George Rebane
George Boardman, our favorite Union columnist, writes in the 17sep18 edition (here) of the newspaper and shares another important worldview held by the country’s progressives. He starts with an expected dunning of our Republican congressmen Doug LaMalfa and Tom McClintock who refused to attend a candidate’s forum held by the League of Women Voters. For years now the LWV has morphed itself from an assiduously non-partisan voter information organization into an active arm of the country’s progressive movement under Democratic Party leadership. Such ‘candidates’ forums’ have turned out to be nothing but leftwing propaganda events showcasing hit jobs on their opposition candidates and issues. Why attend such an event on purpose?
What Mr Boardman misreports is that Congressman LaMalfa “boycotts” Nevada County. That simply is not true given his considerable attendance record supporting Republican sponsored events at which all county residents are welcomed to attend, hear his report, and question their representative.
But the real worldview, that comes out in the column, is how progressives view taxation as a zero-sum game. It’s hard to tell whether or not they are really naïve enough to believe that if one government jurisdiction (say, the county) levies taxes of a given amount/rate, then another government jurisdiction (say, the state) will somehow be inhibited from also getting their pound of flesh from the taxpayer. He makes that point viz the history of Prop13, claiming that since that proposition limited the local jurisdictions’ ability to arbitrarily continue raising property taxes, it then fell to the state to take up the taxation slack. Mr Boardman’s point being that had Prop13 not placed such inhibitions on local taxation, then the state would have demurred and diminished its rapacity for continuing to raise taxes. It would be interesting to discover how many of our left-leaning citizens join Mr Boardman in his embrace of such a charming fable.
Another progressive perspective, contributed by a Mr William Larsen, is the more familiar one advocating open borders and a ‘y’all come, regardless …’ immigration policy. In his 17sep18 Union column Mr Larsen interprets this century-plus message on the Statue of Liberty as our mandated perennial and correct policy toward all who have let their homelands become what in today’s vernacular would qualify as 'shithole countries'. Anything else, he informs us, would be considered an utterly racist national response that favors the white skins of Europe over the black and brown skins from the south. The deeper understanding of this perspective is that America is immune to becoming a shithole country no matter how many people we permit/invite in from countries that have already suffered that fate at their hands and the hands of their fellow citizens and cultural cohorts.
Mr Larsen also shares with us an unfortunate incident he suffered when returning from a local political demonstration with a sign he displayed. Apparently some aggrieved worthy on the right thought he was an illegal alien, one of those who today unabashedly join such left-sponsored demonstrations, and told him to “Take your sign and go home!” Understandably Mr Larsen, who is a veteran, was a bit miffed and replied, “I am home. I am a veteran.” But then, awash in guilt and self-opprobrium, he goes on a soul-searching pilgrimage, “reflecting on that short interchange, I couldn't help noticing how I had ranked myself as having some special status because I'm a vet. My comment made it seem that being a veteran gives one an enhanced claim to call this country "home," and I was embarrassed at my arrogant assumption of privilege.” Here Mr Larsen communicates the clear message that America should be home to its veterans, those who have manned the ramparts of their homeland, and equally home to the illegal alien who by hook or by crook has managed get across our border and into some privileged sanctuary status among us.
