We are well into May of a midterm election year and in spite of an unseasonably cool spring, primary election campaigns are off and running. Regardless of what may be happening in the larger national and global picture, the focus on local state legislative politics is heating up. Given that all politics is local, that is how it should be and it is doing so right on schedule. In the past few weeks, Yours Truly has attended several candidate campaign kickoffs and meet & greet social functions. There is so much curiosity revolving around candidates, many of whom are political novices and most are getting their first taste of articulating their stances on controversial issues. Granted, all these aforementioned candidate functions have been Democratic and most of the queries posed by actual and prospective supporters have been nothing but amicable, but this is only the primary season. Down the road in the runup to the November General Election I expect things to not only get ugly but downright nasty. Expect the level of nastiness to be directly proportional to the level of desperation exerted by the more vulnerable incumbents and challengers. In the era of chaos government we should expect nothing to be off limits. Attack ads, however accurate or devoid of things factual, are mean and cruel for a reason. They work. They however cannot be ignored. Being able to withstand a withering storm of static and white noise and being able to think fast on one’s feet when sorting out the important things from the chaff goes with the territory of any successful political campaign. Knowing how to respond to loaded questions, skewed surveys and/or openly hostile ideologically based inquiries are skills required of anyone aspiring to be a politician. My advice is to hold your head up proudly and hold fast to the values that motivated you to run for public office in the first place. Late on Election Night when you see your polling results and discover you’ve must have pissed off a lot of people (even in spite of having won) you can still take solace in knowing that you did and do in fact stand for something!
A political party is only a vehicle and candidates riding it may not agree with every single plank in its platform. That said, regardless of a strong and clearly articulated message, any candidate running as a Democrat must be ready to confront special interest groups that are diametrically opposed to the party’s position on whatever issue. It helps to be prepared with the right type and amount of research and have an awareness of current activities of such organizations. All the same no candidate has any obligation, neither legal nor moral, to respond to any demand from any political interest group or individual regardless of how intimidating their presentation may be. Assigning candidates letter grades commensurate with how well they align with any given group’s values and priorities is all part of the game of American politics.
Recently I became aware that a Democratic state house candidate running a campaign in a GOP-heavy district (that describes just about all legislative districts in Oklahoma) received a survey packet from the National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF). I have a relative who resides in the district in question and I am aware that the GOP primary for that seat is very crowded given the incumbent is terming out, but I’m certain all dozen or so Republican candidates likely received the same correspondence. Republicans know they must pass muster with a national organization with a paltry five million membership as this now somehow demonstrates absolute loyalty to unfettered open interpretation of one amendment. Would any of them be as cooperative if they knew the organization demanding their response was being investigated by the FBI for illegally funneling foreign money to the campaign of the current occupant of the Oval Office? If this investigation determines that laundering money from a hostile foreign entity did in fact occur, will they remove themselves from the ranks of its membership or will they validate that the end justifies the means? I am proud to report that the Democrat made the right call and declined response to the survey.
At the end of the day ideology is but grist for the coffee shop mill, merely a dividing line of who stands where in relation to any given issue. The battle lines are clearly drawn and all new ideas are fair game for debate. That said, one thing we should demand of everyone on all sides is compliance with the law. Staying within legal boundaries is a political imperative and going outside them is not negotiable. This is where we all must stand our ground when dealing with rogues and their minions. The NRA is but one interest group that assigns those aforementioned letter grades to candidates based on their survey responses. Republicans usually rate high with that group and wear their grade on their sleeve as a badge of honor. Given the current national climate and the groundswell of demand for change on their pet issue of an unfettered 2nd Amendment, we have the opportunity to make that badge of honor into a scarlet letter!
Here are a few thoughts and items to consider in the runup to the June 26th Primary. This I know from a decade and a half of working on political campaigns:
-Politics is the ultimate team sport.
-Power yields nothing without a demand.
-Failing to plan is a plan for failure.
-Luck has a tendency to grace those who exert the best effort.
-Candidates only deserve as much abuse as they will tolerate.
-Exemplary faith, service or citizenship is best demonstrated via deeds and not public proclamations.
-It is far better to earn respect than to demand it.
-Changes may not be permanent, but change is.
One benefit campaigning for public office offers most who make the commitment is the opportunity to grow in ways and directions many candidates never knew existed let alone ever considered. One thing apparent about this particular midterm election cycle that has been notably absent in previous ones is the level of enthusiasm. There is a grassroots Democratic groundswell of citizens demanding a change of course in state government coupled with a quality of commitment that has not been seen in Oklahoma in several years. Whether or not this is enough to move the ideology meter from extreme right to closer to the middle remains to be seen, however, inept governance and those responsible for it have been placed on notice. As a Democratic observer all I can say is I like what I see. Best of luck to everyone committed to a cause greater then themselves and becoming agents of positive change!
stan..great work.
loved it..you are right on