop; just call Rosemary at 810-776-2214. Diane Barne's Campaign for East Detroit School Board will also have a Lit Drop on Saturday, October 30, 1999 beginning at 10:00 AM. Many volunteers will be working on both of these projects in neighboring communities. To help Diane, contact her at DBarnes98@aol.com or 810-774-1625. 2. Poll Workers: Tuesday, November 2 beginning at 6:30 AM for Election Day Poll Work at 15514 Ego (one block north of 8 Mile, 2 blocks east of Gratiot) for Diane Barnes Campaign and at 26511 Belanger for Rosemary's Campaign. Polls are open 7 AM to 8 PM. Diane needs 10 Poll workers and Rosemary needs 21 people. Poll workers are requested to cover 7-10 AM and/or 5-8 PM time slots if possible (any other or additional time would also be just as greatly accepted - bring a chair). Diane and Rosemary will go to city hall immediately after polls close. 3. Tuesday 11-2-99; 8 PM For Election Victory celebration for both campaigns at Diane's 15514 Ego abode where Al Titran will meet you until the NEW public officials arrive. Remember refreshments will be provided. Thanks to all for your GREAT support. Diane and Rosemary. Any questions call 810-776-2214 (Rosemary) or 810-774-1625 (Diane).
The following article is the latest in a series of Op-ed articles written by LPM Executive Director Tim O'Brien and submitted to news outlets across the state for publication. This current article was published on October 21, 1999 in the Detroit Free Press and can be viewed on their web site at: http://www.freep.com/voices/columnists/qeobri21.htm Someone once observed that, when legislation is for sale, the first thing that will be bought and sold is legislators. It seems that everyone has finally come to realize that something needs to be done about it. In Washington the U.S. Senate recently filibustered a bill that would have banned what is called "soft" money (contributions to political parties rather than specific candidates), unregulated under current law. Meanwhile, here in Michigan public interest groups such as Common Cause and the League of Women Voters are planning an initiative imposing some combination of contribution limits and taxpayer financing for state House, state Senate and gubernatorial campaigns. But all of these schemes are merely treating the symptoms of the problem instead of its underlying cause. The fundamental reason for our current difficulties is that the founders of our republic never intended for politicians to have the power to meddle in the economy. "A wise and frugal government," observed President Jefferson, "which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned -- this is the sum of good government." We have obviously strayed a long way from our third president's conception of good government in the intervening two centuries. Try and think of one aspect of your life that isn't taxed, regulated or otherwise dictated by government at one level or another. From bedroom to boardroom, nowadays, what isn't prohibited is required. Once government goes beyond its only legitimate function -- protecting its citizens from foreign armies and domestic criminals -- and begins taxing some products and services, subsidizing others, and regulating everything, there will simply be no way of stopping those who are affected from seeking to influence the process. The handmaidens of overreaching government are as predictable as they are inevitable. Like a hapless cartoon character trying to cope with a leaky dike by sticking fingers and toes into each new hole only to have another leak spring somewhere else, reformers persist in their futile quest to plug up the money leaks in our political system. How can they remain so blissfully oblivious, for instance, to the fact that the "PACs" and the "soft money" subterfuge they now seek to control is a child of their own previous, post-Watergate efforts at campaign finance reform? The special interests and their wholly-owned politicians always have and always will stay one step ahead. Case in point. A couple of years ago, an Indonesian businessman, after visiting the White House several times, gave former Assistant Attorney General (and "Friend Of Bill") Webster Hubbel half a million dollars in cash and contracts. Mr. Hubbel then suddenly developed amnesia with regard to the president's involvement in Whitewater. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Clinton reversed himself on granting China "Most Favored Nation" trade status -- a change eagerly sought by the businessman who began this whole quid-pro-quo-once-removed. Reformers are no doubt already preparing new proposals to address this kind of situation. There is nothing mysterious here about the problem. Or the solution. Restrict our government, at all levels, to its only legitimate function: protecting good and honorable people from bad and dishonorable people. Then you won't have to worry about self-proclaimed "Supermarket to the World" Archer-Daniels-Midland financing politicians who then promote corn subsidies. Or Chase-Manhattan Bank supporting other politicians who favor propping up the Mexican peso with loans guaranteed by American taxpayers. Or a thousand other examples, large and small, that have become the stock-in-trade of politicians. Attempting to remedy this problem with yet another round of campaign finance reform, on the other hand, is like trying to treat tuberculosis with cough medicine. |
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