"MY VIEW" BY DON SORCHYCH | OCTOBER 3, 2012
Sam Steiger • Election prospects
Sam Steiger
Sam Steiger passed away last week in Prescott, Ariz. He suffered a stroke in September of 2002.
Sam was a prominent figure in Arizona and Sonoran News is proud that we had his column in our paper for many years. He served in Korea as a tank platoon leader and was awarded a silver star and a purple heart. Known as a conservative politician, he spent 10 years in Congress and was elected into numerous capacities in Arizona. His conservative rating was 100 percent; his liberal rating was 0 percent.
Sam was original in everything he did. His columns were informative, always representing a conservative perspective, humorous and biting. His writing and talking styles were incomparable. In the late 90s and early and early 2000s he broadcasted on both radio and television.
I introduced Sam during a Kiwanis luncheon some years ago and told them this true story. Sam wrote a column that was critical of an older Jewish gentleman. A reader in Scottsdale wrote a letter accusing Sam of racism. In Sam’s next column he wrote he had a right to his opinion because he too WAS an older Jewish gentleman.
Sam was mischievous and often got into trouble, at least in the media and among political “enemies.” Once after hearing complaints about burros running loose, he went to investigate with his .30 caliber rifle in hand and shot two burros, which inflamed animal activists.
Years later he published a pamphlet titled, “Burro Chronicles” along with an accompanying graphic of a burro on its back with all four legs straight up.
Sam Steiger was a rare individual who was gifted in many ways. It was a pleasure to know him and we all have lost an unforgettable man to heaven.
While reading past columns written in the 90s it was obvious his ideas and concepts were as applicable as if they had been written today. From time to time, we will publish some of these gems for your pleasure.
Election prospects
In the Aug. 16 and 23, 2010 editions of the New Yorker, there were long and revealing articles about Iran. But what caused unrest was this: “One Iranian, who asked to remain anonymous out of concern for his safety, described the movement’s status: Despotism works, he said. That’s what this situation shows. The reformist movement is over. The middle classes aren’t willing to die en masse, and the regime knows this. It has killed and punished just enough people to send the message of what it is capable of doing. The reformist leaders and the regime have a kind of unspoken pact, which is, Don’t organize any more demonstrations or say anything and we’ll leave you alone. Do anything and we’ll arrest you. It’s over.
The above was about the so-called “Green Movement,” which is in opposition to the Iranian government.
Let us suppose the American electorate is stupid enough to vote Obama back into office. You can expect widespread discontent; certainly conservatives and gun owners will be furious. Will they do what our founders did and institute a revolution? The founders risked all, life, liberty and everything they owned. Or will a few arrests quell discontent?
There is much in the conservative press about owning firearms, not for target practice or to kill game but to take the country back from an oppressive government, which is the real reason for the Second Amendment. In a second term Obama will use every resource, including the U.N., to take away firearms from citizens.
We have a president who has unconstitutionally bypassed Congress. Obama has a tight grip on the Department of Justice where any dissenters would eventually end up. We have seen racist decisions and actions by Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and yet people are afraid of the racist label when they should be demanding impeachment.
The Tea Party movement is fragmented but I believe it to be a huge group. Is it big enough and powerful enough to turn over a repressive government? Will a revolutionary group face imprisonment and felony convictions without blinking? We have had one civil war and another one is possible, if not probable.
Currently, Republicans are frightened by poll results, which often favor Obama even though the basis of many polls is rigged. Notice Obama never explains why the country is in dire straights, thanks to his actions and lack of actions consistent with positive policy. Instead he uses Chicago attack politics, innuendos and lies. His giveaway programs have been softened and so he has gained voters who only care about government handouts. He already has over 90 percent of black voters locked up, but if we vote for a white candidate we are racists.
Obama interests claim a vast majority of Hispanics. All of the naturalized Hispanics I know are Christian conservatives. Illegal Aliens are another matter and they are vocal and litigious. By illegally crossing the border they prove they have a criminal bent. I am sick of talking heads saying they would do the same thing, obviously saying the ends justify the means. What about the many immigrants who came legally?
But let’s straighten out the Arizona Republic, the propaganda machine for illegal aliens. They label them “migrants.” They are not; they are ILLEGAL ALIENS. It is not OK that the only state-wide daily newspaper misuses the English language, consistently, arrogantly and improperly!
I do believe illegals vote and there are a number of loopholes that allow this. Certainly, mail-in ballots create an opportunity. Reporter Linda Bentley discovered a voter who was registered under three names, as well as non-citizens who registered and voted on more than one occasion. You have to wonder how many there are.
The current election is as dirty as a Chicago-based election was projected to be. Obama’s lies don’t seem to diminish his support. I have no doubt they will vote people from the graveyard as former President Lyndon Johnson did. Also, given the U.S. Attorney General’s reluctance to bring suit against The New Black Panther Party, they will be in critical states to renew their scare tactics.
If Obama is elected this country will be a has been, at best.