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                                  THE DOLE STANDARD
(Written under the psuedonym, "George Steinkrueger", and published 23 October 1996 in the Neighborhood Journal. Posted in toto with Preface and Epilogue 14 November 2001)

PREFACE -- Although I really enjoy writing a weekly column, it can be tiring at times. There are times when you have a deadline and you just don’t really have anything to say. Sometimes you do have something to say but you just don’t have the time to say it. And sometimes you have something to say, and the time to say it, but you just don’t feel in the mood to really say anything. The latter is a good description of me at the time this column was written. I had hurt my knee, and surgery was looming; Mrs. Schrader had just had surgery on hers; and we had a five year old, a three year old, and an infant to take care of. Writing a column just didn’t seem that important.
       When my friend offered to fill in, I jumped at the opportunity, even though his political views were polar opposites of mine. I was a Friend of Bill; he was a Dittohead. I did not, and still do not, make political persuasion a predication for friendship. Except, of course, when I am on the ballot.

INTRODUCTION--Since I last allowed my friend E.W. to fill in for me (in September), he has been asking me to fill in again. After he showed me his column, I relented, as I do have one more week to write about the election. So, most of this week's column has been written by my friend E.W. I would like to note, however, that I do not agree with E.W. (especially the last paragraph), but, it was a well written column and I am a nice guy, so what the heck.--George Steinkrueger
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THE DOLE STANDARD, by E.W.

       In order to court certain voters during elections, candidates for office will say just about anything to woo the vote. These candidates will even go against their own personal convictions to entice the positive vote. New tolerances will be created to gain support, no matter what the cost. Two types of tolerance have been raised in recent months by Bob Dole and the Republican Party, in the process stepping on many toes.
       During the Republican Convention in San Diego, female pro-choice speakers like Susan Molinari and Kay Bailey Hutchinson stood at the podium showing the viewing public that the Republican Party might have its differences, but opposing positions in the abortion debate could be tolerated within the party. But, since the convention, Citizen Dole has crossed our country proclaiming a no tolerance stand on drug use. In simple terms, the Dole Standard is tolerance for abortions and no tolerance for the use of drugs.
       Citizen Dole wants law enforcement to crack down with no mercy on the recreational user. It seems he has been listening to Rush Limbaugh in recent months. 'Mr. EIB' believes that anyone caught smoking grass should be put in jail on the first offense. Dole, in trying to court the Dittoheads, seems to be following Rush's advice.
       Since our government cannot eradicate drugs on the supply side without alienating some of our allies, this new approach will target the demand side instead. More Americans will be put in jail, their lives further destroyed. But in order to carry out this objective effectively, more prisons will have to be built. Much prison space is already occupied by drug offenders, and drugs enter the secure prison walls just about as easily as drugs enter our country. Where is the punishment?
       Please do not get me wrong. Drugs are harmful -- in the home, in the workplace, etc. But putting fellow citizens in jail for using drugs is not close to the answer our country needs to solve this problem. Those using drugs live in a negative environment. Is not prison a negative environment anyway? A positive environment is needed instead.
       But, unlike the individual who had a choice in the way life is lived, another individual lacks a choice completely when it comes to life. There are those who claim a woman has a choice to do with her body as she wishes. That is fine as long as another body is not affected. We did not design and create the human form. Unfortunately, we are not birds or reptiles that lay eggs outside the body. If so, this debate would not be taking place.
       Our government needs to implement a policy of Pro-Life, not Pro-Choice. The Pro-Life stand supports life, even the life of the mother, but it does not support convenience. Too many abortions are performed as a convenient alternative to maternal and even paternal responsibilities. Abortion is a violent act, the worst form of violence. This act is perpetrated on a helpless being.
       Citizen Dole has publicly stated that he personally opposes abortion in most cases, but officially, he, along with the powers to be in the Republican Party, is tolerating those who favor abortion. His stance toward abortion does not even require one day in jail for those who have or perform abortions. However, he wants to jail those who smoke dope in the privacy of their own home.
       But can we blame Bob Dole for this stance? Abortion has been legal for many years, because America has tolerated it. The majority of Americans oppose drugs and are tired of their consequences; Americans cannot tolerate drugs anymore. Am I wrong to say that the Dole Standard is really the American Standard? Americans must change their tolerances first, then politicians will follow suit.
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OUTTRO & OTHER MUSINGS, by George--It's sad to see a columnist resort to writing a letter to the editor of another paper. Such an action could be interpreted as an insult to the paper that the columnist writes for. ("You are not good enough or big enough to satisfy my ego, so therefore I must express myself in a REAL paper.") Or, maybe it couldn't. Nonetheless, should a columnist in one newspaper write a letter to the editor of another?
     Why do I mention this? It just so happens that one of my fellow columnists wrote a letter to the editor of the Democrat-Gazette. In his defense I will say that it was written better than his column usually is, although it was still rather nasty. To clarify matters, here is the truth about the 2nd District Candidates...Vic Snyder is NOT pro-homosexual but believes that our sex lives are not the government's business. Bud "the Stud" Cummins was out of line calling Vic pro-homosexual, deserved to be chastised by the media, and hopefully will be chastised by the voters. This kind of viciousness and distortion should not be tolerated by the voters of the 2nd District.
     I do find it interesting, however, that Republicans like Bud, who claim to want to get the government out of our lives, actually want to make it more intrusive when it suits their agenda. Hypocritical, isn't it?

EPILOGUE -- Vic Snyder won the election, and was re-elected in 1998. E.W., friend that he is, voted for me for Mayor of Little Rock in 1998. By the way, his politics are still contrary to mine. Attorney Generalissimo John Ashcroft and DEA persecutor Asa Hutchinson, both right-wingers, have continued the Republican crusade. Dole became a drug company spokesman.