RINO Crossing @ www.ontheborderline.net Or Bye, Bye Bi-Partisan

Community: A group of people living in the same locality and under the same government; society as a whole; the public.

Meth: A highly addictive and powerful stimulant that can be made in rudimentary labs with ordinary household ingredients. Many states are struggling to keep up with its explosive growth. Wisconsin is one of them.

We are all part of a community. Like it or not, we all have to learn to live together. Politics are the method by which members of communities blend and compromise their differences and learn to live together. In a community build within the framework of democracy, there must be more give and take than take it or leave it.

A recent example of the political community coming together to deal with a serious problem in our community -- local, county and state -- was the passage of Wisconsin Senate Bill 78. SB 78 requires citizens to present identification when purchasing ingredients used in the production of methamphetamine. Products with pseudo-ephedrine, a key ingredient in the production of meth, will be placed behind a pharmacist's counter. The bill requires that pseudo-ephedrine can only be sold by a pharmacist or someone working under the direction of a pharmacist. The bill limits the amount of pseudo-ephedrine a citizen could purchase in a 30-day period.

In short, the passing of SB78 was an important step in working to fight a deadly epidemic invading our community -- local, county, state. Western Wisconsin is ground zero of Wisconsin's battle against the meth. Below is a glimpse at what the results of meth use looks like.

Two of the main drivers behind the passage of SB78 are two local Republicans, Senator Sheila Harsdorf and Representative Kitty Roades. The bill was signed in Hudson by Democratic Governor Jim Doyle

At the signing, Wisconsin Governor Doyle said that while methamphetamine use, production, and distribution are serious problems statewide, Western Wisconsin - including St. Croix County and its surrounding areas - has borne the brunt of the problem. St. Croix County submitted 300 cases of meth to the State Crime Lab over the last six years. In comparison, Milwaukee County, which has a population 13 times larger, had less than 40 cases.

"As Attorney General, I worked in close collaboration with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials to meet the challenges posed by this dangerous and destructive drug," Governor Doyle said. "As Governor, I am happy today to provide law enforcement and community leaders with an additional tool to prevent methamphetamine use." Governor Doyle thanked Senators Sheila Harsdorf and Bob Jauch and Representatives Kitty Rhoades for their hard work on the bill.

About the meth epidemic and the need for the passage of SB 78, our local state lawmakers had this to say:

"We are working with our friends in the Minnesota Legislature to send a very clear message to meth dealers that we will get you coming and going. We will not tolerate meth in our communities, and this legislation is a critical tool in combating this social disease."
Rep. Kitty Rhoades (R-Hudson)

"The alarming trend in the use and manufacture of meth in Northwest Wisconsin is having a devastating impact -- destroying lives, increasing crime, and placing huge costs on taxpayers. We must send a loud message that meth users and pushers are not welcome in Wisconsin."
Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-River Falls)

You would think the type of bi-partisan, legislative work would put lawmakers in a good light in the local politcal scene. That is not the case. Over at the www.ontheborderline.net blog site, such community-focused work didn't seem to shed a positive light on Sheila and Kitty. Governor Doyle signed the bill on June 6. It didn't take the OTBL'ers long to show their feelings about such bi-partisanship. Here's a sample of their comments:

On 6/26/05, Luke posted: "I believe Sheila is known in Madison as a RINO. If any of you don't know what that means- Republican In Name Only."

On 7/12/05, Taxboy posted: "This is the type of hypocrisy that we've come to expect from our representatives in Madison. Both Kitty Rhoades and Sheila Harsdorf are well known within the halls of Madison as being a couple of the biggest RINO's in the state."

On 7/17/05, BillD stressed the OTBL'ers motto that it's their way or your road kill on their highway: "The fact that real wealth is the accumulation and complete safety of private property is of little consequence to the gang of looters who are merely interested in government's role in confiscating private property in the pursuit of creating jobs, and growing the size and scope of government. It should not be surprising that a by-product of such intervention is the taking of your real wealth to accomplish it, and I would suggest that this is not simply a by-product but rather a desired social outcome for many on the liberal left (as well as the RINO muddled ground)."

On 7/22/05, BillD corrected himself: "Did I say RINO's? Sorry about that (such sarcasm drives the self-righteous so-called Republicans here in Wisconsin ballistic)."

On 8/22/05, Blacklab gives a glimpse how he feels about bi-partisanship: "I've always felt that Sheila has a stong work ethic, and should she lose an election she'd be back on the farm working. To Kitty, this is a paycheck with benefits, she's a schmoozer."

Hopefully people in this community are starting to understand what the likes of the OTBL'ers aren't about. They are not about working together with the community. My guess is that the "community" shares too much similarity with the word "communist." It's pretty clear that bi-partisanship is road they won't be travelling soon -- unless they are doing the surveying, staking out the road, paving the asphalt, collecting the tolls and checking the IDs of all dare cross the borderline into their politcal twilight zone -- a zone where there is no gray, compromise or middle ground.

A firm illustration of this can be seen in this 9/26 post by the OTBL Admin:

"Go along to get along. Find the common ground. The world is not black and white, it is gray. Compromise. Be moderate. We have heard all these phrases before. Well I think a moderate is nothing more than someone who does not understand or is too afraid to stand up for what they believe in. So how do we find middle ground? We can't....So, where is there middle ground? There isn't any. "

OTBLer ChoosingLife adds the following comment to Admin's post:

"Straddling the fence of fiscal responsibility, moral and social responsibility surely brings out the gray area in many RINOs and other political parties. Beware those who compromise -- for any reason! There is no middle ground in either social or fiscal responsibility. "

In Admin's post, titled "There's No Middle Ground," he points out that others say the US is an invader in Iraq and he says the US is a liberator. Isn't that exactly what democracy is all about? Aren't we over in Iraq trying to spread the virtues of democracy? Aren't we trying to liberate Iraq because Saddam ran a brutal dictatorship where there was no middle ground? It was his way or the graveyard. Isn't the whole idea for our military excursion into Iraq to open up a political gray zone in the Middle East that provides fertile ground for democracy to grow and overtake the deadly weeds of religious fanaticism and intolerance and dictatorial brutality and oppression.

Voters in this community -- local, county, state and national -- need to pay attention to what the OTBL'ers are saying. They always mention the "Constitution," but rarely do they mention "democracy." The reason is self-evident. The "Constitution" is our Founding Fathers' black and white version of a Power Point presentation on this nation's ground rules of operation. "Democracy" is the gritty, gray area where the Constitution's Power Points get converted into the detailed reality we call everyday life in these United States of America.

We had the Constitution when genocide was a accepted practice used against the American Indians. We had the Constitution when Black people from Africa where being imported to be slaves. We had the Constitutional when segregation was the law. We had the Constitution when federal and state troops were killing unarmed, US citizens who were striking to feed their starving families. We had a Constitution long before we had child labor laws. We had the Constitution before women, minorities and non-property owning White males could vote.

So when the OTBL'ers Admin says: "You believe that the United States constitution is a living document and that it should be reinterpreted by the Supreme Court to follow the sentiment of modern society. I believe that almost all aspects of the constitution have been settled and it is the Supreme Court's job to uphold it, not interpret it."

Based on the history of the United States, the US Supreme Court rulings and the interpretations of the Constitution, I would ask the OTBL'ers what do you mean by "middle ground" and I would tell them to check the cover on whatever history book they are reading to make sure the title includes the words "United States."