Charles Shiflett Column June 19, 2005

Who Is The Party Of Choice?

During my college freshman year, I wrote for our school newspaper. Since I was a music junkie, I
landed an assignment doing my then dream job of writing record reviews. My musical tastes range
from extremely weird to the obscure, so no surprise that my first piece was about Devo's debut
release. Devo was unknown at the time, and to say they were weird would have been an
understatement.

Despite the fact they wore red flowerpots on their heads and yellow rubber suits, they did crank out
some memorable tunes. One of their later albums contained a minor hit entitled "Freedom of Choice."
There's a line in that song that still cracks me up every time I hear it.

"In ancient Rome, there was a poem, about a dog who found two bones… he picked at one and
licked the other… he went in circles till he dropped dead." Sometimes I think modern Democrats have
been listening to this Devo cut. They seem to be of the opinion that giving Americans choice in their
lives could be dangerous.

But aren't Democrats the party of choice you ask? Only if you're discussing abortion it seems.
Otherwise, choice seems to be a nasty word that ranks up there with other liberal taboo words like
"tax cuts" or "personable responsibility".

For many years Republicans, Libertarians, and Constitutionalists have proposed various expansions of
individual liberties only to be thwarted by the donkey gang at every turn as Democrats continue their
appeal to society's lowest common denominator by playing the class warfare game.

Here are some areas where conservatives and liberals part company… conservatives believe in equal
opportunity for all. Regardless of race or sex everyone should be treated equally under the law. The
harder and smarter you work, the more you will prosper. It's a simple concept. The ability to reap the
rewards of one's labor brings out the best in people.

Instead of equal opportunity, liberals believe in equal results for all. In donkey land, it's all about good
intentions. They'll claim it's not fair that Jack earns $100,000 per year while Joe works the same forty
hours a week but only earns $30,000. Never mind that Jack earned an advanced degree and worked
harder to get where he is, while Joe didn't develop marketable job skills and has never done more than
put in his forty hours and head home.

In freedom land, Republicans would work to insure that Joe legally has the same rights and
opportunities as Jack, but it would be up to Joe to make it happen. In donkey land, Democrats would
try to increase Jack's taxes to fund government giveaways for Joe.

In freedom land, all retirement accounts would be individually owned. If you change employers, your
account would be yours to take with you. If you die before using up all your retirement funds, your
heirs would receive the balance. In donkey land, retirement accounts (i.e. Social Security) would be
owned by the government. When you die, your heirs would receive nothing.

In freedom land, individuals would have personal health savings accounts (HSA's) coupled with a bare
bones catastrophic coverage major medical insurance plan. If you take care of yourself and only go to
the doctor when necessary, funds that would have gone to pay for more expensive traditional health
insurance would instead accumulate in an HSA that you would own and could either use for other
purposes or pass to your heirs.

In donkey land, everyone would have equal coverage under a government operated universal (one size
fits all) Hillary Clinton style health plan. Can you say Canada? Don't worry; the wait for a routine MRI
would only be six months.

In freedom land, parents would have the ability to send their children to the school of their choice…
private, religious, or home school. Just as you can have it your way at Burger King, you would be able
to select an education plan that would be the best fit for your family.

In donkey land, all children would attend a one size fits all public school. No prayer at ball games, no
religious instruction, and very little choice in curriculum. Live in a bad school district? Too bad, your
child suffers.

Here's the question of the day… would you prefer to live in freedom land? Or would you rather live in
donkey land? Personally I'd like to choose my own wardrobe. Red flowerpots and yellow rubber suits
just aren't very flattering.