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Let's look at the chart. Yawn factor in recent presidential races, sorted by year
Does anybody see a pattern? No? Don't see it? Well, how 'bout this chart then? Yawn factor in recent presidential races, sorted by yawn factor
This 
does not need to be the fate of the American electorate this year.
It does not need to be your fate. It won't be mine. I'm preparing to pack up and hit the road, to spread excitement about Campaign 2004, and work hard to fire up the dissident and independent voters-- encouraging people to stand up against the two status quo parties. How? By supporting the Aaron Russo for President campaign. There is a huge constituency in this country that will rise up and seize the opportunity to vote for someone as independent and refreshing as Aaron Russo, if only we can break through the political glass ceiling, and help him create an energized and unprecedented peaceful uprising. It's the longest of long shots to imagine that he might win, but it's not at all outrageous to imagine that his campaign could serve as a catalyst and turbo-charger for change by forcing attention to the truly fundamental issues facing our country:
The Bipartisans hypnotize the county into giving them a free pass, election after election-- and almost without fail, we line up like sheep and give our preferred 'lesser of two evils" a free pass that he didn't earn. Hey, here's a thought -- why don't we stop doing that? Why don't we put the brakes on the Bipartisan con that is selling out the futures of our grandchildren, and their grandchildren? What are we, a bunch of wusses? Not I. When election season comes around, I fight back. I find the best available choice to stand up to those two hosers and call them on their false promises and financial sleight-of-hand. I find the person who stands most vividly and consistently in opposition to the forces that are working to smother liberty and amass power. I look for the person who's most able and willing to stand up effectively for my rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and who, if elected, would do the most to return the portion of those rights that have been taken away, back to me, and to every other individual in the country. I find that person, and I do what I can to support that person (within reason, and within the bounds of my belief in his or her prospects for succeeding.) This year, as I look at the available presidential candidates, it's clear that Aaron Russo is that person. Aaron will go all out to run a high-visibility campaign, and he has the credentials to do so. While he's not exactly a national celebrity, he has a very useful sort-of second-hand name recognition, in that he has produced movies or been involved with performers or won awards that everybody is aware of and can understand. So he's not nobody, and he is a successful person who has achieved major executive-level successes, and has managed large-scale budgets (which have come in on time and under budget). He's charismatic, he's a passionate and effective orator, and he's able to be angry, and thoughtful, and funny, and real. And he's a libertarian, which means (with a non-critical exception that I'll get to at another time), he will be dedicated to turning this country back toward the path of liberty-- which is the path that the founding fathers originally intended to set this country upon. It is the path that has drawn generations of immigrants here from all over he world to create and become this nation of freedom that we are. But anyone who's paying attention knows that we have become a nation of less freedom in the past 4 years-- and it's not just the terrorists who are to blame for that. Our government is-- and we are to blame as well, because we have not stood up effectively enough on behalf of ourselves and following generations. This election is our chance to stand up -- and if you think that electing John Kerry is going to accomplish that, you're falling for the same trick that has gotten Democrats and Republicans elected repeatedly in this country, long after they've ceased to be useful to us. As the saying goes, "Fool me once-- shame on you. Fool me twice -- shame on me." Fool us every four years, for our entire lives? Shame on us! So why don't you stop sitting there reading my rant, and start sitting there supporting my effort to get on the road spreading magical political pixie dust around the nation? Or at the very least, go check out Aaron Russo's website, where you can see for yourself why he's not your ordinary third-party candidate. (Then go do the donating-to-my-Russo-pixie-dust-road-trip thing.) Or, read my sidebar pitch over to the right there (you can get to the top of it by clicking here). (And then you know what.) |
The Two "Major" Parties would like you to think that the presidential race boils down to "The Democrats vs. The Republicans", or In other words, they want this to be just another election, like almost every election before it. But we don't have to fall for it. John Kerry, who voted for the USA-PATRIOT Act, is going to act like he's concerned about preserving civil liberties. George Bush, who is our biggest spending president in nearly 40 years, is going to act like he's fiscally responsible. And they're going to want you to suck it up and vote for the "lesser of two evils". And you probably will do just that. But in the meantime, shouldn't we make them work for it? They are going to try and finagle a few million "swing voters" into going their way, assuming the rest of the country will act like it generally does-- i.e., half of the people not voting, and most of the rest voting down partisan lines. So they are going to appeal to a slice of people in select target states, and they're going to pander to them with promises of empowerment and special treatment. And the disaffected majority of people in this country will get the short shrift. The dynamic power of Internet politics will be reduced to facilitating a nationwide virtual slugfest between the two power bases that are struggling to rule our country. And little to nothing will change in the next four years. Unless... Unless we poke a stick in the fire, and start stirring. It's unquestionable that a huge portion of this country is completely dissatisfied with the Bipartisans and what they've done with the responsibilities we've given them. And it's a forgone conclusion that unless something changes, this election is going to come down to a false choice between two people who are on the same team-- the team of the powerful and the status quo. Don't let the War in Iraq or the so-called War on Terror fool you-- both of the "major" candidates want more of the same--namely, power. They just want it in different shapes, and at different speeds. Like I said before, you are probably going to vote for one of those two anyway, and I understand that. But don't those two deserve to be challenged? Look at the noisemakers that have occupied the third slot in the races above-- haven't they contributed something worthwhile to the race, just by bringing in challenging viewpoints, and by making the Bipartisans work a little harder? The Yawn Factor doesn't lie: the answer is clearly, "Yes they have." As a politically interested populace (which you're part of, if you've gotten this far), we owe it to ourselves to make sure the presidential election has challenge to it. We owe it to our fellow citizens to make the election exciting, so that people see a reason to bother getting involved. (A better reason than "Bush is evil" or "liberals suck".) "Well, Lance," you're thinking. "You know, you're absolutely correct and really cool, but whatever are we to do? Howard Dean flopped, and Ross Perot's out of the picture. And everybody but Ralph Nader knows that Ralph Nader is not the magic weapon. (Just look at the charts!) If we were going to shake things up-- not that we're considering it, but let's just say --we'd need a charismatic and provocative standard-bearer who would fearlessly stand up and speak truth to power-- and make news doing it. And I just don't see anyone like that on the playing field." Presenting...Aaron Russo. You may not have heard of him, but you've been affected by him. He's played a part in the careers of entertainment legends like Led Zeppelin, Bette Midler, Eddie Murphy, and many more. He's been a manager of careers and clubs, and is a movie producer whose films have garnered six Academy Award nominations. He's a former candidate for governor of Nevada who... |
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