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Posted on 10/02/2002 11:55:39 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
Liberals Believe It's Time To Change The Rules Of Game Actually, the way liberals envision our nation's laws is similar to the way that baseball players envisioned playing cards in the novel, "Bang the Drum Slowly." These ball players played TEGWAR with the naïve fans they met in hotel lobbies. And guess who always won? Unfortunately, the fans had to learn the hard way that they were playing "The Exciting Game Without Any Rules." No matter what happened, the players always came out the winners in the end because whatever they decided were the rules became the rules until they needed to be changed. But there are hard, fast laws in the Garden State's election code and New Jersey voters may have to learn the hard way that two wrongs do not make a right - unless of course they are liberals and believe our system of governance is just one big game of TEGWAR. What Bob Torricelli did is bad enough, accepting lots and lots of cash and expensive items such as a grandfather clock, 52-inch TV set, and Italian suits from a businessman. Torricelli may have fancied himself to be a reformer and relied upon that self-justification to rationalize his corruption, but he is nothing more than a two-bit crook - albeit a well dressed one. He deserves to have the book thrown at him for using his position of public trust to profit at the expense of public interest. That the Senate Ethics Committee could only decide to "severely admonish" him rather than give him the severe penalty he deserves is bad enough. Thanks to the half-hearted slap from the Ethics Committee on which his party predominates, Mr. Torricelli decided to stay in his race for reelection. It was only when the Justice Department, under the order of a federal court, released a document that revealed how credible the allegations were against him that the Senator decided to throw in the towel. But even before that, it was said that the very members who sat on Bob Torricelli's side of the aisle were privately seething that he - by virtue of his corruption - had essentially thrown away any chance that his party would hold his seat in a year when their control of majority party status is clearly imperiled. Now, the real fun begins because there is no candidate to take on Mr. Torricelli's opponent and there are less than thirty-five days before the election. Not so surprisingly, the officials of Mr. Torricelli's party are thinking out loud about asking the state to change its rules. Even though New Jersey law is very clear: A political party may change their candidates only 51 days or more before the election. But now it's time for the Democrats to play a game of TEGWAR. Seizing upon a measure in the state's election law, the party can replace the candidate who leaves office or dies within a month before the election. Mr. Torricelli, however, up to now, appears very intent on staying alive and so far has not been able to bring himself to resign. But one anonymous Democratic strategist called that in yesterday's Washington Post "an indignity too far." Even the "Torch" has a sense of propriety evidently. The word late yesterday was that Rep. Frank Pallone might become a replacement for Sen. Torricelli. He's out. So now it may be ex-Senator Frank Lautenberg coming out of his rocking chair to try to win a return trip to Washington. But if past experience is any guide, the wealthy former senator is one who never hesitates dipping into his substantial bank account when it comes to financing his political ambitions. That makes him a very strong contender. If the state's Democrats succeed in bending and twisting the state law to mean what they want it to say, rather than what it says, and get him on the ballot, then the next junior senator from New Jersey may be a millionaire just a few years younger than 80 who has already served three terms in the nation's most exclusive club. But if Mr. Torricelli's party does bend the rules to win ballot placement for a replacement, then that will more than likely lead to a court case, possibly going all the way to the United States Supreme Court. But liberals are old hands at playing TEGWAR. As one who has been active in the social conservative movement for several decades now, I recall how we had the liberal feminists with their back up against the wall in the late 1970s because the Equal Rights Amendment was not going to receive the necessary support needed for its ratification. Liberal groups like the National Organization for Women were not going to be thwarted by their failure, but play a game of TEGWAR. And so they did, the House and Senate having passed an extension thanks to the fact that the liberals controlled both chambers then. The ERA deadline was set to expire on March 22, 1979. Then, it became June 30, 1982. Even TEGWAR could not lead to the ratification of the ERA thankfully. What the ERA proponents attempted to do can be equated with a National Football League football team losing decisively by the time the fourth quarter had ended, only to find themselves granted a second chance by being given an extra quarter. If it happened in a real NFL game, there'd be outrage from most fans. The game would be declared null and void. But if you're still not convinced about how willing the liberals are to break the rules, then there's no better place than the "Show Me" state itself. Senator Christopher Bond, R-Mo., has documented the extensive fraud that occurred in the 2000 general election in St. Louis. Most notably, the Democratic judges in that city were allowing non-registered voters to enroll the day of the election to cast ballots. Missouri's law stipulates that such exceptions can only be granted on very narrow and defined terms, such as having moved into the state and established residency after the 30 day election registration deadline. The people who were being put on the rolls had given bogus reasons. Some simply said they wanted to cast their ballots for their favorite candidate or party - neither, of course, being the more conservative choice in that election. And the sad fact is that even after this wrongdoing had been revealed by Senator Bond and concerned citizens in the state, law enforcement has yet to do anything about it. The judges who bent the law are still on the bench, supposedly to enforce the law that they themselves demonstrated little regard for. There's even more to the story, though. A city judge declared that the polls in St. Louis could stay open well past the closing time that is specified by the state's election law. Right after the ruling, coincidentally, taped calls from Jesse Jackson started to be made announcing the new hours. A state appeals judge offered a different ruling, saying the polls should not stay open. The city election officials ignored the order. It was only because the state appeals judge got on the phone and ordered the city judge to shut the polling places down that the casting of belated ballots by voters who were remiss was stopped once and for all. Evidently, the old saying that no one is above the law in this country no longer applies when it comes to liberal politicians or their causes. Frankly, they place themselves above the law. Either that or they need to take remedial courses in civic education. Perhaps they take too literally the saying, "If you don't like the law, then work to change it," neglecting to understand that there are definite processes and rules to be followed. But that's no excuse for what is likely to happen in New Jersey. Let's hope if the state Supreme Court ignores the state's law in a stunning display of activism and puts the replacement for Bob Torricelli on the ballot that a challenge is made that takes this case right to the U.S. Supreme Court. And let's hope that they exercise the restrain one should expect from our nation's judges who sit on our highest court. But more than that: It's time conservatives once and for all take on these blatantly illegal attempts by liberals to play a game of TEGWAR. It's time we call the liberals on what they're doing. We've had way too much of the "Anything Goes" philosophy. After all, if we fail to expect those who will make our laws respect and uphold those laws that are already on the books, then we can no longer say we live in a nation that is governed under the rule of law. And, if we do not have the ability to say that, then what has our nation become? Talk about our being taken in by a bunch of sharks.
Paul M. Weyrich is Chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation.
Paul M. Weyrich
The decision of Sen . Bob Torricelli, D-N.J., to withdraw as a candidate for reelection little more than a month before the election presents the opportunity for liberals once again to try to change the rules of the game. This much you can be sure of: they are finding it very difficult to resist the opportunity.
Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2002
This is a most profound statement! He has hit the nail directly on the head!
And we see ole Jimmy Carter running around the world, seeing that others have fair elections? Ha! Ha!
And people wonder why other-worlders so disrespect us!
-PJ
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