04/15/2006: "The Republican's Grand Plan"

To the Editor:

Response to John Evans' recent letter and to most of the stable of right-wing columnists in The Island Guardian (Ron Keeshan & Bill Weissinger being the notable exceptions)

In case it's not obvious to readers of the Island Guardian, here's the battle plan of the Republican development interests who are, as usual, pushing to open up the county for no holds barred development.

● Use the non-partisan election aspect of the new Charter and once again push for freedom of choice and property rights. Republicans hope to sneak in here as non-partisan champions of freedom. It's worth quoting Will and Ariel Durant here: "Freedom, in the symbols of the rich, means freedom from restraint in the exploitation of the poor."
● Discredit the sitting Council, using Council citizens' access time and letters and columns in the local media to get their point across. The full-page ads will come later. This is totalitarian capitalism, as defined by (the other) Guardian columnist, George Monbiot, where any and all resources are brought to bear on any visible threat to profit.
● Complain that the Council should stick to county business and not address national problems, such as the proposed ballot measure to demand immediate withdrawal of our troops from Iraq. Note that they will never say that they approve of the Iraq war, since they know the overwhelming majority in the county is against it. I urge these people to have the courage of their convictions and state their reasons why they support Bush and the war effort. They might as well say so now, because, if they plan to run for public office, they will be asked that question in every public candidates' forum they attend.

On the letters and columns coming out against the Housing Bank, it seems that any attempt to help the lower income segment of society is bad, if it doesn't have a built-in plan to benefit the private business sector. A recent column ( Falling Into The Jackson Hole) pointed to Jackson Hole, Wyoming as an example of what will happen in the county if the Housing Bank ordinance is passed. Based on my personal experience, Jackson Hole is a fortress of republican money; it is a world-class ski resort and tourist destination for Yellowstone and Grand Teton Parks; and a few rich people run the town and the area. Vice-president Cheney's official non-DC residence is Jackson Hole. I have had some professional experience with Jackson Hole in trying to fix problems with the Snake River migrating into million-dollar waterfront lots. The "citizens" got the Corps of Engineers to fix the problem at the expense of the riverine environment and for the benefit of the riverfront lots. "Citizens" being the rich Republicans that got the government to override the objections of the Corps of Engineers (essentially my objections) and do something that they would never ordinarily approve. One could say that money that could have been used in the 90's to raise the levees in New Orleans was used instead to protect rich republicans' Jackson Hole investments.

On asking for an apology from Councilperson Lichter for calling the guest house vote "bogus," Lichter need not apologize for speaking the truth. I was there and witnessed the endless fiddling with the wording of the ballot language to elicit the desired response so that no one, except the unwashed and unsaved, could possibly vote against it.

You should all be ashamed of yourselves for trying to sneak in your no-government, private profit agenda once again. Go back to your villas. No one is going to vote for you.

Tom Munsey
San Juan Island