Operation Clark County

Over in the UK, the Guardian (or Grauniad, as its frequent typos have caused it to be nicknamed) had the bright idea of trying to influence the US presidential elections by having its readers write campaign letters to independent voters in Clark County, Ohio.

It was a mind-bogglingly stupid idea, of course. An offense against American sovereignty, brought to us by the country from which we had to pry American sovereignty? Oh, whee! What a great plan!

But even if this had been a Swedish paper's idea, it would still have been stupid. Who in their right minds would listen to another country's people about their own national elections? Do the Germans care what the French think? Do the Japanese beg for Filipino opinion polls?

If they do, they clearly need some help clarifying what "sovereignty" means.

You know, the reason most of us live in this country is that our ancestors didn't want to live in Europe, under European rules. A lot of us also live here because our ancestors were tortured and oppressed. So we feel a need to step in and stop such behavior...but really, we'd rather stay home and mind our own business. It's mind-boggling to us that other countries don't feel the same way...or at least, the editors of the Grauniad don't.

Americans like people from other countries. They really do. They want them to be proud and free and prosperous and happy. They don't want to rule other countries; they just want to govern their own. And if anybody who's not American tries to butt in at the voting booth, Americans are not going to be happy about it. If we butted in, we would expect the same treatment from folks in other countries.

So feel free to write editorials on the other side of the Pond. As many as you want! You're allowed to comment. But as soon as you cross my doorstep with an unsolicited letter, you've crossed the line.

And no, the UK doesn't deserve a vote in our elections. Unless it applies for and is accepted as a US territory or state. (Which would certainly be a boon for the British taxpayer, but I don't think the Grauniad would much like US law.)