U4Prez Federalist #3

I appreciate the massive support being received upon this Constitution I've been proudly assigned to administer. On this very blog, I initiated the concept of a Constitution, something that would create a structure for ethics, candidates and moderators alike. The enormous support I'm getting from every angle is evidence that I am not alone in the belief that U4Prez has shortcomings, and if we all work as a community, there is nothing we can't achieve together.

I also appreciate the many dissenting voices, and I hope they continue to come. Without differences of opinion, these drafts we write will be shortsighted, and mistakes we as a Constitution Committee make may not be seen until it is too late. Without many different opinions coming to this vortez, yea and nay, this Constitution will not receive the legitimacy it truly needs. The hope is, through all these differing voices, we can put our selfish agendas aside in this endeavor, so far the largest, most complex, and certainly the least partisan project in the short history of U4Prez.

I do know the difference, however, between honest dissent and bullshit. I can tell when a candidate has a true grievance, a problem, a question needing an answer, and someone kicking over a sandcastle just because they can. I have had many spirited debates the last few weeks on this, and I know who is sincere and who isn't.

BigDaddy is not one of the sincere ones. Anytime someone has the audacity to call his editorial a Federalist Paper, and compare those seeking negotiations with the moderators a bunch of Nazis ransacking the Jews, it's time to wonder how rational he is. Typically, when in an argument, the first to pull out the Nazi card is the loser. In Daddy's case, since he pretty much calls anyone who ever opposes him a fascist, a collectivist, a communist, whatever name pops into his head, I fail to see why anyone would take him seriously.

Federalist #1 blown out of the water, let's blow out Federalist #2, this time taking on the name of Orwell. One of the concepts George Orwell talked about was doublethink, the ability to hold opposing views in one's mind can make perfect sense of it. BigDaddy has already contributed to the brainstorming process of this Constitution, having initially made a remark to MejicoJohn concerning a cut-off limit for voting in the general election. I invite the candidates of U4Prez to rummage through the U4Prez Constitution caucus, about three weeks ago, and there's BigDaddy, brainstorming it up for all to see, even though he was against it. Now, some might spring to the word hypocrite in this case, how can a candidate allegedly against the Constitution give ideas for it? Some may call this hypocrisy or a contradiction. Not me. It's just doublethink.

Daddy, do me a favor, if you're going to namedrop, drop a name you're familiar with. Federalist #2 down the crapper.

Having put the biggest blowhard at U4Prez behind us, we can get a little more serious.

This Constitution is not the work of one person, and I have said over and over, a committee is being put together to ferret out the latest draft. The first draft was written largely by Faustus before the general election, with at least myself, Wiz, and Lucky contributing to it. Along with which, two dozen candidates from all parties participated in the brainstorming session a couple weeks ago, and many ideas from that session made its way to the second draft. A committee will be announced in the next day or so to continue the rewrites, and as always, continued criticism is appreciated and definitely needed. I would say, around forty candidates have chimed in on one level or another. For U4Prez, that's a solid handful. Anyone who thinks this is Olivia doing it all is sadly mistaken.

The biggest complaint I hear concerning this Constitution is that it violates the rights of ownership. There's a lot of talk these days about private property and its sanctity, and a whole lot of energy has been spect on the subject. And I agree with every one of you who believe that the candidates have no right to dictate what ownership should do. President Faustus agrees with this as well, that the candidates are toothless to enforce a damn word of this Constitution.

But BigDaddy, and many of the others who oppose this Constitution on the grounds of the private property issue, agree with Faustus and me in that, if we want any sort of changes made at U4Prez, it will only happen through negotiation. This much, I think every candidate who has had to sit and deal with much of the mediocrity the moderators have handed us this year, we can agree upon, that if we want anything to change, it has to be done through negotiation. Even the biggest son of a bitch here, BigDaddy, agrees.

Well then, if we're all in agreement on this, what's the problem?

If the moderators don't want it, it won't happen, plain and simple. There's no way we can put a gun to Eric Gurr's head to enforce anything.

For all the talk about this Constitution being a form of tyranny, not a single candidate has come forth and explained how this Constitution can be enforced without the moderator's approval. No one has shown a single method in which we candidates can wring the server our of the moderator's hands and wrest power away for ourselves. Not one of you who have bellyached about this issue have come up with a plan for the lunatics to overrun the asylum and take it over. And until you do, I consider any talk about forcing anything on the moderators complete shit.

What's more, when I ask for someone to explain to me exactly which rights we will be taking away from the moderators, no one has an answer except me. The only "rights" the Constitution seeks to take away from the moderators is the ability to be lazy and negligent without at least a slap on the wrist. That is, of course, if we first had the ability to unilaterally force anything on the moderators in the first place.

Until I hear a cohesive argument about how we silly candidates are going to ramrod this Constitution down Eric Gurr's throat, I will consider that subject closed. Until someone stands up and tells me exactly how the desire for the moderators to do the job they're fucking paid for in the first place is somehow snatching their rights away, again, I see no merit in pursuing the argument further.

For all the namedropping and hyperbole BigDaddy offers, in the end it's just another rant spewed upon the U4Prez population, another attempt at a GOTCHA. He cares not one whit about Eric Gurr or U4Prez, they could both go to Hell as far as he's concerned. So long as he can get a GOTCHA, that's all he wants. And who better to try to knock down than his old nemesis, Olivia? He's tried to play GOTCHA with me and failed miserably over and over again. This has nothing to do with constitutional conviction for him, don't ever think otherwise. This is personal. He is a bully, I don't think anyone really thinks him to be anything but. He got his ass kicked by a girl for months, he has been exposed to be nothing but a mean fool trying to manipulate U4Prez for his own amusement, and here's Olivia, being loud and proud again, let's knock her and her little project down if we can. He's not doing this out of any principles, because he's proven he wipes his ass with principles. This is a bully trying to get in just one shot, after having the crap beaten out of him time and again, before he is knocked out once and for all.

Perish the thought, but exactly what would these candidates do if Eric Gurr actually thought the Constitution was worthy of consideration? I want you to think about that one, because it goes to the core of why you fight for his private property rights against a Constitution no one has proven will take a single right away, and no one has proven will not take effect without moderator permission. If he is for this, or at least for negotiating with the candidates for the sake of some meaningful changes, would you still be against this project? If Eric approves this, exactly how would we be forcing him to comply? Exactly which rights would we be violating? It's the same Constitution.

Or, if he is intrigued by the idea of this website, allegedly promoting democracy, having its very candidates, its users, pen a set of principles in which all might abide by, would that be what it takes to get you to jump on the bandwagon?

I appreciate dissent, never think I don't. But I will not accept a blanket accusation against a document, still in its larva stage, if you haven't read it. Show me where the great tyranny lies within. BigDaddy writes in generalities and paints with a broad brush, but he never tells you a single article or section that violates the principles he's allegedly championing. He talks about we who are writing this Constitution being Nazis taking property from the Jews, and yet he does not tell us how we will do this, by what means we will snatch power from the helpless moderators and declare ourselves diabolical rulers for life. He and others talk about violating rights, and yet no one can define what rights they are, and offer only generalities, clouds in the sky, wishful thinking on their part. BigDaddy thinks you all are a bunch of dumbshits he can easily sway for his own pleasure, he says so on his own talk show, he's just out there to play his little games. This is just another one, another attempt to GET Olivia.

I have always relied on the intelligence of the U4Prez community to do the right thing. Time has proven to me, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that when push comes to shove, the candidates will stop listening to empty rhetoric, bullying tactics, and meatless sophistry, and make a decision based on intelligence and principle. What I see in the candidates to be ethics and undertanding, BigDaddy will always see as strings he can use to yank you like the puppets he thinks you to be.

If this Constitution fails, either by moderator disinterest or inability to ratify, I will be proud of the work we've done in penning what we did, in raising the issue of U4Prez sovereignty, and in talking seriously about where U4Prez goes from here.

I encourage all candidates to not only continue to show your criticism, your dissent, and your support for this, but to also get involved in the process. As I've said, the early contenders for 2008 will get their start here. It's one thing to come to U4Prez and campaign, but if all you're going to do is bitch about politics, what's the point? This Constitution is a great idea to put yourpolitical abilities to practice, to show yourself to be a real leader. When this Constitution is ratified, we all will be able to point to it with pride and say, we made that. WE made that. Down the road, when we resume our campaigns and start talking about things like principles and leadership, you will be able to smile and say, what others merely talk about at U4Prez, I actually did it. While others were complaining, I stepped up and did something. While others continue to browbeat one another with useless rhetoric, you will tower above them as real candidates, real contenders, and real leaders.

Love, Olivia. XXX