As a Republican I know what I want. I want personal freedom and liberty. I will get these through smaller government, lower taxes and you being responsible for you. I want a federal government that will enforce the anti-trust laws stopping these corporate mergers and ensuring a competitive market. I want a federal government that will protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America with a strong military. I want a federal government that will respect what my ancestors believed in and some fought and died for. I want a government whose track record is not filled with lies and deceit. I want a government who follows the rule of law. I want a federal government who knows its responsibility is to the citizens of this country not China. And most of all I want the right to bears arms to protect my liberty and freedoms from any enemy be he foreign or domestic.

When I read post by people who are afraid of the Republicans getting us into a war, they should be afraid. We will not sell out our quest for freedom and liberty for the security of socialism.

We believe in honesty and integrity. We live our lives with a moral compass intact, however, these should not be considered as signs of weakness. Nothing outrages us more than those who duck their responsibility, are always victims and constantly blame others for their own short comings.

Those who would believe we are weak should tread lightly. After all, we are the ones who are willing to fight and die for our beliefs.

-- feedomfighter (freedomfighter@minuteman.com), November 18, 2000

Answers

Well stated freedomfighter...I grew up in a Democratic voting family and several if not all my family still or probably are still in that camp.

It would take a very honest and trustworthy candidate to even make me consider the Democratic Party again...That party has been severely damaged and will remain stained by Gore etal for many years if not decades to come...

-- voted Republican (this year and not @t.all sorry), November 18, 2000.

Dittos...

-- k (k@k.k), November 18, 2000.

freedomfighter,

Sounds to me like your really a Libertarian,the Republicans were bought and sold quite awhile ago and are just as corrupt as the Democrats,yea,they talk the talk but watch the way they walk.

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), November 18, 2000.

"...enforce the anti-trust laws stopping these corporate mergers and ensuring a competitive market..."

The Republicans?!?!?!

Don't quite know how to tell you this "feedomfighter", but what you described in your post above (ALL of it) equates to a politician. Doesn't much matter what party affiliation. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

-- Patricia (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), November 18, 2000.

But ONLY The Libertarians mean it,being the "Party Of Principle".We DO NOT accept federal or state campaign money as do the others.

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), November 18, 2000.

"I want a federal government that will enforce the anti-trust laws stopping these corporate mergers and ensuring a competitive market."

Got news for you pal, you voted for the wrong party. The first thing Bush will do is destroy regulations on corporations, letting them grow out of control. Remember the Standard Oil monopoly? That is Bush's dream. Over history, Republicans have favored big business, while Democrats are more inclined to favor a competitive environment in the marketplace.

-- (bush@loves.mergers), November 18, 2000.

Capn, I don't consider the Libertarians as politicians. To me, "politicians" equates to Dems and Reps, the currently-entrenched Parties of Power.

I think the Libertarians are, in many ways, as idealistic as their Green Party counterparts. That's not to say there aren't good points to each; there are many. But it's based on an idealism that isn't necessarily borne out of logic; it's borne more out of emotions.

I know that sounded like a put-down, but it wasn't. I just couldn't find any other words.........please don't take offense. I know this is something you believe in deeply; just as others believe in their parties.

I posted something on another thread this AM -- This is not an election process!!! What is it? and I'm kind of surprised that no one has answered. But I think part of it fits here:

"When one removes the hatred and emotion from one's argument, in many instances (mine included), there is no argument left. Simply amazing how so many of us are so blinded by our hatred of something we can't even define that we cannot see this simple principle. And so much energy is needlessly wasted with the "nyahh, nyahh" and "did not, did too" BULLSHIT when that energy could better be spent working on solutions to the problems at hand.

"'This ain't left or right, right or wrong, black or white. It's the culmination of many years manipulation, deception, and channeling (funneling).'

"How true that is; it is not STRICTLY the fault of the Democrats OR the Republicans. It is a COMBINATION of the two.

"Perhaps it's the Election System (e.g., campaign finance, electoral college, good-old-boy two-party-system, etc.) that's broken, people. Perhaps THAT'S what needs to be fixed." --END

Capn, I know that you and I have had a similar conversation a couple of times on this board, but I really feel it's the system that needs fixing. Once we fix that, everything else will fall into place.

And to the originator of this thread, I really don't think there's anyone here who isn't "willing to fight and die" for their "beliefs", or who doesn't want "personal freedom and liberty", but shoveling "dittohead-speak" isn't the way to "rally the troops". To equate the Republicans with "honesty and integrity" is as laughable as equating the Democrats with it. Please!

We're the most powerful nation on earth; we didn't fall apart during the Nixon administration; nor did we fall apart during Reagan's years or Bush's years. These past eight years have seen unprecedented economic growth; unprecedented prosperity. Yet all you see is a lie about a blow job; you swallow Republican innuendo hook, line and sinker as if it were fact. Clinton isn't perfect, not by any stretch, but nor is he the "evil incarnate" that some would have us believe.

You state, "Nothing outrages us more than those who duck their responsibility, are always victims and constantly blame others for their own short comings." Well what the hell do you think you're doing with this "essay"? Whining!! Blaming your perceived problems on others!! You are so blinded by your hatred of "democrats" that you can't see that YOU are the biggest part of your own problems. You think "morality" is exclusive to YOU? How DARE you presume to know?

Think of some solid, workable ideas and leave the rhetoric where it belongs. Campaign finance reform, electoral college reform.....fixing just these two areas would make a world of difference.

-- Patricia (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), November 18, 2000.

Patricia, I would not normally respond to your bile but I find it ironic that you criticize me for not having any issue to discuss, and also, I'm just plain tired of your constant effort to try and discredit anyone you don't agree with. First, I said as a Republican this is what I want. I didn't say, if we elect a Republican this is what we'll get. I stated I was a Republican (fact) and what I would want from my country and what I feel would give me those things, lower taxes (issue), smaller government (issue) and people taking responsibility for themselves (issue). Did you address those, no because they do not fit YOUR agenda? I said I would not bend to socialism (issue). Then you accuse me of hating Democrats. Yes, I despise Bill Clinton because he is a coward. I served in the military from Nov. 28, 1965 through Oct. 31, 1969 and Bill Clinton is a coward and would not fight for this country (ducking responsibility). I didn't say I agreed with the war so don't try to belabor that point. But I didn't run and hide behind mommy's skirt and tell everyone about my abused child hood. (victim). No I don't hate all Democrats but I surly don't agree with your politics. And if I remember right, you are an abortion activist and I'm supposed to believe you have a handle on morality? Do not accuse me of hatred until you take a good long look in the mirror. Your intelligence is showing when you only attack a sentence and leave the issues behind.

-- freedomfighter (freedomfighter@minuteman.com), November 19, 2000.

What I find ironic is that I never said that you didn't have any "issues"; what I said was **WHAT ARE YOUR SOLUTIONS** (the implication there is that if I asked for solutions, I RECOGNIZED "issues").

What I further find ironic is that you seem to feel I was attempting to discredit you. I am not attempting to discredit YOU, I am asking for your SOLUTIONS to the issues at hand.

I also didn't say that you "hated Democrats"; you stated that you "...want a federal government who knows its responsibility is to the citizens of this country not China...". I assumed you were referring to Clinton and addressed that in what I felt was an appropriate manner. Was I incorrect in my assumption?

You state that you "...surly don't agree with [my] politics...". Well, what ARE my politics? And why would you feel it relevant to the discussion whether or not you agree with whatever they are? Again, I am attempting to elicit SOLUTIONS to what you claim are ISSUES.

You further state I am an "abortion activist". I believe in a woman's right to choose, or not, as she believes. I further believe that no man, unless he is the other 50% of the event, has any right to a "say" in the decision. I don't try to "make" women have abortions, and I don't try to stop them if they want them, because I don't have the right to. Nor do YOU have that right. If that is your definition of "activist", well.....

If your idea of "morality" is centered on whether or not someone believes in a woman's right to choose, then YOUR version of "morality" obviously does not jive with MINE, as I have a much more intricate definition. Doesn't make one RIGHT or one WRONG. But I will venture an opinion here that you have little or no compassion and/or tolerance in your life for others, unless they "toe your party line". And THAT is narrow-minded.

All I see in your post is rhetoric; the same buzzwords used by so- called "right-thinkers" ad nauseum; those who claim THEIRS is the ONLY "right way". The same thing, over and over and over and over.....never once offering a solution; a workable plan; a compromise (there's a nasty word in that world). If you parrot such people openly, what is your audience left to think? We can only know that which you post, and it seems to me that you've posted just what I've stated.

What I'm tired of is the constant rhetoric sans reason that comes out of BOTH sides of the political spectrum; in this instance, it's coming from the "right". Where are your SOLUTIONS? Where are your PLANS? Tossing about idealistic phrases such as "personal freedom and liberty" and "moral compass" and "willing to fight and die for our beliefs" is all well and good, but where are your ACTIONS? Voting for and/or being a Republican is not an "action plan". They are just more "politicians".

The point of my "bile" was that you, like so many others, offer NO SOLUTIONS in YOUR "bile"; just more "right-wing rhetoric". Is electing Republicans your idea of a solution? Do you truly believe that this will solve all the problems you claim? You're patently wrong in one assumption; that the Republicans will do away with conglomerates. How many more of your assumptions might also be wrong?

You speak of "freedom" and "liberty" as if they were rights reserved exclusively for those who think as you do. You preach about the Constitution; it wasn't written exclusively for you and those who think as you do. It is a document open to MANY interpretations, not just YOUR VERSION.

I'm not the one looking at the world through blinders right now; and I'm not the one who needs to "take a good long look in the mirror". I have no need to force MY beliefs and/or MY morality on anyone else. Can you say the same thing?

And if it pains you so to lower yourself, then please don't bother responding. It appears that you have no solutions; just more whining.

Exactly what you're complaining about.

-- Patricia (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), November 19, 2000.

Patricia, you spend a lot of time hammering out words, you ought to try reading sometime.

-- freedomfighter (freedomfighter@minuteman.com), November 19, 2000.

Patricia: I'm ashamed that you posted "bile" on this forum.

Feedomfighter: [Okay..you DID spell it right in your E-mail address]:

Those who would believe we are weak should tread lightly. After all, we are the ones who are willing to fight and die for our beliefs.

I've heard this expressed by others on this forum, and I just wonder WHO exactly you are going to fight? I Heard J and Kritter suggest that "things would get hot if Gore won." What, exactly, do y'all have planned? Are you going to shoot anyone that had a "Gore" lawn-sign? Are you going to shoot up another Jewish day-care center? Will it be another Federal building?

I'm serious about this. It seems to me that if one is to have a "war", they need someone on the other side fighting that war. If there isn't anyone on the other side fighting, it seems to me that you're playing Don Quixote.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), November 19, 2000.

freedomfighter, you spend an awful lot of time attacking the person, rather than addressing the points being made.

Could it be because you don't have any answers.....just rhetoric?

-- Patricia (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), November 19, 2000.