RON HART: Putting the creeps in creeping incrementalism

“There are more instances of the abridgment of freedoms of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”  — James Madison

The consistent quandary of politics is that the people who create our problems (politicians) are the ones who later campaign for reelection on a platform of fixing them. They usually have a plan to fix what ails us over “8 to 10 years” — just after they are out of office.

Sadly, with ignorance and impatience growing in our country, we never seem to address the root cause of our problems. Attacking and solving our real problems involves taking personal responsibility and sacrifice. Americans no longer want any part of that.

This is why the old values of “Country First,” espoused by John McCain, will lose to the new slogan of Barack Obama’s “Change.”

Both have the goal of sublimating our personal interests to that of a “greater good,” defined by them of course. Even worse, is when they do not define it; as in the case of Obama with his cryptic “change” mantra. This always puts the federal government's agenda ahead of our personal interests.

It is also why this campaign has marginalized, as well it should, Obama's association with Bill Ayers, the leftist Distinguished Professor of Education (who would have guessed that?) at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Ayers is irrelevant now because his Weather Underground attacked capitalism, sought to diminish free markets in favor of a planned economy, and wanted to nationalize the financial system. The Republicans and Democrats have already done that, so Ayers’ goals are accomplished.

It is a given that the media is biased, and are heavily to blame for our shift to the left. The media have spent more time and money investigating “Joe the Plumber,” who threatens their candidate Obama, than Bill Ayers.

The GOP has let this leftist redistribution movement in the country happen by its own creeping incrementalism toward big government.
Is there better irony than an imprudent Washington “investing” about a trillion dollars of debt funded tax money into the banking system and telling them how to run a business?

The same federal government confiscated the Mustang Ranch bordello in Nevada in the 90s and then promptly ran it into bankruptcy. If the feds cannot make a profit in a monopoly business of selling sex and booze, my guess is the complexities of banking will totally perplex them — especially when they have to follow the convoluted regulations they themselves impose.

If Congress imposes economic sanctions on Iran as harshly as they have on businesses in the USA, we should crush them with no military force required.

Politicians are allowed, without being questioned, to talk about the jobs they want to create. Government has grown at an unprecedented 40 percent rate under Bush.

So if Obama hates Bush's policies, hopefully he will cut government.

In reality, he will use Bush's spending as a comparison which will allow him to say that what he aspires to do with our money is not as bad as what Bush did. It is like knowing a woman who spends money lavishly on clothes and your spouse says after each imprudent purchase of her own, “well Sarah spent $450 on her dress.”

Obama and McCain tell us that they will create jobs. And they do create jobs.

Unfortunately they are in Iraq and Washington D.C., thus the jobs are “created” but not needed. Capitalism creates jobs by market demands and allocates resources efficiently. Since people's personal money is on the line, they somehow see to it that jobs are needed before they are created.

Politicians are also allowed to quote statistics that they make up. Repeated enough, any statistic becomes fact in most people's minds.

Only in a presidential race like this one can Obama say that he is going to give a tax cut to 95 percent of Americans, when about 40 percent pay no federal taxes to begin with.

Facts no longer seem to matter.

We are a country leaving the bounds of reason for a bold new world of “hope.” And “hope” is just a patronizing pat on the head that says “trust me, I know what is better for you than you do.”

It might be a great time for all of us to reread Atlas Shrugged.

Ron Hart is a Southern libertarian columnist who writes a weekly column about politics and life. His E-mail: RevRon10@aol.com