Friends and voters ask me all the time why I chose to leave the GOP. The answer was that I finally came to realize that the 2-party system is not about the American people anymore. The people have been forgotten. The 2-party system is only about politicians acquiring power. The American people don't matter anymore (to the politicians). The constitution doesn't matter (to the politicians). Both Republicans and Democrats want only one thing: the power to control your life! My goal is very different- I don't want the power. I want to be elected as President of the United States to return the power back to you- the American people.
Over recent years, it dawned on me that there is very little difference between the politicians and elected officials of the 2 major parties. They are willing to do anything, say anything, bribe anyone, condemn and prosecute anyone- even innocent people or victimless crimes- to achieve their power. The best example of this in recent times has to be New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. Spitzer is one of those power-hungry, moral-crusading, hypocritical politicians willing to prosecute anyone, humiliate anyone, or destroy anyone to garner headlines, boost his ego and fulfill his grand ambitions. Like most politicians, he relishes power and the opportunity to prove that he has it- and the rest of us don't. And because he has that power, he thinks he can play by a different set of rules than you or me.
Spitzer- before becoming Governor (as Attorney General of New York) made a habit of garnering headlines by busting "dangerous" criminals such as Wall Street executives accused of minor misconduct or conflicts of interest; credit card companies and payment processors that accepted money on behalf of online poker enthusiasts; and prostitution rings. Spitzer railed against the evils of prostitution in press conferences as he vowed to throw the book at prostitutes and anyone dirty enough to be involved in such a despicable business. So guess who just alledgedly got caught in a criminal scandal involving prostitution? None other than New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. The same guy who garnered headlines by prosecuting minor victimless crimes like online poker and prostitution. That Elliott Spitzer.
The same guy who went after minor misconduct on Wall Street with such gusto and glee- that he treated Wall Street executives like murderers (before they were even proven guilty of minor misconduct). The same guy who went after financial companies that merely allowed consumers to wire money to online poker sites- and demanded millions of dollars from those financial companies as "legal extortion" to stop further prosecution.
Yes, that same over-zealous bully has allegedly been involved with an illegal prostitution ring. Wait, it gets better. It is rumored that he was caught on tape by a federal wiretap. Ironically, it's my educated guess that Spitzer is one of those politicians that enthusiastically supports warrantless wiretaps. Perhaps we should force him to take the infamous "perp walk" in handcuffs in front of TV cameras. Perhaps we should ruin his life over a private decision involving a victimless crime- just as he's chosen to ruin so many others without an afterthought. If the humiliation of a public "perp walk" (with TV news cameras rolling) was good enough for Wall Street executives accused of minor misconduct, why not our good Governor Spitzer?
Libertarians like me can only laugh and shake our heads at the hypocrisy. Afterall, here we have a "holier than thou" ethics crusader- a man named by Time Magazine as "Crusader of the Year."
Yet he may be guilty of criminal activity himself- with the same victimless crimes he has blown out of proportion to garner headlines again and again. But of course powerful Democrat and Republican politicians like Eliot Spitzer think they're above the law. They think they can get away with making the same private choices for which they'd throw the book (and the entire justice system) at us for doing.
What is the moral of this moral-less story? Never trust government. Never trust politicians or government bureaucrats. Never trust moral crusaders. Never let others define morality for you. Because the people doing the crusading and defining and prosecuting often have an agenda, an out of control ego, and an outsized sense of entitlement. They certainly do not have your best interests in mind. Ambitious and vicious politicians like Elliott Spitzer only have Elliott Spitzer on their minds. And they would not think twice about prosecuting you for the exact same minor misconduct, or conflict of interest, or private choices that they make all the time.
The lesson we should all learn from the demise of Eliot Spitzer is that it's time to take America and our government back from the 2 major parties- who have forgotten that they work at the behest of the taxpayers. It's time to vote for a third party candidate who wants to give the power back to you- the people. Our wise Founding Fathers wrote about power of the people, by the people, for the people. Not power for only the morally-corrupt, power-hungry, ego-driven, hypocritical politicians and government bureaucrats.
It's time to vote Libertarian to stop the hypocrisy, the double standards, and the over-zealous prosecutions that have nothing to do with morality, but everything to do with publicity. Eliot Spitzer should not have to resign for his own personal choice of pleasure, but he most certainly should be forced to resign for his hypocrisy, arrogance, power-hungry sense of entitlement, and most importantly, for the damage he's done to the lives of others by prosecuting victimless crimes- the same ones he now stands accused of. It's time to turn the tables. It's time to take the power back- just as our Founding Fathers envisioned. It's time to throw the bums out. We should start with Eliot Spitzer. But unfortunately he's only a small start.
Wayne Allyn Root is a Libertarian Presidential candidate. For more about Wayne and his bold stands on important political issues, go to: www.WayneROOT.com
