Presidential Tug-of-War Is Good for Liberty

by David Bardallis

It looks like Don Goreleone and the crime family known as the "Democrats" are trying to steal themselves a presidential election. They’ve dispatched a cloud of lawyers and politicos down to Florida and, true to the Clinton tactic of "legal spamming," will continue to file lawsuits, hold demonstrations, and babble about "the will of the people" until a beguiled nation awards Uncle Al his precious presidency.

Could this be the last peaceful transfer of power we enjoy in America? Are fair elections passe? From now on, will presidential aspirants and their factions conspire to off their rivals in the grand tradition of the Roman Emperors?

If so, lovers of liberty have reason to mourn for the final remnants of their beloved Western heritage, which includes the towering achievements of limited government and the rule of law. On the other hand, we Americans have always had a way of making lemonade out of lemons. Let’s look at this from another angle.

A government’s ability to rule relies on its citizens’ belief that its rule is legitimate. If Al Gore and his minions succeed in manipulating the election results to their favor, an incoming Gore administration will face the daunting prospect that at least half of the country – the half that voted for Bush – views it as illegitimate. Add to that half the millions who, out of disgust or indifference, didn’t bother to vote, as well as the third-party voters, and you have, perhaps for the first time, a majority of Americans who believe the federal government rules unlawfully. And with all of the alarums and excursions provided courtesy of the Democrats, a Bush administration might not have a much better time of it.

Of course, the federal government as presently constituted operates well beyond the bounds set for it in the U.S. Constitution and will continue to do so, no matter who sits in the White House come January. However, decade after decade of arbitrary edicts and capricious ukases from a largely unlimited government has resulted in a blooming consciousness among the American public that something is wrong.

One dramatic example of this rising consciousness comes to mind. Following the Oklahoma City bombing tragedy, every media talking head in the land could be seen screaming loudly for new federal powers to investigate and prosecute "right-wing terrorists." Even Rush Limbaugh was suddenly decried as an instigator of violence. After weeks of this ham-handed propaganda, an April 1995 Time/CNN poll found not only that 61 percent of respondents believed the government already had adequate power to investigate terrorism, but a majority--52 percent – believed that "the federal government has become so powerful that it poses a threat to the rights and freedoms of citizens."

I don’t put much stock in polls, but nevertheless I continue to find these results noteworthy. In the face of the largest, most hysterical propaganda campaign against political conservatives that I can remember, the propaganda outlets’ own polls still seemed to be showing that majorities weren’t buying what they were selling. Even more importantly, the polls seemed to be showing plenty of people willing to say what I bet even more are thinking: the government has overstepped its bounds and is out of control.

So let the political class bicker and argue over their latest "constitutional crisis." The more they publicly break the rules while making fools of themselves, the more ordinary Americans will realize just how ridiculous it is to trust any of them with the large amounts of power and authority that we’ve ceded to them over the years.

Either way this electoral cookie crumbles, it looks like the real winner could yet be liberty.

November 18, 2000

David Bardallis is co-editor of LexNatura.Net, a conservative, Catholic journal of politics and culture.