[CBRVFR]

But I filed today for candidacy in my Township as a board trustee.















.........AS A DEMOCRAT !!





I'm really an independent, running with a politically diverse slate of four other people against the current group of knotheads who are selling us down the road to one particular developer. If these guys are given free reign, we'll lose the rural character of our little burg. At this level, it's all about zoning, land use, and planning. No national issues here, except hunting (we're for it) and taxes, (we're against them unless the people of the township want to 'buy' new services).

It took months to convince me to run as a member of ANY party, but without the votes from those who punch a straight ticket, there is no possible way to win.

Now, if I can just explain all that to my dad before he can grab something to throw...

[Baketech]

LOL....

Actually, I have a tendency to vote Demo in the local elections....but Republican in State/Nat'l......

[BDA116]

I voted in the demo primary here. If you are for land owner rights, hunter's rights, and against taxes I don't care which letter is beside your name.
If your developer problem is along the lines of the major problem the country as a whole is facing - as in local city/town councils voting to take away land from the owner and give it to the developer without the land owner's input, I hope you not only stick it to them, but shove it up their ass.

[luvtolean]

Originally Posted by BDA116

I voted in the demo primary here. If you are for land owner rights, hunter's rights, and against taxes I don't care which letter is beside your name.
If your developer problem is along the lines of the major problem the country as a whole is facing - as in local city/town councils voting to take away land from the owner and give it to the developer without the land owner's input, I hope you not only stick it to them, but shove it up their ass.

[ER]

Originally Posted by BDA116

I voted in the demo primary here. If you are for land owner rights, hunter's rights, and against taxes I don't care which letter is beside your name.
If your developer problem is along the lines of the major problem the country as a whole is facing - as in local city/town councils voting to take away land from the owner and give it to the developer without the land owner's input, I hope you not only stick it to them, but shove it up their ass.

It's interesting that you bring that up, since most people wouldn't know anything about it if they only got their news from CNN or the other major networks. It's a scary precident that government is setting by seizing the lands of private owners in order to build shopping malls or other tax-generating developments. Most people won't care until it's their home being taken.

[CBRVFR]

Well, the family who are being potentially targeted to lose their family farm have only been there 130 years. Long enough, I guess!

I'm in the westernmost part of a county that borders Jackson county,the birthplace of the Republican Party. There has not been a Dem elected in this particular township since the Civil War. I **** you not. So we'll see how it goes. If I lose, my secondary goal is to make my opponents cry.

[luvtolean]

May the developer, and everyone supporting them, burn in eternal hell and damnation.

[BDA116]

Let me guess.............................Wal Mart?

No dems since the civil war, eh? Sounds like a good place to live.

[HondaGalToo]

Go get 'em!! About thirty years ago, the county condemned my Grandparents' 150 year old home, which had stood in the heart of the town since the town's beginning, reduced it to a pile of rubble, and put a road through. Then a strip mall, and many office buildings. I still live in this town, I'm the fifth generation of my family here, and what they've let developers do is an absolute sin.

Edit: My town is, and always has been (at least as far back as I can remember), run by Republicans.

[CBRVFR]

Originally Posted by luvtolean

May the developer, and everyone supporting them, burn in eternal hell and damnation.

Wow. Think that'll fit on a bumper sticker?

[Bacchus]

Originally Posted by CBRVFR

If I lose, my secondary goal is to make my opponents cry.

Haha! I like your spunk! I ALSO hope you win and can make a difference. Are you really ready for the "tilt-a-whirl" ride called politics?!

[Mo Noyz]

No dems since the civil war, eh? Sounds like a good place to live.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.......That sounds like heaven.

[CBRVFR]

Well, it isn't as if these guys are on George Will or William Safire's intellectual level as far as Conservatism.. They're only Republicans secondarily. First and foremost, they're bullies.

It's pretty unhealthy in my opinion for one party to get a free ride in a given election ( or within a specific group ) . There's no accountability and it tends to devolve into a good ol' boy's network. These guys have essentially shut off open public process, and have done so by controlling the local party so that they run unopposed by other Repubs.

When they piss people off, they call the sheriff in to 'control' and intimidate those who attend the board meetings. They express their sympathy to those who are aggrieved and go ahead and do whatever they want.

This is the first time they've faced any kind of organized opposition.

[ER]

Originally Posted by CBRVFR

Well, it isn't as if these guys are on George Will or William Safire's intellectual level as far as Conservatism.. They're only Republicans secondarily. First and foremost, they're bullies.

It's pretty unhealthy in my opinion for one party to get a free ride in a given election ( or within a specific group ) . There's no accountability and it tends to devolve into a good ol' boy's network. These guys have essentially shut off open public process, and have done so by controlling the local party so that they run unopposed by other Repubs.

When they piss people off, they call the sheriff in to 'control' and intimidate those who attend the board meetings. They express their sympathy to those who are aggrieved and go ahead and do whatever they want.

This is the first time they've faced any kind of organized opposition.

Yes, you're absolutely right. Ted Kennedy is the perfect example of a politician who enjoys a pretty much free ride, and look at the stunts he pulls. At a local level, it's even more dangerous.

Both parties can encroach on property rights. Read what Neal Boortz wrote:

EMINENT DOMAIN AGAIN ... LOOK WHAT THEY'VE DONE IN MICHIGAN

Here we go again.

A few weeks ago outraged citizens in Florida stopped a plan by politicians and developers to deprive them of their property rights. A bill in the Florida legislature would allow local governments to seize property from private owners and hand it over to developers ... all for a few more property tax dollars that would come from the developers more expensive projects. Florida voters got wind of the legislation .. and it was dead in two days.

Now let me tell you wnat they did in Michigan, and once again the moving force behind this rape of private property rights was a Republican. Republican State Rep. Andrew Richner introduced a bill that allowed local government acting in "the public interest" to condemn private property and hand it over to developers. In Michigan, unlike the Florida bill, the local government would have to declare the property "blighted" before it can be condemned. But the legislation was written in such a way that the property owner has virtually no way to challenge the designation.

In one way the Michigan bill, which was made law in 2002, was much worse than the the proposed Florida law. In Michigan the property could be seized from the private owner and just given ... not sold, but given to a developer. The rightful owner of the property then gets "just compensation" for his loss. "Just," as defined by government.

This assault on private property rights is happening across our nation. Developers who are tired of paying property owners fair market prices for tracts of land have discovered that they can use that one unique asset of government to cut corners and save big bucks. That asset is the legal authority to use force, deadly force if necessary, to achieve goals. Why would any developer ever negotiate with a property owner for the purchase of a tract of land if that developer can merely go to his friendly local politician and have the land seized?

There weren't enough concerned citizens and property owners in Michigan to stop this outrage, probably because there was nobody out there telling them what was about to happen. They didn't get the word, and the bill became law. Get motivated folks. If these hideous eminent domain laws aren't stopped now there will soon come a day when basic property rights will be memory of things past. The right to property necessarily includes the right not to sell that property to a developer if you don't wish to, or to demand a certain price if you do sell. Developers hate this ... and they're attacking you in the state legislatures.

Don't just sit there, do something!


Like I said, people won't do something about this until it is their property being confiscated. Realize, of course, that the government can (eventually) use deadly force to push you off of your property.

[luvtolean]

Originally Posted by CBRVFR

Well, it isn't as if these guys are on George Will or William Safire's intellectual level as far as Conservatism.. They're only Republicans secondarily. First and foremost, they're bullies.

It's pretty unhealthy in my opinion for one party to get a free ride in a given election ( or within a specific group ) . There's no accountability and it tends to devolve into a good ol' boy's network.

Yes, that is true. Of course, it's not just Republicans that are guilty of these sins. Diane Feinstein and Teddy Kennedy are further proof that "absolute power corrupts absolutely".

You are welcome to quote me directly anytime. We like to think of ourselves as a modern, enlightened society that's relatively uncorrupt. Things like this prove we aren't so good as we think we are. If this happened to me, I may end up in jail for the rest of my life if I did what I'd want to.