Trust Me Charlie Brown

Colonel Dan, SASS Life # 24025

I wonder how many voters are still playing Charlie Brown when others have learned the truth about election year promises and pledges. What does Charlie Brown have to do with our elections colonel?

Remember the cartoon where Lucy is holding the football, promising Charlie Brown that this time she won’t pull it away when he tries to kick it as she’s always done before? What happens? Yep, poor ol’ Charlie falls for it every year and ends up flat on his back.

Lucy represents our politicians, the football, their campaign promises and we voters are the hapless Charlie Brown. Politicians will say virtually anything come election time in an attempt to convince us they’re trustworthy—just as they’re doing now with energy and immigration issues. The lie is that this time it’ll be different; they’ll deliver. When confronted individually, incumbents always insist they agree with our group’s views (whichever group they’re talking to at the moment that is) and that they are the only ones standing up in the fight for us against all those other unworthy politicians. Essentially, we’re supposed to ignore past behavior and return them to office based on their assurances that we’ll actually get to kick that football through the uprights this time. But what happens? Just as the gullible Charlie Brown, we voters end up flat on our backs when Lucy pulls the football away yet again.

This happens on many issues but let’s use two current hot buttons as examples: dependency on foreign oil and illegal immigration.

Remember the oil crisis of the 70’s? Gas lines, soaring prices and shortages plagued America. What was every politician’s election year mantra? “Energy independence” “We are too dependent on foreign oil. We must be self-sufficient.” What’s changed since then? Effectively nothing.

We knew then more refineries were needed but what did our leaders do? Rather than create incentives for business to build those facilities, they buckled under to environmental groups creating even more regulatory roadblocks and essentially making such construction prohibitive! Result—America hasn’t built a new refinery in 30 years even as our national demand for oil has increased annually!

Back then it was also clear that additional sources of crude must be found so we could reduce levels of imported oil. What did our leaders do? Even though we knew where to drill, congress prevented its exploitation surrendering again to political pressure from environmental groups—ANWR, the gulf of Mexico, off shore California and those vast deposits of oil shale remain untouched while our demand skyrockets and our available supply dwindles. Real smart isn’t it?

A Rand study reported that in oil shale alone, the United States has enough recoverable reserves to provide 25% of all our needs for 400 years or 100% of our needs for 100 years! Are we tapping into that unimaginable resource? Not on your life. President Clinton declared those oil shale lands untouchable.

We also knew in the 70’s that alternate sources of energy could be developed in sufficient quantities to significantly supplement our need for crude. What did we do? I think you get the drift. Brazil on the other hand saw the significance of those alternate sources and acted. Today, Brazil is more energy independent than America!

At least fifty years ago we knew about the potential of solar power. As a young boy in the mid 1950’s, I visited Pittsburgh’s Buhl Planetarium and saw an amazing little car. It had black panels on the top and when a spotlight was shined on it the car ran around the table. Since then we’ve sent men to the moon, rovers to Mars, conquered polio and found the Titanic but we haven’t advanced solar technology as we could or should have.

And what about using wind power off the coast of Massachusetts? Not in my backyard screams Ted Kennedy the environmental crusader!

After all these long-lost opportunities, in 2006 we remain over that barrel of foreign oil and still hearing the political promises of action to come. Although the names and faces change the words are the same, “Trust me, this time it’ll be different.” But Lucy’s hand remains firmly on that football and every election, we believe and every election we end up like naïve Charlie Brown—flat on our backsides; an industrialized nation dying of thirst for oil when it’s all around us and untapped.

Now this unrestrained invasion of the United States by illegals is not only another Charlie Brown scenario, this one threatens the existence of our culture, our future and our country. Again, our political leaders weren’t just told about this incursion last week, they’ve known for decades. In fact, Ronald Regan granted amnesty to some 3-4 million in 1986 with the proviso that our borders would be secured after this one time show of compassion. What happened? Effectively nothing—sound familiar? Today we have 12-20 million to deal with who are now demanding their “rights” and even the return of American land they claim as their own! Rights and land my foot, they don’t even belong here in the first place yet our politicians pander to these invaders with promises of “pathways to citizenship.” American voters however are fed the same old line from incumbents running for reelection—“Trust me.” I have only two things to say about that: Bull…Chips.

This situation was bad enough pre-9/11 but post 9/11 such inaction falls somewhere between criminal negligence and subversion. When spineless leaders won’t stand up for America and defend their homeland against a Mexican government supported conquest, the people themselves must act! And what happens when patriotic Minutemen take steps to protect our country because the government won’t? Their own president inexcusably calls them vigilantes while Washington orders our Border Patrol to inform Mexican officials as to the whereabouts of Minutemen outposts and patrols! When I think of such betrayal, the word incensed only begins to describe the extent of my disgust for those individuals responsible.

When a national threat is known by our political leaders who are sworn to preserve protect and defend and they do nothing beyond political window dressing to counter that threat, rather they aid and abet the foreign government behind it, a clean sweep of incumbents is absolutely necessary if America is to survive. In fact, their dereliction of duty deserves incarceration in my opinion.

Politicians have blamed environmentalists for our energy crisis and business in search of cheap labor for the stream of illegals but I don’t buy it. Environmental movements and business lobbies only have the power to pressure, plead and contribute; political leaders have the exclusive power to enact and enforce so the ultimate responsibility is theirs. The buck stops with those having legal authority and the constitutional power to act—period.

If America’s leaders from every congress and administration over decades still haven’t taken the action so obvious years ago, why do they now express made-for-TV concern and feign indignation over our continued reliance on foreign oil and the impact of illegals on America? Stupid is as stupid does seems to be the best answer. They’re either too stupid to get it or too deceitful regarding their globalist agenda for this continued disregard of common sense—your choice. Whichever reason you favor, either one is enough to justify a good house cleaning this year. My view is that most incumbents, past and present, have been stupidly short-sighted, negligent, disingenuous and far too addicted to the fantasy of global politics for America’s own good. Politicians have blown fog at us for years and it’s time we called them on it. If nothing else, a significant clean sweep movement would send a seriously powerful message to all future incumbents and perhaps encourage and embolden Americans to act more courageously.

If I could bestow one trait on America it would be the ability to discern truth. Imagine every voter with the insight to cut through the political BS and the good sense to send Lucy to the showers. Wow!

Just the view from my saddle…

Contact Colonel Dan: coloneldan@bellsouth.net