[Vision2020] 'Obama Tags' Called a Joke

[Andreas Schou]

On Tue, Sep 1, 2009 at 7:45 PM, g. crabtree <jampot at roadrunner.com> wrote:

>  Puppeteer? I would never have thought THAT ill of you. However I might
> have had you pegged as sympathetic to Code Pink.
>

Of course I am, for some minimal value of "sympathetic." As are a lot of
politicians. But there's a difference between some vague sympathy in
ideological outlook and believing they're doing more good than harm.

I was in favor of the Afghan war. I think the Iraq war was a bad policy
decision which killed a lot of Americans and Iraqis. However, I don't think
the war was "for Israel" or whatever, or that the Bush administration misled
the relevant stakeholders out of anything other than blind faith that the
relevant intelligence actually existed. Even insofar as I share some policy
goals (end the war cleanly and quickly) I don't think shouting at wounded
soldiers even vaguely traces a line from point A to point B. Instead, I put
shoe leather to pavement and tried to elect someone less prone to bad
decisions.

In the same vein, I expect that you're sympathetic with the militia movement
to some extent, in that you believe that our government should keep taxes
low and not prevent citizens from owning whatever piece of
woodchuck-vaporizing ordnance they please. This minimal coordination of
interests does not mean that I think you're a foaming birther who thinks
that Venezuelan communists stole our last election. There's a difference,

I also might have imagined that you were down with HCI, the Brady campaign,
> and the so called assault weapons ban. I'm pleasantly surprised to be wrong.
>

Guns are not my problem. I think people can reasonably differ on the
subject, but especially here in Idaho, there's no reason to hyperventilate
about citizens owning anything short of a cruise o.

I think the 2nd Amendment is prickly because it contemplates a United States
that didn't end up happening, but that the founders probably meant it to
contain an individual (though not absolutely unconditional) right to bear
arms. Whether it does or not isn't a particular personal concern, as pointy
forks (much less guns) are a problem at my level of coordination. However,
since no one appears to believe that the 2nd Amendment creates a right for
citizens to form private armies and shoot at cops and soldiers, the weapons
people choose to spend their money on seems like a matter of conscience and
good sense rather than a matter of pressing national concern.


> You are correct that your testosterone pumped presence comes through loud
> and clear in your every post but, it seems a mite presumptuous to expect one
> group of crazies (gun toters) to accede to the desires for comfort of
> another group of crazies (puppeteers and anti-corporate window breakers and
> stone throwers).
>

I think "please don't bring your gun when you meet the President" is an
unexpressed rule of etiquette and good sense similar to "please don't wear
your buttless leather chaps to meet the Pope." It is baffling to me that
anyone needs to be told to do so, especially as doing so is likely to result
in being on the business end of a stranger's firearm. I am uncomfortable
around people who are happy being on the business end of such a firearm.

Since neither your presence nor mine is required at any of these soirees why
> don't we compromise, boycott the events, and meet me at the nearest bar
> where I will attempt to do grievous damage to your liver. The crazies
> deserve one another and the philosophy department can tell us all about any
> excitement we may have missed.
>

Seriously, was that really that hard? All you had to say was "Rex Rammell
represents the 'I Hate Jim Risch' party, not me." The guy got sued last
campaign for using the Republican party's logo on his campaign materials.
He only runs for public office because Risch done kilt his elk.
Consequently, he's the only one responsible for his escalating bizarre
behavior, and Idaho's Republican establishment has surprisingly done the
right thing by kicking him while he's down.

Unless, of course, Jim Risch is as bad as Rex says.
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