click to enlargeMy political career lasted about ten days. I had just graduated from high school. I worked as a semi-paid crisis counselor on the hotline at The Sixth Chamber (I worked there two years, for $50 a week). Although I was 17 when I filed for the City Council, I would have been 18 well before the election.
The city clerk didn't much cotton to a 17 year old from that hippie crisis clinic running for the council (and becoming one of her bosses). She refused to accept my filing papers. I appealed her decision to the Attorney General. The Washington State A.G. at the time was Republican Slade Gorton, who went on to become a U.S. Senator (before being edged out by Maria Cantwell) and 9/11 commission member. Yes, I was booted by Skeletor before he was Skeletor.
I was unable to mount a court challenge to Slade's decision (lack of $$$). So I became an "Observer." Six months later, I ran for a seat on the school board (running against my father-in-law to be's law partner, who never let me forget I challenged him). I lost.
Other than being a faithful voter, and occasional delegate to state conventions, I've been an observer and serious student of politics ever since.
A friend has seriously considered running for national office, and if he does, I will join up in a heartbeat. He is a Republican. If you don't truly love politics you probably can't concieve how I could work for the "enemy." It's not like they would make a yellow-dog Democrat with intemperate views the campaign manager, after all. Whatever I end up doing on the campaign, I'll be playing hardball. And we will win.
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5 comments:
"A friend has seriously considered running for national office, and if he does, I will join up in a heartbeat. He is a Republican."
First, Dan should realize that evangelical Christians, who made the difference in the last vote, think Mormons are evil and Joe Smith was an anti-prophet. So as a diehard super conservative republican he's going to miss out on the democratic vote and most of the republican vote.
Second, Dan should realize that any skeletons in his closet will be brought out for all to see.
Finally, Dan should realize that while he is charasmatic, he is terrible at debate, and would get eaten alive by politicians more skilled than he is at manipulating a crowd.
Oh - one more thing - if he did run, the republicans would reject any involvement by you out-of-hand as a die-hard leftist.
Whoever you are, a few notes: this isn't actually about a person named Dan, who is a Mormon. This is someone in Seattle, who is plugged in, and with whom I share a love of politics and hardball, but not political parties. When this person runs, he will be able to call in a lot of chits from years as a politcal backroomer.
But as far as LDS/Mormons running: not a problem for Mitt Romney, Senator Hatch...or Senator Harry Reid (who is even a democrat). These guys actually pulled a lot of the conservative/Christian right votes. Most of them don't qualify as "die-hard super conservatives." They are more pragmatic than that. They want to win.
Skeletons: yeah, anyone running has to consider those. We all have them. Most of them can be exposed and spun.
You can easily be elected with no debate skills. Look at The President. Look at our most recently elected Congressman, Dave Reichert..he didn't like to debate, because he said they were picking on him. As Bill Clinton how far charisma takes you.
I could just as easily work on strategy for a republican as a democrat. Anyone serious about politics would agree. While most politcal operatives stick with one party, there are plenty of fence straddlers who move between parties. Politics is politics.
'Politics is Politics'? You can say that in these times? That's a little too damn chameleon-like for my comfort. I know and respect some Republicans but unless they're going to promote policies that look a lot like Dems I couldn't support them.
In New York, it might make sense given that the entire political spectrum is shifted leftward (Bloomberg switched sides to run as a Repub.) but I can't see a reasonable Republican coming out of Washington state - they're all hacks, and bad ones at that...
Explain yourself,
Pete
Pete - I dunno...for me politics IS politics. To be in a GOP campaign, yeah, I guess I would be a traitor to some. But I'm not talking about switching parties, but working in a campaign of someone whose moral compass I trust, who happens to be a Republican.
Bill Clinton got motating by taking less than hard left positions. His supreme court appointments were basically moderates.
By being on the inside, I could help a republican not only win, but I just might be able to help steer them toward a position of moderation.
Did you know that Chris Matthews got his start working for a republican? And he went on to work for Tip O'Neil as his top aide. He too believed politics is politics.
As for Washington State republicans: you better believe they will become more moderate. If they ever want to elect another Senator or Governor, they're going to have to choose candidates that move toward the center. I'd like to think I can help influence that.
I don't know if you've ever worked on a campaign, but the demos are no more flexible than their republican brethern. I have been slapped down numerous times in political caucuses for taking less than the gung ho liberal position; positions I took not because I embraced them whole-heartedly, but because they would fly with the voters. If you look at what I believe, you'd find I lean toward the far-far left. I used to call myself a Gorbachev Democrat. Now? I'd just like to win a few. And if I can help elect a good guy...a compassionate, inteligent person with whom I mostly disagree on economic issues, well, so be it.
People who actually believe what I believe are not electable, so I have to pick and choose among the rest.
OK. So we're not New York. But we're about as close as you come in terms of the left.
Unlike many of my friends and lefties, it's really hard for me to hate republicans...even POTUS, with whom I disagree on virtually every single issue. We're just two sides of the same coin, and sandwiched in the middle is this wacky country we call home.
I think Georgey almost blew it during the debates. Lucky for him, not too many people were watching.
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