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Posted on 08/23/2002 6:46:23 AM PDT by SheLion

I've been advocating voters refuse to support any candidate for office who does not acknowledge the supremacy of the U.S. Constitution and the principles of self-governance America established in the War of Independence.

This is often tough to do because the two major parties have such blatant disregard for the concept of limited government.

The last mayoral election in New York City is a textbook example of what I mean.

People who want government off their backs may have cheered when Michael Bloomberg was elected over his opponent, Mark Green. Bloomberg was, after all, "a Republican," who ran to the right of Green.

Yet, it turns out, Bloomberg was actually a lifelong Democrat who merely switched parties to avoid a crowded and difficult primary race.

And, since taking over Gracie Mansion, Bloomberg has revealed his true political stripes.

Recently, he unveiled a sweeping anti-tobacco bill that would ban all smoking for the first time in bars, restaurants, bingo parlors, bowling alleys, even private offices.

Now there are many anti-smoking zealots out there who are probably cheering this draconian plan.

But it is 100 percent anti-freedom, anti-choice and a serious blow to private property rights and the free market in the nation's largest city.

If government has the authority to ban smoking in private offices or in privately owned bars or restaurants, then it has the authority to ban smoking in private homes. There is no difference. It's tyranny, pure and simple. In fact, in making the announcement, Bloomberg hinted about where this anti-smoking crusade might ultimately lead.

"In your own home you have a right to behave as you want, although it's not hard to see some day, some child suing their parents if the child comes down with cancer," he said. "That's probably going to happen."

And, you can bet, the day it happens, Bloomberg and his government-knows-best cronies will be there with a new ordinance banning smoking in private homes.

No one is forced to be a patron of an establishment where smoking is tolerated . No one. That's the beauty of the free-market system. It allows us to make individual choices. Top-down, command-and-control governance creates a one-size-fits-all system that removes choice, removes freedom.

I don't care if it's the most popular legislation ever written in New York. It is beyond the scope of government's authority to tell private property owners what they can and can't do with their establishments.

On the heels of that announcement, Bloomberg said he would support a bill by the City Council to recognize homosexual marriages in New York – making it the only city in America to change the definition of marriage in this odious and insidious way.

In other words, this man is a maniac . He is not only unfit to be mayor of the nation's largest city, he is unfit to be dogcatcher in the nation's smallest city. Yet, he wins because voters participate in this perennial ritual of supporting the perceived lesser of two evils.

As I am fond of saying, the lesser of two evils is still evil. Americans must stop this practice if they have any hope of retaining the basic character of American self-governance. It may be too late already.

But, for those reading these words, take this advice to heart in this election year. It's time to say "No." It's time to resist. It's time to boycott an election fraud that gives us no choice. It's time to raise the standards of political debate in this country. It's time to demand better choices. If that means not voting, so be it. If that means voting for a candidate who has little chance of winning, so be it. If that's the price of a clear conscience, it's hardly a price at all. And, I believe, non-participation in an evil system may be the only action that can help us take America back.

Not voting for a Democrat or a Republican is not a sin. In many cases, it is a moral obligation. It's the best way to create new political competition. It's the best way to restore our choices. It may be the only way to restore our freedom.

Joseph Farah's nationally syndicated column originates at WorldNetDaily, where he serves as editor and chief executive officer. If you would like to see the column in your local newspaper, contact your local editor. Tell your paper the column is available through Creators Syndicate .

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