Lessons learned from decades of political campaigning for Republican candidates, and a comparison between Ron Paul and the "maverick" John McCain. by Jake Morphonios
(libertarian)
Monday, August 2, 2010
I developed an interest in politics at an early age. My grandfather was an award-winning investigative newspaper reporter who made a name for himself by exposing the activities of the criminal underworld, mafia rings and corrupt politicians. His experience as a journalist helped him realize that his destiny lay in the realm of politics. He was hired by candidates running for congressional and gubernatorial offices and even worked as the state campaign manager for a US president. When I was 8 years old he gave me an American flag that flew over the Capitol building in Washington DC that was given to him by the US congressman for whom he worked for many years.
My grandmother was a successful politician in her own right, having won stunning victories each election cycle. Her reputation for candor and justice for the innocent put her in the national spotlight. She appeared on shows such as Donahue, 60 Minutes and Oprah and was a frequent analyst on CNN news shows. My grandmother took me as her date to countless political events, dinners and dances. I went with her to New York City more than once when she guest-hosted the Rush Limbaugh radio show.
And so, raised as a child in such an atmosphere, I developed an appreciation for public service to the community, the state and the nation. In spite of my strong distaste for the gamesmanship involved in politicking, I decided at 12 years old to participate in my first presidential race by organizing a youth campaign for George H.W. Bush in 1988. While other kids were playing the new Sega Genesis, I was gathering petition signatures and commitments for Bush. It was a glorious time in my childhood.
Since the 80's, I have participated in a presidential campaign every election cycle. In 2000, largely out of disdain for George W. Bush, I worked as a state campaign manager for presidential candidate Steve Forbes. While acting as Forbes' escort at one of the Republican Presidential Debates I had the opportunity to meet all of the candidates, from the self-righteous Alan Keyes to the hubristic John McCain. After Forbes dropped out of the race, I found that I couldn't support any of the other candidates so I turned my attention to state-level politics and earned a paycheck as campaign manager for a NC state congressional representative.
By this point in my life I had gained sufficient maturity to begin seeing politicians in a new light. I looked back on the candidates I had supported over the years and found that their actions, once in office, varied greatly from their promises. George H.W. Bush extinguished one of his "thousand points of light" the day he broke his famous "Read my lips: no new taxes!" pledge. Newt Gingrich, John Kasich and others were superstars to me after the 1994 House takeover and passage of the Contract with America (even though they failed to pass promised congressional term limits surprise, surprise). But Newt's burgeoning neo-conservatism was extremely disturbing.
The choice of Bob Dole as the 1996 Republican candidate for president was evidence that something was seriously wrong with the Party, but I held on to my Republican National Committee membership card. With the approach of the 2000 election cycle it was clear that George W. Bush was going to be the nominee, even before the campaign had started. Here was another liberal in "compassionate" conservative clothing - another war-mongering buffoon who seemed to understand the US Constitution about as well as Janet Reno. It was at this point that I came to realize that the conservative Republican Party that I had loved as a child was dead or even worse: it had never existed.
Initially, I had taken the view that most politicians were honest and truly intended to make good on the promises made on the campaign trail. I believed that they would have kept their promises had they been able to, but once in office their opposition was too great to overcome but they would have done what they said they were going to do. I didn't agree with the cynics who lambasted politicians as a horde of lying, cheating trolls who would do or say anything to gain and later retain power though, in full disclosure, I didn't know much about John McCain yet.
No, I can't say that I believe that most politicians are lying, cheating trolls. What I do believe is that most politicians are unprincipled. John McCain isn't called a "maverick" because he has courage to buck his own party to do what he thinks is right. He is called a "maverick" because he has no guiding political principles to determine how he is going to vote on an issue and nobody knows what he's going to support next. It takes a set of core principles to guide one in how to vote for a piece of legislation - even if it puts one in opposition with one's own party. Ron Paul is a "maverick". John McCain is moron.
Craving party membership, I toyed for a handful of years with the Libertarian Party, and even hoped to make a home in the Constitution Party. In the end, though, I decided that each party had its own problems. The Libertarians are so desperate to be considered a legitimate national organization that they'll let anybody take over the party leadership. Yes, I'm talking about Bob Barr. And the Constitution Party, while I like much of what it stands for, remains a small-potatoes group made up primarily of Baptist home-school parents from Ohio. No, a national party is not for me. I'm too stubborn, too non-conformist, to fit comfortably in any one party.
For all those years I made fun of voters who were registered as "independents", and yet here I am a bloody independent voter. That doesn't mean, however, that I can be pigeon-holed as one of the ignorant nimrods who are often found using trite statements like this one: "I don't vote for someone based on whether or not they are Democrat or Republican but on where they stand on the issues." Right. For the record, there has never been in my lifetime a Democrat on the federal level that I could vote for based on where he stood on the issues. Democrats are socialists and their agenda is nothing less than the destruction of our Constitutional Republic. My problem is that Republicans have moved so far left that I'm finding very few of them that I can allow myself to vote for either. No Child Left Behind? Medicaid Prescription Coverage? USA Patriot Act? Please! If this kind of legislation is what makes one a Republican then count me out. Leon Trotsky would find a good home in such a party. Maybe Sean Hannity could have him over for a brainstorming session and Sean could call it a "tea party".
I've learned a lot over the years from my involvement in politics. And the greatest lesson learned is this: "In questions of power then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution." Jefferson had it right. Charisma and personality cannot be trusted. I initially fell under the spell of George W. Bush after 9-11. I couldn't believe that this man who professed to be a born-again Christian could witness such calamity and immediately turn around and use the event to perpetrate such incredible evil. We cannot trust the sophistry of our politicians. Barack Obama is not the Messiah, and, though it pains me to admit it, neither was Ronald Reagan.
Politicians are necessarily charged with the cautious use of power, yet power is a corrupting agent. Madison wrote to Jefferson: "Whenever there is an interest and power to do wrong, wrong with generally be done." He argued that men in power should not be allowed to trample upon the liberties of the people. Madison wrote in 1785: "The Rulers who are guilty of such an encroachment, exceed the commission from which they derive their authority, and are Tyrants. The people who submit to it are governed by laws made neither by themselves nor by an authority derived from them, and are Slaves."
It is only through holding our representatives accountable for how they follow the Constitution that we have any hope of preserving the strength of our nation. As it is evident that none of the Democrats and few Republicans are willing to fulfill their sworn duty to protect and defend the US Constitution there is only one option left to us. We have to throw these bums out. Let this election cycle be a message to incumbents: you unprincipled trolls have not obeyed the law and you do not deserve represent us. Now we are going to take our chances with someone new. Your time is over. Good riddance.
The views expressed
in this article are those of Jake Morphonios only and
do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates.
Jake Morphonios is solely responsible for the contents
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Posted By: Jahfre Fire Eater
Date: August 2, 2010 06:29:02 PM
Hi Jake,
Good article! The momentum will be measured soon as the primary season is drawing near. The results of the GOP primary are where the rubber meets the road. I have no idea if enough of the folks who are voicing displeasure with the direction our country is going will actually step up and ensure that limited government, fiscal conservatives are put on the ballot. I hope that all liberty-talkers do well regardless of their participation in the GOP where it matters or out on the fringes where it is all about them.
Seeing fringe candidates do well could be a double edged sword though. If the lure of apathy and futility is strong enough to allow the war mongering big government leaders of the GOP to keep the candidate pipeline full with their kind it is likely that the progressive strategy of divide-and-conquer will ensure a Democrat president again in 2012. Worst case scenario would be that Hillary would be that president...for 8 years. Can you spell F-D-R (Times a million)? Our descendants could learn first-hand how the Great Pyramids were built.
The best case would be for some successful third party candidates to step up the big leagues and help topple the GOP from within; while at the same time, liberty defenders and fiscal conservatives show a great surge in popularity by getting on the November ballot. If those things can happen this year I believe there is a good chance for a Ron Paul Republican to topple the establishment in the 2011 campaign season. We live in interesting times; times when the true value of constructive action can be seen at the same time as the consequences of apathy and divisiveness are being felt from coast-to-coast.
How big of a sledge hammer does mankind need in order to make sustainable societies the norm? I don't know but my bet is that this one isn't big enough.
-Jahfre Fire Eater
