The Ideology of Whatever It Takes

Recently, during the final weekend push of voter registration up and down the Golden State and helping an energized public become eligible for the Nov. 2 General Election, I had the privilege of volunteering for the High Desert Republican Headquarters off Highway 18, and was starkly reminded just how deep the rancor exists for those opposing the re-election campaign of George W. Bush.

Realizing how important the outcome of the upcoming presidential election is to my family and our nation’s future, I joined my wife and six-year-old daughter to set aside our entire Saturday and Sunday to work with fellow Victor Valley Republicans toward the aim of motivating the base and encouraging others to allow the president four more years of taking the fight to the terrorists, rather than waiting for them to take it to us. As one young man wearing his favorite NFL team jersey commented to my wife while she assisted him in completing his registration form at the Apple Valley office, “You just don’t change quarterbacks in the middle of the game! The president needs to remain in office to keep fighting back the terrorists.”

Sad to say, those who do not happen to understand this basic sports analogy, when applied to combating terrorism in a post-9/11 world, apparently prefer to abandon the playbook, as well as all unwritten rules of decorum and common decency, as a contentious presidential campaign heats up between now and Election Day. At least according to my own informal survey while braving the cold and wind of a High Desert political storm, this is exactly how I observed those passersby who reacted negatively while traveling along Happy Trails Highway (Highway 18) on the last weekend of voter registration and my oversized banner: “Support the President, George. W. Bush, Register Republican.” Evidently, for them to notice some of us along the highway enthusiastically campaigning for the president, these were not happy trails after all.

One would suppose that, especially with pre-adolescent children nearby, the hate-Bush folks could, for a moment, discipline their composure and express themselves in ways that would not offend young ears. Regretfully, in more cases than not, this was not the case, as clear supporters of Democrat nominee Sen. John Kerry and an anybody-but-Bush electorate remained consistent in showing their angst for the current administration.

Scattered amongst the overwhelming honks, thumbs-up and fists thrown up in support for Bush, I also witnessed over-the-top hand gestures and creative expletives that would have made the most rowdy of sailors or hardcore marines shake their heads in amazement. There was the expected “one-finger salute,” at times seasoned with the usual F-word reserved for Mr. Bush; then, once in a while we were treated to the same, but with both hands off the steering wheel (quite an act to observe when flying down the highway at over 60 miles per hour), and some drivers even took time out of their busy day to swing back around and give us all one more display of their unabashed arrogance, outright disrespect, and utter ignorance.

I’m familiar with the hair-raising antics of bitter campaigning during the Lincoln-Douglas battle for the White House of the 1860s, but give me a break. Is it inevitable that, the more things change, the more they stay the same? Does mudslinging that happened back then give license for folks of one particular ideology or party to potty-mouth as they do now?

All that weekend of old-fashioned grass roots campaigning and signing voters up for the big election of Nov. 2, I shared my concerns of what I saw and heard out on the streets of the High Desert with other volunteers working out of the Republican office, and we came to the conclusion that here’s the significant difference between “us” and “them”—those who favor four more years of a Bush presidency do our utmost to conduct ourselves with tact, class, scruples and respect for opposing viewpoints; while those who have been seemingly chomping at the bit since Florida of 2000 adhere to a credo that is quite simple: W.I.T.—which decoded, simply means, “Whatever It Takes” to win.

In other words, immorality and illegality are the tools of the trade this time around, as evidenced by the recent discovery of the Democrats’ “playbook” memo made public that admonished volunteers to fabricate Republican wrongdoings and shenanigans during the election, even if none are initially found. Knowing this, I guess I shouldn’t have been too disappointed to be met with the ire of a certain electorate bent on slamming Bush any way they can and at every opportunity. To them, this election is more about beating the incumbent than it is about propping up their nominee.

I must add that, as part of new voters we added to the rolls of the San Bernardino County Registrars Office, a handful of people signed up as Democrats. The greater numbers registered were Republicans, the rest declined to state membership in any particular party. Adding up the totals from Friday, Saturday and Sunday, about 160 affiliated themselves with the GOP, 30 declined to state a party membership, and somewhere around 15 or so individuals aligned with the Democrat Party.

I mention this in passing only because I believe it represents the integrity of not only our local Republican office, but of the party’s core as a whole. Though we fully knew we were registering votes that would practically cancel out those supporting President Bush, we painstakingly processed them anyway—including a middle-aged couple that almost dared office workers to turn them away or discourage their preference to register as Democrats.

Now, you tell me if any Democrat office set up that weekend to register voters would faithfully deliver my Republican-preference registration to the appropriate agency or secretly dispose of it in the nearest circular file.

They say that, while you can choose your friends, you can’t choose your relatives. With its warts and all, it’s an honor for me to choose to be associated with a Republican family that is, without a doubt, quicker than our opposition to discipline its own and corral in those who at times might get out of hand.

For one weekend in October, the contrast in character between the pro-Bush and anti-Bush forces was glaringly clear to me. But then, as Sen. Kerry reminded us during the second presidential debate, labels don’t mean anything—labels like “liberal,” for instance—and obscene hand gestures, uncivilized language and referencing your opponent’s private family matters for political gains are par for the course, it seems, for a portion of the body electorate and its leaders who boast all is fair game and will do whatever it takes to win.

This is my experience as a GOP volunteer over the last weekend to register to to vote in California. What I saw and heard by those who oppose the president and his re-election campaign was not so much surprising as it was plain pathetic and sad.

I only share this piece to remind Bush supporters just what we're up against and to fight, fight, fight like there's no tomorrow. Of course, here in California, we've got plenty of "fruits" and "nuts" that know nothing else than to spew forth the same Democrat dribble they hear their famous leader, Kerry, barf out. You try and try to engage these same folks in a serious debate (yeah, right!), and all they can do is spit back the latest Democrat talking points and somehow bring the conversation back to Bush's ("dishonorable") service in the Texas Air National Guard.

I had a heated debate with the director of our HR department here at the office in Glendora (I'm employed by a software development firm in Southern Cal) who professed to me that she is a born-again believer in Christ, yet finds Bush "arrogant" (her exact word) and not clued in to all the poor people who need money in L.A. instead of wasting government taxpayer dollars in fighting over in Iraq, Afghanistan and "wherever else he thinks we should invade."

So (get this), I ask her point blank, "Have you even taken a look at Kerry's record in the Senate over almost twenty years now?" Her response: "No, I haven't looked at his record...I don't know anything about that, but I just know Kerry could do a better job."

Just like Jackson and Sharpton and the crew were advising Black America to do so a couple of weekends ago, she did not want at all to focus on the social or moral issues of the campaign, only the economic issues thereof--though I tried to explain to her that even those numbers were drastically improving all the time and it's not as bad a situation as the Democrats would have you to believe.

I left her with a suggestion to seriously listen to and read folks who make more sense than anyone on the left could ever hope to achieve. I gave her names like Thomas Sowell, Hugh Hewitt, Laura Ingraham, Ann Coulter, Walter E. Williams, George F. Will, even Larry Elder, and--one of my favorites--Charles Krauthammer.

Then, I told her to read Mr. Hewitt's latest book, "If It's Not Close They Can't Cheat."

It's frustrating to run into people like her--a seemingly well-educated Black woman who should know better. (I'm married to a conservative Black woman and even she doesn't like the hyphenated American tab of "African-American.")

One last note for those of us residing in traditionally Democrat-leaning states that I heard on the "Laura Ingraham Show" this morning (Tuesday, Oct. 19): Regardless whether or not your particular state looks like it will go "blue" (for Kerry), STILL get out there to the polls--and drag, push or pull your fellow Bush-supporters along with you--because we want the popular vote to go to "W" and leave the Dems with egg all over their face this time around.

Then, why not adopt the Democrat strategy of voting and vote early and vote often (this would be funny if it weren't so true for the Party of W.I.T.--"Whatever It Takes."

Thanks for appreciating our efforts out here, GarySpFC!

Despite what you might hear, there are some fantastic GOP folks in the "land of the fruitiest and the nuttiest."

As I was leaving our home for the long commute from Victorville, along Interstate 15 (the same freeway used to get to and from Las Vegas) and down through the Cajon Pass, and my wife had Laura Ingraham on the radio, I told her that we Republicans--and all Bush-supporters, for that matter--had better get FIGHTING MAD this time around, or we will lose this election. Now, we can fight fair and fight within the rules (though the other side will do everything but), but we'd better fight hard from here on out--including AFTER Nov. 2, as well.

Our rhetoric needs to be as strong as our resolve. That means, while we shouldn't go out looking for confrontation with the hate-Bush crowd, we certainly don't back down from confrontation either.

Or, that's my opinion.

DesertGOP
Victorville, CA

Dear GarySpFc,

Wow! If the mayor was speaking the truth here, that's GREAT NEWS, indeed!

My wife listens to Rush (at home) while I listen to Dennis Prager at the office, so I get to share with her what Prager said during that time slot, and she, in turn, tells me what Rush had to say on his show.

Praqer was just talking with a caller who is American and of African descent. Dennis stated--and this IS true--that if Black-Americans voted their VALUES, and not their FEARS, the Democrats would have nothing to bank on than the willing ignorant, the far left, and the Hollywood crowd supporting them, among a smidgen of other groups maybe.

No one gets more angry about so-called Christians who are also Black-Americans than my wife. She, being Black, too, can't tolerate folks of her race who continue, to this day, to be duped and brainwashed by a Democrat party that has done virtually NOTHING for them over the past 50 years (name me one significant piece of major legislation or policy directive that has helped Blacks do for themselves far better than any government ever could--I dare anyone to stop the spin for a minute and meet my challenge just once).

Anyway, we'll keep fighting and, hopefully, see a portion of the body electorate grasp the truth--making my wife and lots of Republicans very, very pleased and proud that some folks are finally thinking for themselves...asking the big questions.

Take care!

From the Left Coast,

DesertGOP

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