Bill Sizemore -- Do the American People Deserve the Bush/Kerry Choice?

DO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DESERVE THE BUSH/KERRY CHOICE?

By Bill Sizemore

October 2, 2004

NewsWithViews.com

In the end, we may all discover that throughout the history of the world there was always some kind of immutable, perhaps even divine principle, which insured that nations always received the kind of leaders the people of that nation deserved at the time.

The more I have pondered that thought, since I first heard it expressed by one of my college professors some 30 years ago, the more I have come to believe that there really is such a principle at work.

Think about it for a moment. Presidential candidate John Kerry is about as far left on issues as any candidate the Democrats have nominated in modern history; and yet somewhere between 40 and 50 percent of Americans tell pollsters they plan to vote for him.

Whether the issue is higher taxes, increased federal spending, abortion on demand, gay rights, or national defense, Kerry occupies the far left of the political spectrum.

What does that tell you about the hearts and minds of the 40 to 50 percent of the American people, who say they plan to vote for him?

They must as a group believe that a woman should have a legal right to terminate a pregnancy, simply because she doesn�t want the child. They must believe that homosexuality is okay. They must believe that government should use the tax system to coerce money from those who earn it and redistribute it to those with lower incomes. They must believe that we should submit our national security and our foreign policy to the whim of the United Nations.

They must believe that pornography should be protected free speech and that we should discriminate against some Americans by continuing to embrace affirmative action.

While it may be true that not all Kerry supporters agree with him on every issue, it must be true that in general their views are consistent with his views.

Before we delve further into the notion that Americans deserve the Bush/Kerry choice, think about the following for a moment. Have you ever watched a gay pride parade and the freakish displays of unnatural behavior that are publicly exhibited there? Have you noticed the families lining the parade route, where sometimes thousands of parents have brought their young children to watch the bizarre behavior displayed there and be taught that all diversity is good and should be honored?

Have you ever accidentally caught one of those gutter mouthed, cable channel �comedians� and listened for a moment, where before mixed audiences of normal looking people, they have used the most vile language possible and described the most obscene acts imaginable, all to the roar of laughter and applause of our fellow Americans.

Have you ever walked past the triple X theaters near Times Square in New York and seen lines of people unashamedly buying tickets to movies whose very titles should not be exhibited on a bill board or marquis? In San Francisco, the rows of such theaters go on and on for several city blocks; each of them apparently making enough money to stay in business.

Have you ever read the personal ads in one of the big city alternative newspapers? Have you ever listened to the vulgarity that is everyday fare on �guy talk� radio shows and on Al Franken�s new liberal radio network? Have you ever watched the steady stream of women and young girls entering the abortion clinics across America to get rid of their unwanted children?

Folks, these are our fellow Americans and a good share of them will be casting votes in our next election.

Before you answer the question, Do Americans deserve the Bush/Kerry choice; consider for a moment that the 2004 General Election is not going to be held at your house or mine. It is not going to be limited to the voters at the Southern Baptist Convention or the next meeting of the National Taxpayers Union.

This election is going to be held all across America and going to include a lot of people with some very scary views, views that only a generation ago would have been met with public ridicule, but now are openly and shamelessly embraced.

In 2002, the voters of my home state were asked to vote on a ballot measure that merely said that public schools could not promote homosexuality. I did not believe that such a measure could fail. It was so commonsensical. But fail it did.

The failure of that measure, which was so obviously right, was a real wakeup call. This is no longer the country of Norman Rockwell, or even Ronald Reagan. A lot has changed in just two decades, and much of it has not been good.

Does anyone really believe that a nation that allows judges to outlaw public displays of the Ten Commandments and the inclusion of God in the Pledge of Allegiance is the America of our Founding Fathers? It is not even the nation that pulled together to fight and win World War II.

And now that nation is about to choose a new president.

Granted, George W. Bush is not the most conservative Republican around. On several issues, he has staked out positions that raise the hackles of true conservatives. He has pandered to the left. He has reached out to the entitlement class. He has played the political correctness game.

But we had better pray to God in Heaven that George W. Bush wins on November 2nd, because the alternative is unthinkable. Bush has been outspokenly pro-life, even if he has not prioritized the issue. He has lowered taxes, though not as much as we would like. He has pledged not to appoint activist judges to the federal courts, and has kept his word. He has rejected the economically devastating Kyoto protocols and has refused to subject our military personnel to the international courts.

For all this and much more, the left hates him with unusual venom. The liberals in the American media despise him. The socialists who run the labor movement in this country hate him and are working tirelessly against him. The environmentalist whackos hate him. The teachers unions hate him. The leftist European nations hate him. Given all the unprecedented hatred he has inspired in the political left, George W. Bush can�t be all bad.

Candidly, I have some sympathy for those who are frustrated with the two choices we have before us. I would like better choices, too. The question remains, however, do the American people at this point in history deserve a truly conservative leader?

I do. My family does. The folks at my church do. Fiscally and socially conservative Americas do. But, folks, we do not by ourselves comprise the citizenry of this nation.

The subscribers to Hustler magazine, the wild-eyed union fanatics, the tree hugger environmentalist whackos, the PETA enthusiasts, the third generation welfare recipients, and people who staff the abortion clinics and Planned Parenthood offices across America are citizens, too, and they deserve John Kerry.

Given what I see all about me, I believe that George W. Bush may be the middle ground president that this nation deserves. Right now, we may not deserve a truly conservative leader. In fact, all things considered, we will be fortunate if we end up with Bush instead of Kerry.

I am persuaded that Bush is a good man. He has his faults, but I am not sure that even if he wanted to he could do a lot more than he has done, given the make-up of the U.S. Congress, where there is not a solid conservative majority in either house.

That fact is also worth further consideration. The U.S. House of Representatives, which is chosen from 435 separate districts, which are geographically apportioned based on population, is collectively reflective of the American people as a whole. It is worth noting that as such that body does not have a clear conservative majority. That fact alone tells me that this is not a conservative nation.

Nevertheless, some conservatives expect a Republican presidential candidate to campaign, win, and govern from a solidly conservative platform, which frankly, at this juncture, may not even be a reasonable expectation.

As water seeks its own level and as cream rises to the top, so the people of a nation get the kind of leaders they deserve. Maybe it's time we took an honest inventory of where we are right now as a nation. Maybe it's time we took steps to insure that the people of this nation deserve the kind of leadership we say we want.

Getting back to that point may require serious educational outreach to undo the socialistic indoctrination that has permeated our society including our public schools for the past few decades. It may require a genuine spiritual revival to restore the kind of value system we have watched erode before our eyes over the past three or four decades.

One thing is for sure. We are a far cry from the country we were even a generation ago. It seems that the light is getting brighter and the dark is getting darker, as two juxtaposed worldviews collide; two worldviews that are as �unmixable� as oil and water; as mutually exclusive as light and darkness.

Perhaps it is time we conservatives recognized that politics alone will not fix our problems and recognized instead that our politics are merely a reflection of where we really are as a people.

The real battle in America today is not about which party controls the White House or the Congress, though the consequences of such decisions will have real and serious consequences for our nation. The real battle is one of which politics is only a part, the battle for the hearts and minds of the American people. At this moment the outcome of that battle is far from certain.

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Bill Sizemore is a registered Independent who works as executive director of the Oregon Taxpayers Union, a statewide taxpayer organization. Bill was the Republican candidate for governor in 1998. He and his wife Cindy have four children, ages eight to thirteen, and live on 36 acres in Beavercreek, just southeast of Oregon City, Oregon.

Bill Sizemore is considered one of the foremost experts on the initiative process in the nation, having placed dozens of measures on the statewide ballot. Bill was raised in the logging communities of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, and moved to Portland in 1972. He is a graduate of Portland Bible College, where he taught for two years. A regular contributing writer to www.NewsWithViews.com. E-Mail: bill@otu.org
Bill's Web site: www.Billsizemore.net

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