George,

In light of Will Lyster's recent comments regarding "Democrats" ganging up on Mr. Sewell, (and the fact that he cited me in order to do make his point) I would like to point out that,

A. I am not a Democrat, nor do I intend to become one. I am more along the lines of an independent with a Libertarian streak as far as political affiliation goes.

I grew up in a yuppie, rich, overwhelmingly Republican town on the Jersey Shore. Some of the kids I grew up with has some sense of direction, but a majority of them were a bunch of stoned slackers you could never rely on. Their parents did everything for them short of wiping their behinds. Ironic, I know, but true. I inherited a distaste for being overtaxed and overregulated - traits normally associated with Republicans. But I also inherited a distaste for the future generation of the Republican Party. Don't get me wrong - the majority of the older generation of Republicans worked very hard to get to where they were, and I greatly admire them for that. It was their kids' lack of work ethic that bothered me. I wasn't made to be like the kids I grew up with. A lot of these kids were opinionated ivory-tower types who knew little about people who lived outside their lifestyle. It was difficult being someone who was wiling to challenge accepted perceptions. To me, bourgeois and ivory-tower is synonymous with the new generation of Republicans - which may sound strange to y'all in Virginia, but that's been my personal experience growing up.

B. I'm sure Mr. Sewell is a swell guy who's pretty savvy about hunting and the ins and outs of whatever kind of business he runs. This does not automatically make him an expert on the European Union, though. I even mentioned in my last commentary that someone like him, who is tied to a job and a family, and probably has not traveled abroad nearly as much my generation has, would not be in a position to know much about the European Union and how it functions.

I don't like people spreading half-cracked theories like the EU is some kind of "Social Experiment." That's like saying Dick Cheney is living in a concrete bunker and is secretly controlling the US government. You take a piece of the truth, such as the fact that some European nations have universal healthcare in the first example, or the fact that Dick Cheney was out of the public eye for some time in the second, and turn them into statements which are remotely related to truth, but are in fact completely false.

C. It seems to me that Republicans advance any sort of policies regardng elections which will win them more representation while reducing the representation of the competition, regardless of how fair it may be. Just think of the redrawing of congressional districts in Texas. It would be nice if the policies of our elected officials truly reflected the opinions of the electorate who elects them. But the way things are going, it seems that the political parties are going for every bit of political power they can get. As the majority party in the country and in the state, it seems petty for Republicans to complain about not getting enough representation in one of the few Democratic enclaves left in Virginia. I don't understand how the enfranchised should feel the need to be disenfranchised. To me, it's like complaining that your new BMW doesn't have a 5-disc CD changer. Deal.

- Joseph Cheek (electronic mail, September 19, 2004)