1. Demopublicans vs. Republicrats • Elk Ranch Tragedy • Determined to Win • Rediscovering America’s Heroes
November 13, 2006
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5. 12
Vol. 22, No. 23 November 13, 2006
COVER STORY
ELECTIONS
12 Demopublicans vs. Republicrats
Design by Cathy Spoehr
by Gary Benoit — The record shows that there is little difference in
substance between the national Republican and Democratic parties.
FEATURES
PROPERTY RIGHTS 17
Photo Rex & Lynda Rammell
Photo Rex & Lynda Rammell
17 Idaho’s Elk Ranch Tragedy
by Dennis Behreandt — After dozens of elk escaped from his
ranch, Rex Rammell witnessed their state-sponsored slaughter.
20 American Liberty at Risk 20
by Rex Rammell, DVM, MS — Elk rancher Rex Rammell is issuing a
wake-up call to all Americans that their freedoms are imperiled.
25
THE JOHN BIRCH SOCIETY
22 Determined to Win
“We can never win … unless the promise of what we can build
supplies more motivation than the terror of what we must destroy.” 22
TECHNOLOGY
25 The Japanese Robot Revolution
by Dennis Behreandt — Japanese scientists are pushing hard to
develop advanced androids and integrate them into human society.
CULTURAL CURRENTS 28
AP
28 Can Outrage and Optimism Coexist?
by Vic LeClair III — Most of us Americans harp on the things that 30 34
bother us, but can we balance political discontent with optimism?
BOOK REVIEW
Library of Congress
30 Rediscovering America’s Heroes
by Dennis Behreandt — Countering the war on masculinity, Real
Men by R. Cort Kirkwood recovers man’s glorious heroic past.
AP
HISTORY — STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM
34 Betrayal “Made in the U.S.A.”
by John F. McManus — Fifty years ago, Hungary’s brave stand DEPARTMENTS
against Soviet tyranny failed because of U.S. government betrayal.
5 Letters to 33 The Goodness
THE LAST WORD the Editor of America
44 Bad Dealings With North Korea
by William F. Jasper
7 Inside Track 41 Exercising the Right
11 QuickQuotes 43 Correction, Please!
COVER Design by Cathy Spoehr

6. Virtue is a choice.
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7. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Publisher
John F. McManus
Editor
Terrorists Winning fills our jails, and poisons innocent people in
Gary Benoit Yes, the terrorists are winning (“Are the foreign lands. Yet thanks to the black mar-
Terrorists Winning?” September 18 issue). ket (the free market driven underground by
Senior Editor President Bush laid out a clear plan for ex- government regulation), drugs are available
William F. Jasper acting revenge for those responsible for the everywhere, including inside prisons and in
cowardly attack of September 11. But the schools. The economic cost and the moral
Copy Editor
bleeding hearts coupled with the politically cost of freedom would be far less than that
Kurt Williamsen
correct crowd have blocked his efforts at of government intervention.
Contributors every turn. Lysander Spooner wrote in “Vices are not
Dennis J. Behreandt For the record, I too support the First and Crimes” that “Vices are those acts by which
Christopher S. Bentley Fourth Amendments, as well as civil liber- a man harms himself or his property. Crimes
Steven J. DuBord ties, but we’ll have no civil liberties if we’re are those acts by which one man harms the
Thomas R. Eddlem
Jodie Gilmore
dead. person or property of another.” If we are not
William P. Hoar I wish these obstructionists would realize free to harm ourselves, then we are not free
Warren Mass extraordinary times require extraordinary at all.
Michael E. Telzrow measures. Thank God these restrictions DAVE SEELY
Joe Wolverton II, J.D. weren’t in play during World War II. St. George, Utah
Al-Qaeda and its minions have vowed to
Editorial Assistant
destroy the civilized world. Will it take an-
Ann Shibler
other 9/11 to make everyone understand the Global Warming
Art Director threat? I thoroughly enjoyed and agreed with the
Joseph W. Kelly HAROLD JOHN COMPPEN articles on global warming (September 18
Fair Lawn, New Jersey issue) by Dennis Behreandt, wherein he
Desktop Publishing Specialist
suggested that solar activity is to blame for
Steven J. DuBord
the alleged rise in the “earth temperature,” a
Research
Libertarianism questionable parameter to begin with.
Mary Benoit In a September 18, 2006 letter to the edi- Let us not forget that back in 1975 sci-
Brian T. Farmer tor, reader Randy Miehls comments that entists were gloomily predicting a new ice
Bonnie M. Gillis “conservatives” and libertarians agree on age, apparently unaware of the rise in global
the free-market approach to government. temperatures taking place in about that
Marketing
Larry Greenley Allow me to clarify. Economic freedom same range of years, according to the new
George R. Kotalik has proven itself to be the most efficient “hockey stick” graph, as best as I can read
John H. Nelson method of dispensing scarce resources. it. Why were they then predicting a new ice
Government intervention and meddling in age when the graph clearly indicates what
Web Manager the economic market limit choices, criminal- is now regarded as an alarming rise in Earth
Brian Witt
ize peaceful exchanges, and require further temperatures?
Advertising/Circulation meddling. Market corrections are made in a The case for anthropogenic global warming
Julie DuFrane free market through the millions of decisions necessarily rests upon the presumptions that
made by consumers every day. Efficiency is (1) the sun is an isotropic and isochronous ra-
rewarded with profitability. I believe that this diator, and (2) that the energy density of space,
is what we agree on. filled with electromagnetic radiation across
Mr. Miehls realizes that economic prob- the entire electromagnetic spectrum from tril-
lems are self-correcting, yet somehow he lions of cosmic radiators, is a constant. Both
Printed in the U.S.A. • ISSN 0885-6540
P.O. Box 8040 • Appleton, WI 54912 does not believe that social or moral areas of these propositions are preposterous, and as
920-749-3784 • 920-749-3785 (fax) are self-correcting. He demands moral guid- a result, one must be led to the conclusion put
www.thenewamerican.com ance in the form of vice laws. Would not the forward in your article that any heating of the
Rates are $39 per year (Hawaii and Canada, moral free market also contain the same type Earth, and there may be some evidence that
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(Hawaii and Canada, add $4.50; foreign, add of automatic corrections as the economic free such is taking place, is due to cosmic influ-
$13.50). Copyright ©2006 by American Opin- market? Is not life itself a scarce resource to ences, about which we can do nothing.
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THE NEW AMERICAN is pub-
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Birch Society.
of dollars, tears family members apart, over- Letters may be edited for space and clarity.
THE NEW AMERICAN • NOVEMBER 13, 2006 5

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9. Inside Track
OPEC’s Cuts Mean No Oil Shortage
On October 20, OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries, announced that 10 of its members would “reduce pro-
duction by an amount of 1.2 million barrels a day, from current
production of about 27.5 million barrels a day, to 26.3 million
barrels a day, effective 1st November 2006.” The move comes
after the price of oil declined steeply over the past few weeks.
Bloomberg News, reporting on October 23, noted: “Prices have
plunged 25 percent from the record of $78.40 a barrel reached
July 14.” Both the rapid plunge in prices and the OPEC decision
to cut production prove conclusively that the previous high oil
prices were not due to a shortage of oil.
AP
In a condition where the supply of a commodity exceeds de-
mand, the price for the commodity must fall. That is just what has In fact, wrote Raymond J. Learsy, author of the book Over a
been happening with oil. There never was a shortage of oil, per Barrel: Breaking the Middle East Oil Cartel, “something unusual
se. The shortages were in refined fuels and were made possible happened. Not only did the spot market prices not go up, they
because of a series of bad policy decisions that have, over the actually fell by $l.68/bbl or 2.7%! For once the oil consuming
years, led to reduced refinery capacity and laws calling for the public long conditioned these past years to react with Pavlovian
production of relatively small batches of “boutique fuels” tailored obedience to every OPEC and oil industry’s pronouncement that
to small geographical markets. That there was and still remains peak oil is at hand, that oil will soon be running out, has, at last,
enough crude oil is reflected in the fact that oil prices continued taken a different tack. Why? I believe the market is finally recog-
to fall even after the OPEC announcement. nizing that oil at current levels is not scarce.”
Pleistocene America
There are no cheetahs running wild in Stolzenberg described as “several so-
Arizona. For ecologist C. Josh Don- bering premises,” including: “That
lan of the Department of Ecology and human influence had utterly per-
Evolutionary Biology at Cornell Uni- vaded the planet. That what qualifies
versity, that’s a problem. Going far, for wildness today is a paltry facade
far beyond any previous vision for re- of the awesome Pleistocene bestiary
wilding North America, Donlan and we stumbled upon only 13,000 years
his collaborators have begun arguing ago. That the difference between then
for “Pleistocene re-wilding,” in which and now is at least partly, if not prin-
“megafauna” that have been absent cipally, our own doing and therefore
from North America since the end of our duty to repair.”
the last Ice Age are reintroduced. In The answer, according to Donlan
the November 2006 issue of the jour- and his coauthors, is to reestablish
nal American Naturalist, Donlan and megafauna to North America. This
his 11 coauthors write: “we advocate would include certain rather mild
AP
Pleistocene rewilding — reinstituting steps like continuing to protect popu-
ecological and evolutionary processes that were transformed or lations of the California condor and encouraging the growth of
eliminated by megafaunal extinctions — as a conservation prior- wild horse populations. From there the ideas get progressively
ity in North America.” stranger, like introducing populations of camels, cheetahs, el-
According to author William Stolzenberg, writing in the Janu- ephants, and lions to the North American environment.
ary-March 2006 issue of Conservation in Practice, the idea for How best to accommodate and manage the new North Ameri-
Pleistocene re-wilding began to come together for Donlan and his can megafauna? Establish a huge wildlife preserve, probably
partners in 2004 at, of all places, Ted Turner’s ranch. According to funded and maintained by the government. “A third and more
Stolzenberg, the group gathered at “Turner’s Ladder Ranch in the ambitious scenario would be exemplified by an enormous eco-
Chihuahuan Desert of New Mexico. Over easels and PowerPoint logical history park encompassing thousands of square miles in
and after-hours beers, they discussed the rewilding idea and broke … parts of the Great Plains,” Donlan and his coauthors write.
it down to its factual nuts and bolts, its practical challenges and What would happen to landowners in the area is anyone’s guess,
criticisms, its societal costs and benefits.” The group, which in- but according to the plan’s authors, there would be “adequate
cluded Earth First eco-terrorist Dave Foreman, came up with what incentives for local landowners.”
THE NEW AMERICAN • NOVEMBER 13, 2006 7

10. Inside Track
Hezbollah Takes Advantage of Porous
U.S.-Mexican Border
According to a new report released by the Subcommittee on Investigation
of the House Committee on Homeland Security, “There is an ever-present
threat of terrorist infiltration over the Southwest border.” The report, en-
titled A Line in the Sand: Confronting the Threat at the Southwest Border,
confirmed that “aliens were smuggled from the Middle East to staging
areas in Central and South America, before being smuggled illegally into
the United States” and that “members of Hezbollah have already entered
the United States across the Southwest border.”
The report also estimated that “as many as 4 to 10 million illegal aliens
[of all kinds] crossed into the United States” in 2005.
Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) observed in an October 17 press
release that A Line in the Sand “confirms once again what the American
people have known for years — that our porous borders are a welcome mat
for terrorists.” True enough — but it does not have to be that way. American
soldiers guard the borders of Iraq while other American soldiers attempt to
secure the interior of that tragic land. They are there, we are told repeatedly,
to win the war against terrorism. Meanwhile, back on the home front, our own
borders are left so unprotected that a U.S. congressman is able to describe
them accurately as “a welcome mat for terrorists.”
Administration Appeals Ruling on Warrantless Surveillance Program
The U.S. Justice Department on October 13 asked the federal ap- even if granted, would not change the program’s obvious uncon-
peals court in Cincinnati to overturn a lower court decision that stitutionality. The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution clearly
the National Security Agency’s warrantless electronic surveil- states: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons,
lance program is unconstitutional. The appeals court had earlier houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and
agreed that the administration could continue the program while seizures, shall not be violated.”
it is being appealed — a process that could take months. Despite this constitutional protection, the House passed its ver-
But this is not the only front that the Bush administration has sion of the NSA warrantless surveillance bill in late September,
been aggressively pursuing to make the warrantless eavesdrop- but the Senate equivalent of the bill did not make it to the floor
ping program permanent. Though the administration had imple- for a vote prior to the preelection adjournment. However, there
mented the program in secret, based on claimed executive author- is a good chance that Congress will take up this issue once again
ity, it has been seeking congressional approval. But that approval, during the lame-duck session after the elections.
Security Clearances Revoked for Excessive Debt
According to Associated Press, thousands of U.S. troops are being canceled for financial reasons jumped ninefold to 2,654. Data
disqualified from overseas duty because they are considered se- from the Army was not obtainable.
curity risks. In some cases disqualification is owing to criminal Why does this growing problem with debt exist? It is not a de-
activity, uncertain allegiance, or ill health. An increasingly com- liberate attempt to stay out of harm’s way, say military officials.
mon reason for lost security clearance is debt. Depending on the It is attributed to other factors, a key one being easy access to
military branch, when service members’ debt payments are 30 to payday lenders that charge very high interest rates.
40 percent of their salary, security clearances are revoked. Ironically, neither a lack of financial smarts nor the accrual of
The concern is that a soldier with extreme debt might sell se- massive debt have affected the security clearances of politicians
crets or equipment to the enemy. Also, focus on meeting financial serving in Washington — who piled an additional $2 trillion on
obligations, such as making the next house payment, could be a the National Debt from fiscal year 2002 to 2005. The American
dangerous distraction for someone facing combat. Data obtained electorate might ponder whether some security clearances should
by AP from the Navy, Marines, and Air Force revealed an alarm- be revoked on election day. An old saying goes, “What’s good for
ing trend. From 2002 to 2005, the number of security clearances the goose is good for the gander.”
8 THE NEW AMERICAN • NOVEMBER 13, 2006

11. Border Patrol Agents Sentenced to Prison
U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean The agents were hoping to stay out of prison during their ap-
were each sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for wound- peal, and family members said the fight is not over. “It’s going to
ing a drug smuggler. The incident occurred last year when the be step by step,” the El Paso Times quoted Ramos’ brother Hector
two agents pursued the smuggler, Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, who Ramos as saying. “The first step is going to get him home. It’s
was trying to make it back across the border from the El Paso a process.”
sector into Mexico. During the pursuit, Ramos, after finding a The El Paso Times story about the sentencing also noted that
bloodied Compean lying on the ground from a struggle with Al- the judge “denied the defense’s motion for a new trial on the basis
drete-Davila, shot at the smuggler, believing him to be armed. that three jurors said they were misled by the jury foreman and
Aldrete-Davila got across the border to a waiting van, but, as it voted guilty because they thought they were not allowed to have
turned out, was wounded. a hung jury.”
For their split-second decisions during their 15-minute pursuit The available public evidence indicates that agents Ramos and
of the drug smuggler, the two agents were convicted in a trial Compean are victims of a gross miscarriage of justice by the U.S.
where important evidence was withheld from the jury, and where government. Their story is told in much greater detail in William
the dubious testimony of the smuggler, who was granted immunity F. Jasper’s article “Betrayed in the Line of Duty” in the Septem-
by the U.S. government, was used against them. On October 19 ber 18, 2006 issue of THE NEW AMERICAN. “While the Bush ad-
of this year, Ramos was sentenced to 11 years in prison and Com- ministration seeks amnesty for illegal aliens and grants immunity
pean to 12 years. However, the agents have been allowed to remain to a Mexican drug smuggler,” the article points out, “it has thrown
free on bond until January 17, when they must report to prison. the book at two courageous Border Patrol agents.”
Cheap Prescriptions at Wal-Mart
On October 20, Wal-Mart announced plans to begin selling a would drive small pharmacies out of business. “They are closing
wide selection of prescription drugs for just $4 per prescription down lots of pharmacies and lots of stores all over the United
at stores in 14 states. The decision expands the plan that Wal- States because of their unfair practices.” Madison’s Community
Mart first introduced in Florida in September. The retail giant Pharmacy told WMTV News, the NBC affiliate in Madison,
expects to extend the program to as many states as possible within Wisconsin. Criticism also came from the National Community
a year and, despite the low prices, expects to earn a profit on the Pharmacists Association (NCPA). “It’s a loss-leader type pro-
program. gram that is solely aimed at getting people in the door at Wal-
Wal-Mart officials also expect the low prices to bring shoppers Mart. Most people going to get their prescriptions filled will
to Wal-Mart stores, and they think it’s about time that someone be disappointed,” said Charlie Sewell, NCPA’s executive vice
tries free enterprise in the healthcare market. “Competition and president of government affairs.
market forces have been absent from our
AP
healthcare system, and that has hurt work-
ing families tremendously,” said Wal-Mart
CEO H. Lee Scott. “We are excited to take
the lead in doing what we do best — driv-
ing costs out of the system — and pass-
ing those savings to our customers and
associates.”
Wal-Mart’s move has had an immediate
effect on some competitors. Shortly after
the initial Wal-Mart announcement to in-
troduce the low prices in Florida, Target
said it would follow suit in Florida. Like
Wal-Mart, Target also expanded its pro-
gram, this time to an additional 12 states.
While the advent of competition in
the prescription drug market is a major
victory for consumers, there are plenty
of critics. The group WakeUpWalMart
called the move a “publicity stunt,” and
others were concerned that the decision to
sell the generic drugs at such low prices
THE NEW AMERICAN • NOVEMBER 13, 2006 9

12. Inside Track
Bush May Ignore New Defense Authorization Law
As passed by Congress this fall, the Defense Authorization Act emergency supplemental appropriations amounting to $450 bil-
for Fiscal Year 2007 included a provision (Section 1008) requir- lion thus far. However, when President Bush signed the Defense
ing that the president include his funding requests for the war in Authorization Act on October 17, he also issued a signing state-
Iraq and Afghanistan in the annual budgets he submits to Con- ment indicating that he may not abide by two dozen provisions
gress. Years past, the president has not included this spending in the bill, including Section 1008.
in his budgets. Consequently, the war has been funded through This is not the first time the president has gone on record saying
he may ignore legislation passed by Congress. As AirForce-
Times.com explained in an article posted on October 18: “The
Bush administration has frequently ignored requirements that
it does not like by proclaiming exclusions from the law in sign-
ing statements, which are written statements about how the
president plans to interpret the law. Since he became president,
Bush has issued statements carving out exceptions to more than
750 laws — a rate far higher than any previous president.”
Of course, presidential signing statements “carving out ex-
ceptions” to laws violate the U.S. Constitution, which assigns
all legislative powers to Congress and authorizes the presi-
dent to administer the laws passed by Congress. The powers
to make and execute the law were separated for a reason:
when the president is allowed to reinterpret laws passed by
Congress to mean whatever he wants them to be, Congress
becomes superfluous — and we no longer have a president
but an elected dictator.
North American Union Working Groups Quietly on the Rise
President George W. Bush, Mexican President Vicente Fox, and released documents that provide evidence that the North Ameri-
then-Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin met in Waco, Texas, can Union is slowly beginning to take effect in the United States.
on March 23, 2005 and rolled out plans to create a North Ameri- According to an article by U.S. Newswire, working groups —
can Union (NAU). Although not yet official, newly released doc- such as the North American Pandemic Influenza Working Group
uments verify the existence of working groups that are carrying and the Working Group on Electronic Commerce, Information
out this agenda. and Communications Technologies — have already come into
Judicial Watch, an educational foundation that promotes trans- existence and maintain offices in the Department of Commerce
parency, accountability, and integrity in government and law, has in Washington, D.C.
It’s 10:00 P.M., Do You Know Where All Your Citizens Are?
Paul Brennan, at University College London, is leading work on The article notes: “They [RFID tags] emit a unique ID which
the EU-funded “Optag” system. This system would “combine is then cross-referenced to the passenger information already on
high resolution panoramic video imaging with radio frequency the system — maybe the name and flight number of the passen-
identification (RFID) tags to enhance airport security, safety and ger. Perhaps in the future that would be extended to things like
efficiency.” “It would work,” Brennan says, “if each passenger biometric data.” Within the first few sentences, the promise that
were issued with a tag, which could allow location to about one the chips “would not store any personal details” has already been
metre accuracy. The video and tag data can be merged to give a broken. The tags would be used to monitor movement of people
very powerful surveillance capability.” around terminal buildings.
In an article entitled “How Tagging Passengers Could Improve Who determines whether someone seems “to be a security
Airport Security,” this ominous personal surveillance system was risk” — government? In whose opinion or view? Here in the
described as “essential to future security efforts.” United States, the present administration has dramatically dem-
Brennan indicated that Optag RFID chips would not store onstrated a proclivity toward eliminating personal liberty with
any personal details. The report itself contradicts Brennan’s wire-tapping, torture, gun confiscation in New Orleans, and re-
disclaimer. strictions at airports. ■
10 THE NEW AMERICAN • NOVEMBER 13, 2006

13. QUICKQUOTES
Russian Reformers Mourn Death
of Prominent Journalist
“The authorities are cowards. Why didn’t they come? Are
they afraid even of a dead [Anya] Politkovskaya?”
As freedom of the press wanes in Russia, former Deputy
Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov noted that no ranking gov-
ernment official attended the funeral of the gunned-down
journalist. Politkovskaya’s criticism of Vladimir Putin’s
government for its conduct regarding Chechnya won her
praise from some, and condemnation from officials.
AP
TV Newsman Becomes the Story Himself
“This was Bill Clinton unplugged — the good the bad and the ugly.”
After Bill Clinton launched a vituperative, finger-pointing attack on his interviewer during a “Fox News
Sunday” television program, host Chris Wallace issued his own take on the celebrated event.
Communist China’s Militarism Noted by African Diplomat
“It is unfortunate that none other than the People’s Republic of China is engaged in threats to interna-
tional peace and security by expanding its already huge military arsenal in readiness for an invasion of
Taiwan.”
Gambia’s Ambassador to the UN, Crispin Grey-Johnson, supports granting UN membership to be-
leaguered Taiwan.
Texas Candidate Has a Solution for Porous Border
▲
“I want the Texas Rangers in charge.”
Running as an independent seeking to become governor of Texas,
Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, who likes to be called
“Grandma,” is one of three challengers to Republican incumbent
Rick Perry.
Book Claims Bush White House Ridiculed Christians
“National Christian leaders received hugs and smiles in person and
then were dismissed behind their backs and described as ‘ridicu- AP
lous,’ ‘out of control,’ and just plain ‘goofy.’”
In his recently published book Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of
Political Seduction, David Kuo, the former deputy director of the White House office of Faith-Based
and Community Initiatives, claims that the religious people President Bush relies on for support were
considered “nuts” who should merely be tolerated.
UN Sanctions Against North Korea Considered Mere Show
“The sanctions are at best kabuki theater. They are not going to have much effect on North Korea’s
behavior.”
A Korea expert at Dartmouth University, David C. Kang, likens the UN’s punishment of North Korea
with highly touted sanctions to meaningless bluster and ostentation.
University Publicly Deplores Speaker Disruption
“The freedom to speak, to pursue ideas, and to hear
and evaluate viewpoints totally objectionable to our
own is an essential value of this university and, in-
deed, of our civil society.”
After militant leftists interrupted and caused cancel-
lation of appearances by Minuteman Project founder
Jim Gilchrist and investigative journalist Jerome
Corsi, Columbia University officials, who didn’t
eject the demonstrators, issued their politically cor-
Newscom
rect statement. ■
— COMPILED BY JOHN F. MCMANUS
THE NEW AMERICAN • NOVEMBER 13, 2006 11

14. ELECTIONS
Demopublicans vs. Republicrats
Despite the notion that an ideological chasm separates the national Republican and
Democratic parties, the record shows that there is little difference between the two.
by Gary Benoit mainstream media are liberal, the Demo- publicans have controlled all three.
crats are usually portrayed as occupying Until now. As we write, about two
W
hen pundits and politicians the higher ground. weeks before the elections, public opinion
give us their expert opin- The Republican Party has been asso- surveys indicate that the American people
ion about the battle between ciated with conservatism and the Demo- have grown increasingly dissatisfied with
Republicans and Democrats in the No- cratic Party with liberalism since at least the Republicans — so much so that the Re-
vember 7 congressional elections, they the days of FDR. Over the years, the insti- publicans could lose their majority control
generally describe the opposing forces tutional power exercised by these major of the House and perhaps even the Senate.
as occupying opposite sides of a giant political titans has ebbed and flowed. The discontent with Republicans has
political divide. The Republicans, they During the presidency of Lyndon John- been fueled by the growing unpopularity
say, occupy the conservative high ground son, the Democrats controlled not only of the Iraq War and by the association of
— or low ground, depending on the per- the White House but both houses of Con- Republicans with President Bush, whose
spective of the commentator — while the gress. At other times the government was public approval ratings have been plum-
Democrats occupy the liberal low ground divided, with neither party controlling all meting. The disclosure of Congressman
— or high ground. Of course, since the three bodies. But in recent years, the Re- Mark Foley’s sexually explicit instant
12 THE NEW AMERICAN • NOVEMBER 13, 2006

15. October 19 campaign stop in
Pennsylvania: “Republicans
have a clear philosophy: We
believe that the people who
know best how to spend your
money are the people that earn
that money, and that is you. The
Democrats believe that they
can spend your money better
than you can.” Rhetoric aside,
the Republicans have proven
themselves to be very capable
of spending other people’s
money, which is not to say they
should have spent the money in
the first place or that they spent
it well.
If the Republican-controlled
Congress were truly pursuing
a policy of fiscal conservatism,
it should have at least slowed
down the increase in federal
spending compared to the in-
AP
Republican standard-bearer: President George W. Bush has turned the definition of conservatism on its crease in spending during the
head by advocating more spending, engaging the United States in regime change, and centralizing powers in Clinton era, if not cut spending
the executive branch of government. He is shown here signing the Military Commissions Act of 2006. in the absolute sense. Instead,
federal spending has actually
messages to underage male congressional lution” of 1994. The Senate too may fall increased at a faster rate with George W.
pages has also harmed Republicans’ elec- to the Democrats, though that’s less likely. Bush in the White House than it did when
tion prospects. All of these factors have It is the prospect of a new “Democratic Bill Clinton was president.
combined to create a perfect storm for be- Revolution” that has caused pundits and The federal government spent $1.409
leaguered Republicans. politicians alike to assign great weight to trillion in 1993,* the year liberal Demo-
Discontent with the war has become so this year’s congressional elections. After crat Bill Clinton became president. Over
severe that even some Republican con- all, they say, a “Democratic Revolution” the next eight years, federal spending
gressmen have tempered their support would radically alter Congress. grew at an annualized rate of 3.6 percent,
for President Bush. “GOP’s Solidarity on Or would it? Despite the often-repeat- reaching $1.863 trillion in 2001, the year
War Is Cracking,” proclaimed a Los An- ed notion that a huge ideological chasm George W. Bush became president. For the
geles Times headline on October 20. The separates the Republican and Democrat- fiscal year ending last September 30 (fiscal
Times article noted that “on the campaign ic parties, the record shows that there is year 2006), the federal government spent
trail, ‘stay the course’ is a nonstarter, even little difference in substance between the $2.654 trillion, for an annualized growth
among Bush’s staunchest allies,” and that two. Consequently, there is little reason rate of 7.3 percent with George W. Bush
“GOP candidates are breaking with the to expect that a “Democratic Revolution” in the White House.
White House over how long troops should would lead to a radical ideological shift. It must be kept in mind, of course, that
remain in Iraq.” Many voters are angry, This would be true even if a Democrat- spending would have increased faster than
and their mindset is to vote the bums out controlled Congress were not to operate it actually did during the Clinton years if
of office. “People are not voting for the in a divided government, which obviously Clinton could have gotten the Congress
Democrats on this issue,” Pew Research it would since George W. Bush would still to support all of the spending he wanted,
Center director Andy Kohut said. “They’re be president. such as his “Hillarycare” socialized-medi-
voting against the Republicans.” cine proposal. But it must also be kept in
This issue of THE NEW AMERICAN will The Record in Brief mind that George W. Bush has also called
be mailed to subscribers just one week Even Americans who are not immersed in for spending increases, and those increas-
before the elections, so when you read politics generally understand that conser- es have not been limited to the Iraq War.
these words you may know if the gather- vatism is the philosophy of limited gov- Moreover, with a Republican president
ing storm clouds threatening Republicans ernment and low taxes, while liberalism advocating big-government programs in
will sweep enough of them out of office to is the philosophy of a larger, more activist everything but name, many Republican
put Democrats in charge of the House for government. Bush revisited these contrast-
the first time since the “Republican Revo- ing philosophies when he observed at an * Budget figures are in fiscal years.
THE NEW AMERICAN • NOVEMBER 13, 2006 13

16. ELECTIONS
er price tag. Now, however, speech about the economy and the bud-
the same program, which get, Bush boasted that “the difference is
Though Democrats have become critical has turned out to be more because we have a growing economy, and
of the Iraq War, they do not support a expensive than expected, is the difference is because we’ve been wise
projected to cost $1.2 tril- about spending your money.”
noninterventionist foreign policy any more
lion over the next 10 years. The fact that a reputedly conservative
than the neo-conservatives do. Recall President Bush has also president can point to a $248 billion short-
the Vietnam War during the Johnson pushed for, and gotten, large fall as good news is a powerful indicator of
spending increases for other just how out of control U.S. fiscal policy
presidency, and our interventions in non-defense programs. For has become.
Somalia and the Balkans under Bill Clinton. the Department of Educa-
tion, for instance, a cabi- Dime’s Worth of Difference?
net-level department that Back in 1968, George Wallace ran for
congressmen have supported spending conservatives had once rightly opposed on president as a third-party candidate
they traditionally would have opposed. the grounds that schools should be locally claiming there was not a dime’s worth
For example, President Bush success- controlled, federal spending more than of difference between the Republicans
fully lobbied congressional Republicans doubled in five years, rising from $35.7 and the Democrats. If the difference then
to support a new federal entitlement pro- billion in 2001 to an estimated $84.0 bil- amounted to less than a dime, the dif-
gram providing prescription drug cover- lion in 2006. For international assistance ference would probably be comparable
age to Medicare recipients. When Con- programs — a.k.a. foreign aid, another to a nickel or a penny today, since what
gress passed the legislation in November program conservatives have traditionally differences have existed between the
2003, the program was supposed to cost opposed — spending climbed from $11.8 two parties have actually narrowed. Or,
$400 billion over 10 years, an amount that billion to an estimated $16.3 billion during if a dime’s worth of difference still ex-
seemed gargantuan to many Republicans. the same time period. ists today, it is because in some areas the
But with the Bush administration solidly It is true that this year’s deficit turned Democrats have actually displayed more
behind it, many of those same Republicans out to be much less than the administration conservatism than the Republicans, turn-
voted for the new entitlement program, originally forecast last February — $248 ing upside down what has historically
believing that the GOP-backed version billion as opposed to a projected $423 been the case since the days of FDR.
of the legislation would be better than a billion — and President Bush was quick Incredible? Not according to this
Democratic alternative with an even hefti- to tout that progress. In his October 11 magazine’s biannual Conservative Index,
which rates every U.S. repre-
sentative on the identical set of
10 key House votes, and every
senator on the identical set of
10 key Senate votes, regardless
of party affiliation. Though THE
NEW AMERICAN has never tai-
lored the Conservative Index to
make one party look good and
the other party look bad, the
Republicans as a whole have
always scored higher than the
Democrats — until now.
In the latest Conservative
Index in our October 30 issue,
the Democrats in the House
came out on top with an average
score of 55 percent versus the
Republicans’ average score of
42 percent. On the other hand,
in the Senate the Republicans
still maintained the role of the
more conservative of the two
parties, with an average score
of 65 percent versus 38 percent
AP
Bad war: The growing unpopularity of the war in Iraq is provoking grass-roots anger against not only for the Democrats.
President Bush but Republicans in general. If the Conservative Index
14 THE NEW AMERICAN • NOVEMBER 13, 2006

17. AP
Mr. Democrat: Bill Clinton claimed that “the most
conservative, most ideological wing of the Republican
Party” controls the executive and legislative branches
in a preelection address at Georgetown University.
In truth, Bush and the GOP congressional
leadership aren’t even conservative.
rated congressmen based on “neo-con- House vote #40).† President Bush lobbied come highly critical of the Iraq War, they
servatism” as opposed to traditional con- hard for both pieces of legislation. But not do not support a noninterventionist foreign
servatism, most Republicans would have all Republicans went along. In fact, the policy any more than the neo-conserva-
earned high scores. Neo-conservatism, only two congressmen who earned 100 tives do. Recall the Vietnam War during
the “conservatism” of the Bush adminis- percent in either the House or Senate in the the Johnson presidency, and our interven-
tration, is, like liberalism, a philosophy of latest index were both Republican: Rep. tions in the Balkans and Haiti under Bill
big government and foreign intervention. Ron Paul of Texas and Rep. Walter Jones Clinton.
But the Conservative Index rates congress- of North Carolina. Though President Bush has been able
men based on the traditional definition Republicans have also been more sup- to persuade most Republicans to support
— “adherence to constitutional principles portive of the war in Iraq than Democrats, his Iraq policy to date, that support is not
of limited government, fiscal responsi- though both parties supported Bush’s deci- as solid as it once was. Indeed, though the
bility, national sovereignty, and a tradi- sion to launch an offensive war against Iraq president has been very successful in get-
tional foreign policy of avoiding foreign in the first place. The growing quagmire in ting Republicans to support his policies
entanglements.” Iraq has been blamed on Bush’s supposed in general, he has not been successful in
In the post-9/11 world, and with a neo- go-it-alone foreign policy, despite the fact every instance. In December 2005, for ex-
conservative in the White House, it is the that the stated purpose of our intervention ample, most Republican representatives
Republicans and not the Democrats who was to disarm Iraq of its reputed weapons voted for immigration reform legislation
have been more supportive of measures vi- of mass destruction pursuant to UN reso- that lacked the guest-worker/amnesty leg-
olating basic liberties for the stated purpose lutions. The president also plunged the na- islation that Bush and many Democrats
of combating terrorism. In the October 30 tion into the crucible of war without the strongly advocate. On the other hand, last
Conservative Index, for instance, most Re- constitutionally required declaration of spring Bush was able to convince enough
publicans supported and most Democrats war, and he has kept the troops there long Republican senators to come on-board to
opposed the Military Commissions Act, after the alleged WMDs were not found, get a guest-worker/amnesty bill through
which truncates the rights of defendants for the purpose of nation building. the Senate.
deemed “unlawful enemy combatants” This is the policy of liberalism or neo- President Bush was also able to twist
(see House vote #39 and Senate vote #39 conservatism. It is not the policy of tra- enough Republican arms to get Con-
in that index). Also, most Republicans sup- ditional conservatism, which includes gress to pass the Central American Free
ported and most Democrats opposed the avoiding foreign quarrels, going to war
National Security Agency’s warrantless only when necessary to defend America † The Senate version of this legislation did not reach
electronic surveillance program, which and her citizens, and even then obtain- the Senate floor prior to the adjournment for the
violates the Fourth Amendment’s prohi- ing a declaration of war from Congress. elections, but the issue may be taken up once again
bition against unreasonable searches (see Though liberal Democrats have now be- during the lame-duck session.
THE NEW AMERICAN • NOVEMBER 13, 2006 15

18. ELECTIONS
Trade Agreement (CAFTA), a NAFTA-
type agreement for the United States and
Central America that will entangle our
country in another regional arrangement
as part of a step-by-step process to sub-
merge the United States in a Free Trade
Area of the Americas (FTAA) mod-
eled after the European Union. Another
step in the process is the Security and
Prosperity Partnership (SPP) for North
America, jointly announced by President
Bush and his counterparts from Canada
and Mexico at a March 2005 summit in
Waco, Texas. The SPP “partnership” is
being implemented step by step, without
congressional approval, and if allowed to
proceed unchecked its implementation
Newscom
will lead to opening our already porous
U.S. border that the president gives lip
service to securing. Republicans or Democrats? “Our so-called representatives in both parties have been working
Fortunately, many conservative Repub- against the interests of the middle class for so long that they take our votes for granted,” Lou
licans have grown increasingly irate with Dobbs commented in his CNN.com post on October 18.
the direction President Bush and the Re-
publican leadership are taking their party. can voters — both liberal and conservative interests.... Political, business and aca-
“Conservatives are as angry as I have seen — want the Republicans who have been in demic elites are waging an outright war on
them in my nearly five decades in poli- control out of office. But simply replacing working men and women and their fami-
tics,” Richard Viguerie, president of Con- neo-conservative Republicans with liberal lies, and there is no chance the American
servativeHQ.com, wrote in the October Democrats will not clean up the mess in middle class will survive this assault if the
Washington Monthly. “I would guess that Washington since liberal Democrats are dominant forces unleashed over the past
40 percent of conservatives are ambivalent part of the problem. Admittedly, many five years continue unchecked.”
about the November election or want the congressional Democrats may now op- Dobbs added that “those elites treasure
Republicans to lose.” pose some of Bush’s dangerous proposals your silence, as it enables them to claim
Viguerie explained: “The Big Govern- for amassing presidential power, but how America’s future for their own.” But if the
ment Republicans in Washington do not would these same congressmen vote if problem is bipartisan, who is there to vote
merit the support of conservatives. They Hillary Clinton or another like-minded for who has a realistic chance of winning,
have busted the federal budget for genera- Democrat were to be elected president two outside of a rare exception such as Ron
tions to come with the prescription-drug years from now? Paul? The only way to solve that problem
benefit and the creation and expansion of In the meantime, gridlock in a divided is to wake the town and tell the people
other programs.... They have expanded government could impede the accumula- and get them involved, election year and
government regulation into every aspect tion of more power in the executive branch. nonelection year alike. Once the politi-
of our lives and refused to deal seriously But how much of that gridlock would be cal climate is changed, many Republicans
with mounting domestic problems such as genuine — and how much would be po- and Democrats will adjust their rhetoric
illegal immigration.... And they have sunk litical theater — when both major par- and actions in order to keep themselves
us into the very sort of nation-building war ties serve the same power elites? As Lou electable, and if they don’t they will be re-
that candidate George W. Bush promised Dobbs explained in his CNN.com com- placed on election day by other candidates
to avoid.” Viguerie’s opinion piece for mentary posted on October 18: “I don’t who do offer their fellow citizens a choice
Washington Monthly was one of seven know about you, but I can’t take seriously and who may or may not be Republicans
from “prominent conservatives” who, in anyone who takes either the Republican or Democrats. ■
the words of that publication, “dare[d] to Party or Democratic
speak the unspeakable: They hope the Re- Party seriously — in
publicans lose in 2006.” part because nei-
ther party takes you EXTRA COPIES AVAILABLE
Looking for Real Conservatives and me seriously; ➧ Additional copies of this issue of
The record speaks for itself: neither George in part because both THE NEW AMERICAN are available at
W. Bush nor most congressional Republi- are bought and paid quantity-discount prices. To order, visit
cans are genuinely conservative. But nei- for by corporate www.thenewamerican.com/marketplace/
ther are liberal Democrats. Many Ameri- America and special or see the card between pages 38-39.
16 THE NEW AMERICAN • NOVEMBER 13, 2006

19. PROPERTY RIGHTS
Idaho’s T
by Dennis Behreandt
he Chief Joseph Idaho ranch in
Elk Ranch
eastern Idaho lies in the shadow of
both Yellowstone and Grand Teton
National Parks amid the unparalleled natu-
ral splendor of the Rocky Mountain West.
The ranch, owned and operated until re-
cently by veterinarian Rex Rammell, has
Tragedy
been home to a herd of hundreds of prized
Rocky Mountain elk. In August, a bear,
no doubt seeking an easy meal among the
ranch’s herd, dug under the fence that sepa-
rated Rammell’s elk from the wild elk that
roam the Idaho wilderness. Shortly after,
nearly 100 elk from Dr. Rammell’s herd
escaped through the damaged fence.
The story of the escaped elk should
have ended with Dr. Rammell recaptur-
ing his wayward herd, as would have hap-
pened with any other escaped livestock.
Instead, the escaped elk became the ob-
ject of an unprecedented property rights
struggle that pitted an embattled rancher
against a state government eager to assert
its “right” to destroy property at the whim
of the governor.
Open Season
According to Idaho state officials, the elk
that escaped from the Chief Joseph Idaho
ranch represented an unprecedented threat
When dozens of elk escaped from to the health and genetic purity of the wild
his ranch, Rex Rammell thought elk herd living in the region. Most of the
elk that escaped were cows and state of-
he faced the task of recovering his ficials worried that, with the approach of
herd. Instead, he witnessed the state- the rut, they would interbreed with wild
bull elk. “Time is of the essence, we have
sponsored slaughter of his elk. to try to get these animals back,” Steve
Schmidt, regional fish and game director,
AP
told the Los Angeles Times in late Septem-
ber. According to Schmidt, Rammell’s elk
“are a huge unknown to us. Any introduc-
tion of new genes might have unknown
consequences. The risk is large because
we are not only talking about Idaho’s elk
herd, but now we are also talking about
elk who have the potential to mix with
Photos courtesy of Rex and Lynda Rammell
Yellowstone Park elk and elk from Wyo-
ming. We have dreaded this day.”
Heavily armed: Idaho Fish and Game officer
checks his military-style assault rifle while
hunting for elk that escaped from the Chief
Joseph Idaho ranch. According to rancher
Rex Rammell, the officer had just killed four
of his elk right outside the pen being used to
recapture the animals.
THE NEW AMERICAN • NOVEMBER 13, 2006 17

20. PROPERTY RIGHTS
required by law, we now Property Rights
have these farm-raised elk The opportunity to bag an elk out of sea-
The persecution of Rammell really was mingling with our wild elk son proved enticing to many big-game
nothing more than a ploy to make game herds,” said Risch. “The Ex- hunters, and many traveled from out of
ecutive Order I have signed state to stalk Rammell’s elk. One of those
farms look bad in order to justify getting rid
authorizes the employees of who went to Idaho looking to bag an elk
of them. Columnist Jim Gerber wrote in the Fish and Game and the De- was Don Dunbar. Being a rancher and
Idaho Falls Post Register, “This is about partment of Agriculture to big-game hunting guide in Wyoming, the
immediately harvest these opportunity to get one of Rammell’s elk
making a politically correct statement that domestic elk. The order initially seemed irresistible.
we do not like game farms.” will also allow the Fish and “I started out with the idea of being able
Game Commission to put to harvest an elk cheaper because out-of-
into place emergency rules state permits are really high,” Don Dun-
Others worried that the escaped elk to authorize licensed hunters and private bar told THE NEW AMERICAN. “I started out
would spread disease to wild popula- property owners to take these elk without a thinking that I would be able to get my elk
tions. “The higher density that these ani- tag. This emergency action is being taken a little cheaper than usual. Then I realized
mals are kept in tends to lead to higher to protect our wild elk herds in Idaho. about half way up there, ‘wait a minute,
risk of disease,” said Barry Reiswig of the There is a serious risk of disease and an whose elk are these?’ The more I looked
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National altered gene pool from these domestic elk into this, the more disgusted I was and
Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyoming. “You and I am authorizing these activities to then I saw the contradictions.... The short
don’t know what diseases these animals begin at the earliest time possible.” version is: my conscience started bother-
may have. They are supposed to be tested As a result of Governor Risch’s action, ing me. I knew I would feel guilty about
and the data presented to health authori- a full-scale public hunt for the escaped elk killing that guy’s elk.”
ties, but we know that that may or may was authorized. It couldn’t have come at a Dunbar, who has become a staunch sup-
not happen.” worse time for Rex Rammell. The rancher porter of Rex Rammell, found the issue
The escape of Rex Rammell’s elk and said he had already recaptured 40 of the intriguing and began to research the sub-
the unsubstantiated fears the escape en- escaped elk by the time Risch called for ject. “I pulled it up on the website of the
gendered among state officials created open season on the elk, and he thinks he’d Idaho Fish and Game and there were some
the perfect opportunity for the state to have been able to capture the rest in as contradictions. [Governor] Risch said that
flex its muscles and assert its dominance little as one more week. But the arrival of he had insisted on hunter participation os-
over otherwise privately held property. On armed state agents and private hunters in tensibly to get as many people as possible
September 7, Idaho Governor Jim Risch the area near the Rammell ranch scattered to go out and kill these elk of Rammell’s.
signed an emergency executive order au- the already jittery animals. “Everything Their battle cry was ‘they’ve got disease,
thorizing the destruction of the escaped was very much in control until Risch’s ex- they’re genetically impure, they’ll spread
elk. “There is a crisis facing our elk herds ecutive order, and then it became chaotic,” genetics that are wrong to the wild elk.’
in eastern Idaho. Because of the escape Rammell said. “I’ve been working my butt Nothing could be further from the truth.
of domestic elk that was not reported as off to catch these elk.” This particular herd, 12 years ago, was
Depredation hunt: A dead elk is dragged behind an Idaho Fish
and Game truck. The elk were killed during a “depredation hunt,”
authorized by Idaho governor Jim Risch, supposedly to keep them from
spreading disease to the wild population. Photos courtesy of Rex and Lynda Rammell
18 THE NEW AMERICAN • NOVEMBER 13, 2006