How dare you question us!

by David Safier

I went to the debate over Prop 200 tonight. I think the No on 200 folks sounded intelligent and knowledgeable and Yes on 200 folks had nothing but fear on their side. But that doesn't tell me anything about who's going to win at the polls.

Other than the actual debate, which was pretty much what you would expect (I wish those Yes folks would put up a chart to show where they're planning to cut $64 million from the city budget every year instead of ducking the issue), the one thing that struck me was a line Jon Justice on the Yes side kept repeating. It went something like this:

"We introduced a proposition to increase safety in Tucson, and the other side keeps playing politics with the issue."

Huh? The Yes side introduced the proposition, and the No side is fighting against it because we think it's wrong for the city. In Justice's view, that's playing politics. I guess what we should do is just not talk about it. You spend your $300,000 plus war chest, and we'll just sit back and let the voters decide without making a peep.

It's a typical statement from today's conservatives. If you don't agree with me, shut up! If I tell you something and you still don't agree with me, you're not listening! If you criticize what I say, you're violating my first amendment rights of free speech!

You know why these folks hate what they call "entitlement programs"? Because they honestly believe they have a God given entitlement above and beyond the "others" — those with different religions, from different ethnic or racial backgrounds, people with beliefs they don't like — and no one should challenge them or their ideas.

A challenge is greeted as an affront. A loss at the polls is treated as a violation of the Divine Right of Conservatives. And if they're challenged enough, and if they lose enough, they see their only option as violence. But don't blame them if someone gets hurt. It's the fault of the other side that just wouldn't listen to reason.

As for being political, Justice kept bringing up what was wrong with Democrats on the City Council. He ended his closing statement by saying, "One last thing. Vote for Republicans for City Council." But I guess that wasn't political. When he makes a statement like that, he's just saying what's right and true. And if you don't like it, you can . . .