Self-professed 'drunken pirate' runs for U.S. Congress on lobbying reform plank by GinoBiffaroni

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Self-professed 'drunken pirate' runs for U.S. Congress on lobbying reform plank

POSTED BY: GINOBIFFARONI
UPDATED: Wednesday, November 8, 2006 10:30
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Monday, November 6, 2006 7:24 PM

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/061012/K101216U.html

Sounds like this guy would be an improvement over ... what is there now

ELDRIDGE, Iowa (AP) - Pillaging, plundering and grog, sweet grog; James Hill is happy to discuss the finer points of pirate life. But first, you'll have to hear him out on lobbying reform.

"Lobbying should be illegal," said Hill, a self-professed "drunken pirate" who is running for Congress as an independent in Iowa's 1st District. "It amounts to taxation without representation."

Lobbying probably never irked Blackbeard, nor is it likely that William Kidd rued the lack of transparency in government. But Hill, a former factory worker and stablehand who's wrapped himself in the Jolly Roger in his long-shot bid for Congress, isn't your average buccaneer.

Assuming the pirate mantle is partly about ethos and partly about drawing attention, Hill said.

"I have to get a little bit of notoriety," he said. "On the other hand, this kind of attitude will keep me straight and it will help keep them (Congress) straight."

For Hill, being a pirate is more about mind-set than physical prototype, which probably explains why he is somewhat lacking in pirate credentials.

Though he sports a suitably scraggly beard, it is carrot-coloured, not black. His animal companions are dogs, not parrots. And he opts to navigate the district on a Kawasaki motorcycle rather than a three-masted schooner. His bike does sport a small skull and crossbones sticker, though.

It may sound strange coming from a pirate, but Hill insists his campaign is about ideas, not imagery.

"Before we were a country they - pirates - were running mini-democracies. We need to get back to that," he said, adding an unsolicited promise that he will bring more "swashbuckling" to Congress if elected.

To many, the pirate's campaign is just a lot of yo-ho-hum.

Hill's major opponents, Democrat Bruce Braley and Republican Mike Whalen, have more or less ignored his candidacy in their intense fight for the open seat. Hill also has struggled to get local media coverage and has managed only one debate invitation so far.

Braley spokesman Jeff Giertz acknowledged that the Democrat hasn't paid much attention to Hill.

"I've spoken to the pirate captain," Giertz said. "He was friendly."

But Hill said he's been pleasantly surprised by how much his profile soared on the Internet after his campaign website, www.jameshillforcongress.com, was linked by the popular Fark.com.

When Hill announced his candidacy in August, bloggers of all political stripes wrote him up, many expressing surprise that there were pirates in Iowa.

Hill hopes the web hits keep coming until he reaches his goal: a sizable percentage in November's election.

"I want to light up the board, I want to have some kind of percentage," he said.

And if he's somehow elected?

"I won't mind getting in front of people and asking them hard questions," Hill said. "I bet I'll be the most honest person in Washington."

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Tuesday, November 7, 2006 1:37 PM

KANEMAN

"Sounds like this guy would be an improvement over ... what is there now"

Blah, blah, blah... More anti-American drivel...Worry about your government not ours, thanks you big incontinent bowel.

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Tuesday, November 7, 2006 6:55 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK

I checked out his site and I really like his ideas. I'd vote for him if he was in my state.

As far as for anti-American drivel... I think I have to agree with the ass-hat here if you aren't American yourself. There ain't a corrupt and evil government in the world that I'd want to live under any more than I want to live under my own corrupt and evil government. If you fix yours, I'll move there, but I won't hold my breath. If you had a perfect government we would invade you and enforce Democracy anyhow.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." http://www.myspace.com/6ixstringjack

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Tuesday, November 7, 2006 7:35 PM

GINOBIFFARONI

The trouble is the government you elect has wide ranging and last implications on the entire world, every government has its issues, but if your saying people cannot be critical of a government they have no opportunity to vote for or against, but still have to live with a wide ranging consequence of the result... I would suggest you look back at the opinions of those who founded your democracy, and wonder what they thought of a system of government which held influence over them, without any representation.

I didn't bring this up with the ass-hat, because I didn't see the point, but I hope you can.

Incidentally, another candidate I thought was interesting was in the Texas governor race " Kinky Fieldman " or something like that. An ex-singer, with some interesting ideas, and came off well in an interview I watched.

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Tuesday, November 7, 2006 9:39 PM

FLORALBUNNY

Kinky Friedman's been around for a long time.
He's very intelligent and funny.
I think he should come to California.
Plenty of votes here for him, I'd think.

bun
~Bastards lobbied my turtle~

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Tuesday, November 7, 2006 11:02 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK

You're preaching to the choir here man. If you've read anything I've posted in here that has anything to do with politics in here you'll know that I'm disgusted with the way things are being run, but I was just as disgusted by Clinton era Demoncrats as I am by the curent Repuglicrat administration. The biggest problem we have now was the fact that Repuglicans ran the show straight across the board with very limited opposition to the unconstitutional laws they created in the name of "security". Looks like the Demoncrats just took the house back (which I'm moderately happy about), but I'm rooting for the Repuglicans to keep the Senate because I can almost guarantee that we're going to see a Demoncrat president in 2 years and we will all be even much worse off it will be even worse if we have a majority of Demons in all three seats.

Our government works the best when it does nothing at all (which is very similar to a quote by Thomas Jefferson which exact words escape me now), and personally, I would rather watch them fighting each other then making more laws to restrict our ability to think and do anything for ourselves. (BTW... not sure where you're from, but if it's the UK, you guys are more Orwellian and scary than any government in the world.... read 1984 if you haven't, trust me.)

As far as not being represented, I'm in the demographic that is least represented in my country now. I'm a young white hetrosexual male who smokes. There is absoulutly nobody looking out for my interests in office today. Anyone else can say whatever they want to about me based on these facts and they're justified. I have to deal with stereotypes against me on a daily basis and feel hated and I've done nothing to anyone, but the second I say anything back I risk losing my job, getting fined or even spending a night in the pokey. People who don't have citizenship get free health care while I had to pay $800.00 two years ago for a testicular cancer test on my credit card because I couldn't find a job at the time. Not to mention that I have to pay over $6.00 a pack of smokes today when I was paying just a little over $2.00 a pack a few years ago and the government put an end to my ability to buy smokes from Russia or American Indians where I wouldn't have to pay the taxes, thus eliminating true free trade at the same time. Both Demoncrats and Repuglicans are in favor of all of this.

The lesson here is that life sucks no matter where you live or no matter who is in office. I wouldn't be so quick to listen to the media in your country which I'm sure is bashing Americans on a daily basis. Most of the reason that we are as screwed up here as we are today is becasue we have so many Communistic social programs that cater to everyone in the world except for the people who originally made this a great country while stealing the wealth of the people.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." http://www.myspace.com/6ixstringjack

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Wednesday, November 8, 2006 10:30 AM

KANEMAN

"Most of the reason that we are as screwed up here as we are today is becasue we have so many Communistic social programs that cater to everyone in the world except for the people who originally made this a great country while stealing the wealth of the people."

Like it or not......I agree. Catering to the rest of the world is getting ridiculous.

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