First of all I don't hate Bush, but I think he is a very poor leader, undoubtedly by far the worst President the United States has ever had.


And his supposed concern about national security is false.

As radio host Doug McIntyre has commented, Bush is a "paper mache patriot"


He claims to be concerned about national security, yet he leaves our border wide open.


What is the first thing that any rational person would do if there is a threat to our national security? Secure our border, of course.

The reason Bush does not is either that he feels commerce should take precedence over public safety, or else he feels that Mexico and the U.S. and Canada are going to be merged soon, so why bother enforcing a border that won't exist much longer.


As to the war in Iraq, it has been a huge waste of lives and resources. Right now it looks like the main long-term impact is to strengthen the regime in Iran and give it much control over Iraq and its oil supplies.

By the way:


I think the mayor is pretty incompetent too.


Bush & Rocky actually have a lot more in common than Rocky would probably like to admit.

Jason_from_PG wrote:

In one sense, it is difficult to understand how the Bush administration has been able to embrace such radical theories of executive power, and to engage in such recognizably un-American conduct -- first in the shadows and now quite openly -- without prompting a far more intense backlash from the country than we have seen

That is because the Bush administration has in its arsenal one very potent weapon -- and one weapon only -- which it has repeatedly used: fear. Ever since September 11, 2001, Americans have been bombarded with warnings, with color-coded "alerts," with talk of mushroom clouds and nefarious plots to blow up bridges and tall buildings, with villains assigned cartoon names such as "dirty bomber," "Dr. Germ," and so on.

We have to invade and occupy Iraq because the terrorists will kill us all if we do not. We must allow the president to incarcerate American citizens without due process, employ torture as a state-sanctioned weapon, eavesdrop on our private conversations and even violate the law, because the terrorists are so evil and so dangerous that we cannot have any limits on the power of the president if we want him to protect us from the dangers in the world.

Contrast the American ethos as embodied by Patrick Henry and the other founders -- an insistence that our system of government adhere to the rule of law and preserve individual liberty -- with the fear-driven mentality peddled by the president's defenders in order to justify his conduct.

We are told that we must give up our liberties and allow the president the power to break the law, because none of that really matters.

Where would America be if, throughout our history, we had succumbed to the paralyzed, weak-willed fear being hawked by the likes of Bush and Cheney? We would not have risked our lives to win our freedom from the British monarchy. We would have acquiesced to the evils of slavery and the division of our country rather than risk our lives in the Civil War. After Pearl Harbor, we would have gone to war against Japan but not Nazi Germany

The founders repeatedly warned of the danger, and the likelihood, that governments would attempt to exploit fear of external threats in order to justify abridgments of core liberties.
Excellent post. Get ready for the venomous reponses that you will be sure to get. Keep it up.

I also agree with politics4me that Rocky's actions are out of line as far as what is considered proper etiquette.

(it is perfectly acceptable for a public figure to express political opinions, it is another thing for them to do so through improper channels).

However, with all the nutty behavior of public officials these days, it's hard to get outraged anymore.

BishopRick wrote:

politics4me wrote:



Martin Luther King Jr. didn't have someone come and speak for him. He had people join him that also spoke out. If Rocky wants to protest and committ political suicide, then he should protest himself, not invite someone to do it for him. But then with this act of inviting someone else to protest for him, he's already comitting political suicide.

There will be a few that will like what Rocky's done, but in the eyes of the majority, he will never be in office again.

Rocky should just bite the bullet and protest himself, and see who joins him.


I disagree with your take on Rocky. He is well-liked by the majority of Salt Lake City residents. He is voluntarily not running for another term, but many believe he would win again if he chose to run. There is a much different political energy in Salt Lake...one that has voted in a gay representative, Scott McCoy (who is doing a great job, IMHO). I have friends (many would question that, I'm sure) in politics, and they joke that the further away from the SL temple you go (staying in Utah), the more conservative and republican you are. Seems a bit ironic, doesn't it?


Yes. Ironic in a joking sort of way, just like your friends quipped.

politics4me wrote:

gopherus wrote:

politics4me wrote:

gopherus wrote:

politics4me wrote:

"As for Senator Orrin Hatch and Robert Bennett from my perspective they are outstanding Utah Citizens advocates."

You have got to be kidding me. Hatch an outstanding Utah citizen? He doesn't even come to Utah anymore. He'd prefer to spend more of his time on a boat in Mass. with the Kennedy family. I still like Bennett, but he made a huge mistake backing the President's amnesty bill.

There are rules in politics. In this situation, Rocky Anderson is breaking one of the biggest rules. He may not like Pres. Bush, and he is welcome to say that at any time, but to invite someone protest the President. Like it or not, that is just something you don't do. If you have enough influnce, you get someone else to do your dirty work for you. This will not win him any brownie points in the eyes of the people, even in Salt Lake. People may not like Bush, but there's enough that do like him, that won't forget Rocky's treason.


I live in Utah but outside the Salt Lake Area. I already liked Rocky, but this does earn him brownie points with me. I respect him not only for being opposed to Bush's policies and being active in the protest, but also for not doing the Republican thing and having a henchman do his dirty work as you've suggested. Rocky has some honesty and self-respect, unlike so many republicans who would have smeared a visiting Democrat while pretending to show respect publicly. It says something very negative about you that you would prefer appearance and deceit to honesty.


But this is deceit. Rocky has invited someone to speak for him. This is all wrong. A Public Figure should never organize a rally against another Public Figure. This is just not the way things are done. It doesn't matter what side your on. If Rocky Anderson has wanted to put together a Forum on the Iraq war and invite Soldiers from the war, Some Generals, and Cindy Sheehan, so the public could hear both sides then that would have been okay. But for him to actively invite her to protest Pres. Bush is bad form for any politician. There are rules that you just don't break, and this is one of them. Rocky is a traitor, and will never win another political office in his lifetime. People want their politicians to be objective, not radical.


Have you ever seen a political campaign. Your logic is poor and I question your belief in the ideals this nation was built on.


I've worked on several political campaigns, and my logic is not flawed. I said that Rocky can say what he likes. And the electorate can vote to get rid of him to because of what he says. If Rocky wants to protest the President, than he should protest the President. He shouldn't be inviting anyone to do it for him. Even Martin Luther King Jr. understood this when he personally protested against the President at the time. He got people to join him, but he didn't have people protest for him. Rocky Anderson is a traitor, and will never be in Public Office again!


Rocky is protesting personally. He invited Cindy Sheehan to protest with him, not for him . . . gopherus is absolutely correct, your logic is extremely poor.