Let’s hear it for Grover!

By
Admin
– December 28, 2007Posted in: Classic Juice 1

I had a great time last night in downtown Fullerton, as the Grover Cleveland Social Club convened at the Springfield Banquet and Conference Center at 501 N. Harbor. I was invited by Steven Greenhut, the noted libertarian editorial writer at the O.C. Register. (Thanks Steven!)

There were so many great minds there that I cannot possibly name them all. Greenhut’s former colleague John Seiler was there (he has his own blog now). So were two O.C. Supervisors: Chris Norby and John Moorlach. Supervisor Janet Nguyen was invited but did not show. (She missed out on a good time!). Tustin Councilman Jim Palmer was there; so was Orange Mayor Carolyn Cavecche, who sang a song about Grover Cleveland (and lucky for her no one brought a video camera). I also ran into former Cypress Councilman Mike McGill. And I met Fullerton Council Member Pam Keller, who is a Democrat. She is also a sparkling conversationalist and a favorite of the voters in Fullerton.

Keller was not the only Democrat there. State Senator Lou Correa showed up too. He is a regular member – and as Greenhut put it, he is a supporter of property rights, unlike many of the Republicans in the area (such as Santa Ana Councilman Carlos “Space Commander” Bustamante, who supports the onerous Renaissance Plan).

Allan Bartlett was there too, from the Powder Blue Report Blog. He was joined by several other supporters of presidential candidate Ron Paul. Assemblyman Chuck DeVore showed up too – we were all talking about his recent attack on Paul. Apparently DeVore is shilling for Fred Thompson, who is dying on the vine. Bartlett told me that Paul will likely run in the general as a Libertarian candidate. If so I will probably vote for him in the general. There is no way I can support Hillary Clinton or any of the GOP candidates. Not after watching them in action over the last few months.

I should also note that Register editorial writer Tibor Machan was the guest speaker last night. He gave a stirring talk about police officers – and whether they should be enforcing ridiculous laws that do not protect us, but rather take away our rights.

Here is what Greenhut has said previously about Grover Cleveland and his Social Club:

Why Grover Cleveland?

Cleveland was probably the last great president. The one-time Buffalo mayor and New York governor stuck by his principles, even in the face of opposition from powerful interest groups. He was honorable and self-effacing. If a bill did not conform to the Constitution, he vetoed it. He was more than willing to lose the next election than to compromise his core beliefs, which were consistent with those of the founders. He rebuked special interests, refused to waste tax dollars and kept the country out of war. He believed in states’ rights and stood up to powerful unions. He was a Democrat who crossed partisan lines, gaining strong support from reform-minded Republican mugwumps. Cleveland epitomized the best traditions in law enforcement — in 1870 he was elected sheriff of Erie County, N.Y., and, as one report puts it , “carried out at least two hangings of condemned criminals, refusing to delegate such unpleasant work to others.”

Members of our social club (and invitees) have diverse views, and come from different parties. We want to debate things, not preach to the choir. But, in general, we believe in limited, open government and in non-interventionism in foreign affairs. We believe that both major parties are flip sides of the same big-government, empire-building coin. We believe that elected officials should stand up for the public against special interests, and that they should have character and integrity, rather than be driven by polls, focus groups and by their own ambition. Any politician unwilling to lose an election because of taking an unpopular position is not worthy of Grover Cleveland’s or our support!

Mostly, we believe in good beer, fine cigars, tasty barbecue and boisterous conversation! This is, after all, a social club that will NOT endorse politicians, help political parties, make contributions nor do anything more than meet, drink and be merry. (Memberships will be available at no charge, although some future events will have a nominal cost to cover food, cigars and beer.)

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"Admin" is just editors Vern Nelson, Greg Diamond, or Ryan Cantor sharing something that they mostly didn't write themselves, but think you should see. Before December 2010, "Admin" may have been former blog owner Art Pedroza.