Article Contributed on: 5/4/2009 6:30:11 PM
Former U.S. Rep.
Tom Tancredo recently posted an interesting piece in/on the Denver Post. Tancredo's thesis is, of course, that more border security is the answer to H1N1 swine flu as it is to so many of life's ills (per Tancredo).
Tancredo is a populist. The populist struts the stage of democracy presenting himself as the defender of the little guy/gal. He sees threatening signs in the heavens. He confronts complexity and shouts out simple solutions.
Some populists do democracy a world of good, some do it a world of hurt. William Jennings Bryan's legacy is the Federal Reserve Bank. Huey Long's legacy is a Louisiana state government mired in consecutive corruption scandals. Both were populists.
I think my friend and debate partner Tom Tancredo has the potential to do a world of hurt, this stirring up of fear of swine flu to drive home his provocative demand for troops to the border.
Our future must not be one of eternal conflict with our neighbors. Our future is in a North American Union, and perhaps later an All America Union.