Editor’s note: Below is a guest op/ed submitted by Lee Hieb, MD the Libertarian candidate for Iowa Governor. As with all guest op/eds (and this really goes for articles written by regular contributors as well) comes a disclaimer. The views reflected in this op/ed are not necessarily those of Caffeinated Thoughts, its sponsors or its contributors.
By Lee D. Hieb, MD
You Trekkies out there remember the Borg, but for others I’ll summarize: in science fiction, the Borg was an empire of machines who moved through the galaxy gaining power by assimilating everything in their path. They would cow free human societies into being assimilated with the admonition “Resistance is Futile”. On the fringes were half assimilated humans who were part machine with some free will—but not much.
In the Governor’s race I find myself up against the Borg. After over 20 years in power the Branstad machine owns our electoral process. You may think he was opposed by the Democrats—you’d be wrong. The rarest mammal in North America is no longer the black-footed ferret; it is a Jack Hatch campaign worker. In Burlington—a Democrat town– during the last debate we noticed NO evidence of a Hatch campaign. In fact we have seen no signs state wide. This is understandable when you realize Hatch was never campaigning against the Gov but with him. Jack Hatch is in business with Branstad’s biggest campaign donor. Hatch is simply the D-side of the Borg. He was assimilated no doubt with promises to come, to at least to appear to give this election a pseudo-reality. (If I were a Dem and had given to the Hatch campaign I’d ask for my money back.)
Then there is Henninger—a sociology professor who has a name that starts with “H” and can be confused with Hoefling and even Hieb. It’s called ballot dilution. And the GOP Secretary of State conveniently allowed him to be on the ballot through some process that did not require getting the 1500 plus signatures we needed to provide. He is such a convincing candidate that he spelled Governor incorrectly on his website.
Don’t know about Jonathan Narcisse—seems nice enough, but seems to be campaigning more against me than the Gov so suspected Borg, not proven.
The Borg tried to buy me with promises of money during the next election cycle if I would just return to the fold like a good sheep. They seem not to comprehend that I am not doing this to get a job nor to simply win any political office.
It is no surprise that IPTV is part of the Borg since they get 44-49% of their funding from the state’s education fund. In spite of their ethics pronouncement to add diversity and to showcase lesser prominent ideas, they do just the opposite by excluding all third parties and independents from the public debate. They do this while hiding behind objective criteria—criteria established by Branstad administration hired and paid lawyers. And the Des Moines Register is one of those fringe Borg elements that occasionally acts with free will but for the most part ignores anyone who does not have a D or R in their title. Their thinning newspaper probably would go under if not for government paid mandatory publications. We have heard from at least one talk radio host that he is routinely warned not to criticize the governor. And KCCI admits to essentially selling interviews based on your spending with them. “Lets start the bidding for representative government at a million!”
What is surprising beyond words, and what cuts to my heart are those organizations that appear to be free of the Borg but are not. I thought Iowa Gun Owners were about the Second Amendment. They castigate any candidate who does not fill out their survey, but they wont survey you unless you have a D or R behind your name. So, I—a believer in Constitutional Carry (I have a Concealed Weapons Permit but given the Second Amendment why should we need one?), a Navy Veteran and Constitutionalist—was prohibited from taking the survey.
Iowa Right to Life Coalition just endorsed the Borg. Really? This is endorsing an administration that has brought you Common Core, a federal program which will take away your ability to effect your children’s curriculum, and promote values of relativism and big government over individual liberty—values antithetical to a moral society with intact families. This administration brought you Obamacare state exchanges which—besides increasing the cost of health care through his Wellmark buddies’ monopoly will ultimately usher in a culture of death. Government medicine is antithetical to moral respect for life. Government medicine devalues not only the unborn, but also children with disabilities, the elderly, the infirm and people with terminal diseases. I warned against accepting the state exchanges and against government medicine but this governor took it in like the Trojan Horse it is.
Iowa Right to Life’s endorsement is probably another case of good people either being taken in by words over deeds, or simply going with a “winner”, i.e. giving too much weight to the chance of actually being able to legislate. Unfortunately endorsing people based on their pocketbook reinforces sameness of thought and centralized power, i.e. it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is important to recognize that both major parties today employ Saul Alinsky’s dictum: The issue is never the issue; it’s all about gaining power. In spite of mouthing words like shrinking government, lowering taxes and reforming education, our governor has brought us the biggest budget increase in the state’s history, has only given tax breaks to a few big business cronies at the expense of main street Iowa, and enthusiastically welcomed Common Core standards. He may say he is the party of small government but he employs government to solve every problem. It is not enough to listen to platitudes. Recognize what the consequences of the Borg’s actions are. The Republicrats are about winning the next election, not about the long-term well being of the people of Iowa or the nation.
I for one, win lose or draw, will never again vote for unprincipled “viable candidates” who will sell my children’s future to special interests, and who will tax and regulate me, my children and unborn grandchildren into poverty and servitude. Consider what history has shown us over the last 70 years in Iowa—both parties have presided over a progressive whittling away at our freedom. Let it be said to those naysayers who think “Resistance is Futile” there are those of us out here on the fringe who are not in politics for personal power, who will not give up, and who are pledging our time (not yet our lives but that may someday come), our fortunes and our honor in the cause of liberty.
Lee D. Hieb MD is the Libertarian candidate running for Iowa Governor.