In a month new political regimes will take over in Washington, DC and Albany and the new people will make changes. It is our hope that they will be positive changes, good for the state and nation, but if history is any indication, the most notable changes will be the huge shift in patronage jobs.

It seems that this is the top priority of the parties. It is the life blood of politics—the shifting of power. Ideally the purpose of government is to govern (whatever that means) and the definition rests with those holding the power. The mantra is “whatever is good for the party has to be good for the nation.” I disagree, but that is not germane to the grand scheme of party politics.

To me, governing is to provide services that the people cannot provide for themselves. We need a government to provide for national defense. We need coordination regarding the infrastructure of highways so roads from one state meet with the roads in another. We need government to provide services as a safety net for those who cannot provide for themselves. It used to be private charities and families that did that, but our modern society rejects that concept and wants to shift the responsibilities to a third party.

I used to think that government should provide such services as water and sewer, but with the local water authority being a major dumping ground for patronage jobs, and the increases in costs, it would probably be a very good idea to privatize the systems as we do with natural gas, electricity and phone service.

Doing this would drop the costs of government and pensions dramatically so the concept is one that will most likely never reach legislative chambers. Without government control of nursing homes, hospitals and these utilities, political parties would find it difficult to find the foot soldiers who carry political petitions and help with campaigns.

Political parties thrive on bureaucracies. Most people believe that the major function of many of these departments is to perpetuate and expand. The various authorities in New York are a perfect example of irresponsible spending, runaway debt and lack of accountability. If every there was a need for reform, this would be an excellent place to start.

In the legislative chambers there are far too many politicians who confuse the word “govern” with the word “rule.” The key concept is control. Politicians apparently love to get involved with people’s lives telling them, by passing laws, what they can and can’t do. This is most evident with gun control laws.

The overwhelming data proves that gun control laws don’t work because only law-abiding people follow them, and the law-abiding people are not a problem. Too many liberal politicians are more concerned with protecting the rights of criminals than protecting honest citizens.

A very good example is the recent incident of the “bike path rapist” who is also a murderer. He preys on defenseless women who are too small and weak to resist an attack. New York has very strict gun control laws, especially when it comes to carrying concealed weapons.

If a person wants to own and carry a pistol, he or she goes through a long and invasive process that can take from six months to a year. Some politicians wish to make it even more difficult.

Adding insult to injury for two generations, the issuing judges in Erie County have issued restricted permits, limited to “target shooting and hunting.” They obviously believe that people do not have the right to self-defense.

Several years ago, in Gainesville, Florida women were being raped in a serial fashion by one or more rapists. The police began to hold classes for women who wanted to protect themselves with a handgun and wanted the right to carry one for self-defense.

The woman took the courses, the event was publicized and for what we consider to be a natural course of events, the incidents of rapes dropped very dramatically.

I believe that if the next ten robberies or assaults ended by the intended victim being able to shoot and stop the crime, that violent crime would drop more quickly and permanently than if the police presence on the streets was doubled.

It is unlikely that the new powers in government will see it that way, but then again, who knows? It depends a lot on citizen input. We get the government we deserve.

This is Thanksgiving week and we have much for which to be thankful. One of the biggest reasons to give thanks is that the elections are over. The negative commercials regarding how bad candidates are will be replaced by commercials encouraging people to spend money to celebrate a holiday that for many in power is a politically incorrect celebration.

Recently, a news article stated that the Marines, who collect toys for underprivileged children, were refusing dolls that depicted Jesus and gave a religious message. They were concerned that it might offend Muslim or Jewish children.

Hello! This is a Christian holiday, or didn’t they notice? Why would a Jewish or Muslim child be celebrating Christmas? The Marines make great sacrifices in wartime and are a wonderful asset to Americans, but it would seem out of their realm of authority to say we should not give Jesus dolls to children on Christmas day.

One of our largest retailers is going back to saying “Merry Christmas” to incoming customers instead of “Season’s Greetings.” Must be better for business!

Some shoppers will be boycotting another large department chain because they refuse to let the Salvation Army solicit funds for needy people in their parking lots or entrance way.

That seems to be a very mean-spirited corporate decision and those who feel that it is contrary to the reason for the Christmas holiday can find several other stores who have Christmas spirit.

It is seldom that we hear about Christians being offended by Hanukah or the Fast of Ramadan, and they don’t try to interfere with those traditions and holidays. Neither one of those events create huge profits for manufacturers and retailers. In America, it seems, whether it is business or politics, it is all about money.

If it generates revenue it is good. If it generates good will and happiness, but not money, it can be ignored. We invite all people to share our holiday for the purpose it is celebrated. If non-Christians want to put up a tree (a pagan custom) or give gifts to others, we think it is fine, but please, don’t tell us we cannot show symbols, sing Christmas carols, or give religious greetings in public.

While the First Amendment in our Bill of Rights forbids the establishment of a national religion (which is a good thing) it also gives us the right of free speech and reasonable expression. We never could accept the concept that a public display of a Nativity Scene at Christmas time was offensive or harmful to the general public.

If someone placed a Menorah or a statue of the Buddha in a public facility is highly doubtful that any sane Christian would object to, deface or destroy it. The true Christian faith encourages tolerance and love for others. Some Christians have been known to be lax in this concept, but they are in the minority and are not considered to be following the true Christian teachings.

It still breaks down to the true meaning of Christmas. The marketplace considers it the major source of revenue and many depend on Christian tradition and generosity to fill their coffers. Nothing else is relevant. They feed on methods to create a buying frenzy and have become very adept at it.

It would be interesting and telling if Christians refused to partake in the debt-inducing practices of runaway purchasing and hold off any major gift giving until January. (The Orthodox churches do that and get real bargains in the after-Christmas sales.) Perhaps that would encourage the non-Christians who profit from the gift-giving tradition to be more tolerant of the true meaning of Christmas.

Looks like the Republican Party has imitated the Buffalo Bills football team by being able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory with fumbles, blunders and a poor game plan. Or, maybe they were just outsmarted by their opponents. Whatever reason is valid, they lost and lost big.

I have tried to live by the philosophy of “I never got in trouble for things I DIDN’T say.” In many cases, the Republicans said things that ended up biting them on Election Day. George Allen was a good example of that. He had to know that the liberal-leaning media would pounce on any opportunity to label him a racist or to use any statement that would diminish his standing with voters.

Some had predicted he would be a presidential candidate. Now, it is more likely that he will fade into political oblivion. Not so with Democrats. They are much more forgiving with their candidates.

While several Republicans placed the loss on the events regarding the Foley scandal, a worse incident occurred several years ago with the late Representative Gary Studds who actually had physical contact with an underage page. He received a simple censure and went on to serve eleven terms in Congress.

A well known senator was responsible for the death of a young girl, and tried hard to place the blame elsewhere, but even with a guilty verdict, he is one of the top senators in terms of seniority. Again, it apparently depends upon which party line one carries.

In New York, the Comptroller, who misused more than $173,000 of taxpayer money to provide a chauffer for his wife, was reelected by a huge margin. Could it be that voters don’t care if a public official is corrupt as long as he is a Democrat?

The Republicans ran dirty campaigns, and so did the Democrats. The focus was on how bad the opponent was rather than on the merits of voting for the candidate. Seldom did we see any platform items that made sense. We saw campaign promises that by any reasonable calculations would raise taxes despite the solemn promise that we could “take to the bank” there would be no raising of taxes.

We shall see how that works out over the next four years. There was nothing noteworthy said about what could be done about making health care affordable. The Erie County Conservative Party endorsed a law that would make premiums for Health Insurance and Long Term Nursing Home Care tax deductible, and nobody picked up the idea. This is a simple plan, easy to implement and would have been easy for voters to understand. It could have bought many votes, but was ignored.

The next four years in New York could be very interesting to watch Elliot Spitzer lock horns with Sheldon Silver. When two men with superstar egos vie for the spotlight, nobody wants to stand in the shadows because the fallout can be painful.

The voters want reform and the system is so corrupt that it could border on amusing to watch to see who tries to out maneuver who as the TV cameras roll and the reporters line up to get quotes from the players. Arrogance brought down the Republicans, and perhaps this could be the future downfall of the Democrats.

New York is so skillfully gerrymandered, that it was virtually impossible to unseat an incumbent. In some districts there was no challenger to the incumbent and in many, only sacrificial lambs were placed on the ballot. That is one reform desperately needed, but since survival is the major incentive of incumbents, it is highly unlikely that will get more than token lip service.

Without the final tuning of the results, the estimate is that the turnout compared to the number of people eligible to vote was about fifty percent. If that is true, we have a nation where half the people are morons. So, what can you expect of government? We get the government we deserve.

I have spent a lot of time trying to think of what I would say to each of you in this, my last, Monday Morning Memorandum. God, and some gonzo lawyer, has put an end to this phase of my political career, and I personally don’t have the hardware or the training to send this out each week to the 30 or so thousand of you that receive this memo. So, I have to end this commentary, for the moment. If I can, I will resume it, but for the moment, this is the last of my comments to you.

14 years is a long time, and I have spent that time in Sacramento doing what I can to change the direction of California. For the moment, it appears that I have been unsuccessful, but I know that my duty has been done. I stood for what I believed was right. I expressed that belief at every occasion, and I fought the battles necessary. For that, I have earned great friends and a good life.

To my constituents in Western Riverside and Northern San Diego Counties, thank you. It has been a great honor in my life to be able to represent you. You invested a level of faith in my abilities. I only hope that I have justified the faith you had in me. To the others who have fought the good fight, I only hope that from time to time something I have said and done helps you continue the fight. Our country and our state are worth fighting for. The freedom our founding fathers secured with their blood, and each succeeding generation has preserved with theirs, is unique in this world, and it is our duty to pass it along to our children. No sacrifice is too great to ensure that we preserve that legacy. It would be a sad comment if our posterity were to look back at our time and said, “They ruined it for us.” It is our responsibility to ensure their futures.

There will always be those who say that compromise and peace are better than freedom. We will be exhorted to lay down our arms to “work together” with those who would expand their power at the expense of our freedom. That is the siren’s song. We cannot destroy our children’s future freedom on the shoals of a compromise to achieve a peace that increases the power of government. Diligence in the preservation of freedom requires a willingness to ignore the insults of those who counsel surrender to power. Our short term distress and unease will yield to the long term internal peace in the knowledge that we have done our duty for our children and grandchildren, that we have preserved this great republic for their enjoyment as our forbears preserved it for us.

The battle is never over. Even now, after this last election, some are telling us to give up, to “just get along” with those who have made it clear that their acquisition of power is more important than freedom for our children. My counsel is this: Never give up. This is just one short term setback in the return of a national and state government that recognizes its limits and its power. The next election is just two years away, but freedom sacrificed for short term peace may never be regained.

I don’t know what will happen to me. I do know that the cause for which I have fought these last 14 years is an important cause. It is the cause for which hundreds of thousands have fought and died throughout the entire history of our Republic. It is the cause of limited government, individual freedom, and family. It is the cause of freedom.

In my time in the Legislature, I have had the opportunity to cut your taxes, and the opportunity to participate in a small way in the historic recall of a Governor. I have had the opportunity to fight against every increase in the size of state government, and to fight for families and the children not yet born. I may not have succeeded in all my endeavors, but I have never turned from a fight. I never will, and I hope you don’t either.

Thank you.

As this column is written the elections have not been held, but we have seen new standards of dirty politics set as the focus has been shifted from issues to mud slinging. This prompts us to consider some standards necessary for campaigning, but they would never get past the legislators or the liberal courts.

The idea is that politicians have to tell the truth in their ads. The unvarnished truth! What a slogan. “If it isn’t true, we will sue.” We should have the same standards in political ads as we have is everyday life, and apply strict rules of libel and slander for political campaigns.

We have seen ads and heard speeches that are enough to turn the stomach of logical people and are nothing more than a con job to garner votes from the uneducated, uninformed and indifferent.

It reminds us of the old days of Lyndon Johnson when he ran for congress. As the story goes, he told one of his aides to circulate the rumor that his opponent had intimate relations with pigs. The aide told Lyndon that it wasn’t true. Lyndon grinned and said, “I know, but let’s make him deny it.”

It will be interesting to note voter turnout. If we apply simple math by subtracting the number of people who voted from the eligible voting base, we will find a remaining number. This, plus or minus a couple of points, will tell us how many fools we have in a district, state and nation.

The big joke is that we can have 50 qualified girls vie for Miss America, but we can’t find two good candidates to run for high office. It is relatively easy to see how and why people get apathetic on Election Day. The big question many have is “what’s the difference?” While manure and fertilizer have different names, they have a similar smell.

This column has suggested that a law be passed to make campaign promises hold the same weight in law as a contract. If the candidate makes a campaign promise and fails to deliver, citizens should be able to sue for breach of contract, and the individual must be liable personally for monetary damages. That, in itself, should tone down the rhetoric (namely con job) in campaign speeches and literature.

How many trees have been cut down, made into pulp, and transformed into slick campaign literature to burden letter carriers to drop to uninterested people? Most would rather have the literature printed on soft, absorbent paper so it would at least have some practical use.

Whoever wins, we can expect more of the same old politics, just different faces in high places. Several years ago, a local politician was asked, “What is the real difference between Republicans and Democrats winning office?” The honest answer was, “Who gets the patronage.”

The downfall we are witnessing, the demise of freedom in our country, is caused by the professional politician. When the country began, intelligent and productive people “did their duty” and served as legislators for a couple of terms, then returned to honest, productive work.

Then, professional politicians found an easy way to gain power and money by manipulating people to vote for them. They paid back with jobs, and to provide enough jobs for the faithful, created huge bureaucracies with the potential for often unqualified people to earn more money than they could in the private sector.

Nothing will change unless the people make it change. Public sector unions wield a lot of power and deliver votes to protect the status quo. They depend on the herd mentality of the membership to blindly follow the leadership, who in many cases find it profitable to back certain candidates. Greed is a powerful motivator.

The people in power seem to revel in apathy by the public. An apathetic public who is convinced that government will give them everything they need will not revolt. Regardless of who wins, we can expect to have more of what we already have.

We get the government we deserve!