LIBERTARIAN GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE BLASTS FISHER, RENDELL, AND THE MEDIA
October 23, 2002
Ken Krawchuk, the Libertarian candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania, held a press conference this afternoon at the Central Family Restaurant in York to address allegations by the Associated Press that he violated federal law regarding currency. Krawchuk tossed aside the allegations as a "waste of the taxpayers' time and money", instead blasting his opponents Mike Fisher and Ed Rendell for their violations of their oath of office. Krawchuk also severely chastised the media for their failure to call Rendell and Fisher on the betrayal of their oath of office.
Krawchuk immediately defused the issue of rendering the currency unfit for use by using mended dollars to purchase his lunch at the Family Central Restaurant in York prior to the press conference. "See? They're still usable. Any child would know that, but apparently not my lawyer opponents."
"I can't help but wonder if Mr. Fisher and Mr. Rendell are now going to call for the arrest of all the children and teachers who visit the Franklin Institute Science Museum in Philadelphia, or all the state fairs that have machines that 'mutilate' pennies by turning them into souvenirs? These guys should get a life. It's obvious that they're only trying to divert our attention from their own illegal actions."
Krawchuk then blasted Rendell and Fisher for repeatedly violating their oath of office. "At the third debate, I asked Ed Rendell which he would betray: his oath of office to defend gun rights, or his promise to the anti-gun lobby. Mr. Rendell publicly chose to betray his oath of office. Mr. Fisher performed no better when I asked him at the second debate for his constitutional authorization to prohibit gambling - there is no authority, yet he plunges ahead and plans to ban gambling anyway. And both candidates call for an expansion of the PACE program, when the constitution offers absolutely no authority for that government handout. Both of these gentlemen are breaking their solemn oath to uphold the constitution, do it brazenly, and won't recant their illegal positions. The only candidate who is morally fit to be Governor of Pennsylvania is Ken Krawchuk"
Krawchuk then took aim squarely at the media, blasting them for focusing on the trivial issue of ripping money instead of the very serious issue of politicians breaking their oath of office. "Where were you guys?", a visibly-angry Krawchuk called out to the media in the audience. "Why is ripping up my own money national news, but crooked politicians are NOT news? Have we become so jaded? And it's not just one isolated incident - they and their fellow Democrats and Republicans have a long history of these shenanigans, and you know it!"
"Where were you when the teachers lost their shirts in the market crash? Article 9, Section 9 of the Pennsylvania Constitution clearly states that the districts are not authorized, quote, to become a stockholder in any company, association, or corporation, unquote. It's a wise law which would have prevented their losses. But they went ahead and broke it anyway, and now they want us taxpayers to bail them out."
"It goes on and on -- Mr. Fisher and Mr. Rendell are filling our prisons with pot smoking Grateful Dead fans and releasing murders and rapists to make room for them. They're putting African American teens in jail at a rate 55 times greater than whites. 55 times as many!!! Where do these guys get their authority to ban pot? If it took a constitutional amendment to ban alcohol, why doesn't it take a constitutional amendment to ban pot?"
"Where were you? We have snipers and terrorists roaming the land and you waste the Secret Service's time on THIS? Let's get our priorities straight and look at oath-breaking politicians instead. You're the fourth branch of government, the watchdog who's supposed to keep a sharp eye out for this very thing. But you're more the lapdog than the watchdog, when you should be the attack dog. Obviously the days of the Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of Watergate are long dead. I call upon you to rebuild that tradition, to fill your role in our republic. It's no wonder 2/3 of the people don't vote!"
In the debates, Krawchuk allegedly tore a dollar bill into three pieces to demonstrate the fiscal inefficiency of using federal tax dollars to fund state government programs. According to Krawchuk, when you send a dollar to the IRS, the larger part of it immediately vanishes into the bureaucracy. The smaller part is then passed on to the states, who also take the larger part of the remainder for their bureaucracy, leaving only a small fraction of the original dollar to be spent on its intended government program. Federal funding of local programs leaves even less money for the program, Krawchuk maintains, and the best way to fund any program would be locally, without government assistance.
Founded in 1971, the Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in the state and the nation, with over 500 elected and appointed officials currently serving in office nationwide, and 71 in Pennsylvania, more than any other state except California. Like the Founding Fathers, Libertarians believe that you have a God-given, inalienable right to conduct your life as you see fit, without interference, so long as you respect the rights and property of others. For more information about the Libertarian Party, the public is invited to contact the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania at www.LpPa.org or (800) R-RIGHTS, or the National Libertarian Party at Lp.org or (202) 333-0008.
The Krawchuk campaign can be contacted at 215-881-9696, info@KenK.org, www.KenK.org, or c/o PO Box 260, Cheltenham Penna., 19012.
