Wayward wind

If you've never been to the Mooreland Fair, it's a little hard to explain. While there is a carnival, tractor pulls, truck pulls and horse pulls, it's mostly just people visiting with other people. Thousands of them. Since I was raised just 2 miles south of Mooreland, it is one of my favorite places to have a booth when I'm on the campaign trail. I get to visit with a lot of people I've known for 56 years, but only see once a year. It's a little tiring to man the booth every night after work, but it's always a good time.

On Wednesday evening, we handed out about 250 helium balloons, and apparently a few escaped. I received an e-mail yesterday from somebody in Kingston, Ohio, about 130 miles away, telling me that he had found a balloon, and wishing me good luck in the election. Even as cut-up and gerry-mandered as District 54 is, I'm pretty sure he won't be able to vote for me, but I appreciate the thought.

One of the effects of the 2000 redistricting by the legislature was to make District 54 safe for Republicans, and especially safe for Republican incumbents, so much so that the Democrats opted not to offer a candidate for the district this year.

I made it a point to discuss the situation with the Chairman of the Henry County Democrats and several of the candidates whose booth was located across from mine. I suggested that voting a straight Democratic ticket this fall would amount to not only losing their vote in District 54, but would in effect amount to a vote for the Republican incumbent.

I'm happy to report they concurred.

Guilty as charged...

In a recent Courier Times article, my honorable Republican opponent for this fall's District 54 race, Tom Saunders,
states that "Rex wants you to do away with a lot of government, but I'm not sure that's what the public wants." He's right about me wanting to do away with a lot of government.

Here in Wayne County, the Economic Development Commission is getting ready to take $50,000.00 from the taxpayers and spend it on a feasibility study to see if we need another industrial park next to our industrial park. Last year the EDC took money from workers that were making $7.50 per hour and gave it to a company that grossed $2 billion the year before. The year before that taxpayers paid to build a road through a county commissioner's business development property. In Indianapolis, the government took $625 million from the taxpayers to build a stadium for a multi-millionaire NFL team owner. They also took $3.5 million to demolish the old stadium that the taxpayers still owed $70 million on.

You can't build a shelter for your family without asking for the government's permission. Your barber can't cut your hair unless the government gives it's permission. It's nearly impossible to find three things that the government doesn't tax or regulate.

So yes, I have to plead guilty. I do want to do away with a lot of government. I want to do away with a lot of government agencies that exist simply to transfer wealth from one person to another. I want to do away with a lot of government agencies that exist only to protect us from ourselves, even if it is for our own good.

I certainly don't want to prevent people from investing in businesses or stadiums if they so desire, and if a person wants to find someone to oversee his or her personal affairs, I don't want to stand in their way. But those of us who prefer to make our own financial and personal decisions should be able to do so with a lot less government interference than we have currently.

As far as to Tom's opinion of what the public wants, I'll have to admit that in past elections, people haven't been voting to do away with a lot of government. But then again, they haven't really had the opportunity to vote that way. They could either vote for the Democrats version of a lot of government, or they could vote for the Republican version of a lot of government. Or they could not vote at all.

And I'll grant you that there are a lot of people out there that like a lot of government. Somebody once said that a government that robs Peter to pay Paul will always have the support of Paul. I'm pretty sure those people won't vote for me.

But there are also a lot of people out there that are tired of being robbed and managed, and whether they have been voting for something they didn't want, or not voting at all, I plan to give them a chance to vote for what they do want. Less government.

That's what Libertarians do.