As April 15 rolls around two things come to mind.
1) The Federal Income Tax
2) Tax Day Tea Party's
Both have significance. But both are leaving me feeling helpless.
As we gather to rail against the powers that be, I can't help but think that we are missing a great opportunity. When I went to my first tea party rally in March 2009, I definitely saw the potential.
True there were only about 75 people on the side of a busy road in Orlando. But that one was soon followed by a much larger one that had many thousands in attendance.
I hadn't seen that much enthusiasm in quite a while. But more importantly these were crowds turning out with very little organization from the top. Nothing more than a few people exchanging email lists.
And as the year progressed, there were more rallies, meetings, and finally trips to Washington, D.C.
Much good has been accomplished, yet I still feel that we are consigning ourselves to just 'call your congressman' mode.
How I wish that instead of going to feel good events, sometimes traveling for hours and spending hundred's of dollars, we could know what the pro's know.
Namely, if you want power, you run for office. Granted that some brave patriots step forward and begin a campaign for US Congress. This is admirable, but as someone once said, 'First sit down and count the cost.'
Do some investigating and you will find that congressional races routinely cost millions of dollars to win. That is clearly out of our price range or fund raising ability.
But as I have studied the available options, I did what most novices do: Watch what the experts suggest and recommend.
Without exception they have told me, run for local office or your state legislature. This is the equivalent of playing college ball before you go to the pro's.
I've also had the pleasure of talking to many local & state officials. Besides giving me a chance to let them know how I would like them to vote, I've gotten to have many off-the-record conversations.
The subject that I would always broach is 'how did you win your election.' Again without exception they say start small and build a grassroots force.
Here's the bottom line. Either you run for office OR you help someone that is running.
How I wish all the folks traveling to D.C. or spending hours standing in a public park would consider how much impact they would have if that same time and money went towards electing one of our own.
Nick Egoroff
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2 comments:
I agree totally! I wish I could do more but with 5 children the one thing that I have done is gather petitions (children in tow) for our local congressional candidate that will be running against Corrine Brown in District 3 Florida, Michael "Mike" Yost. Not only is it good for us to get out, but it is a great history and civics lesson for the children. I can say one thing to other people: You can help and be active no matter how many children you have and how busy you are!
I agree with you. I'm doing the rallies and also getting involved with local campaigns. I'm a total bush-leaguer, but I'll get up to speed. What I won't do under any circumstances is compromise my principles just because a long-time successful political handler-type tells me that "this is how you win elections". I'm half expecting that some campaign manager is going to tell me exactly that, at which point I'll quit supporting that candidate and look for another. Will it work? I don't know. But they won't give me my bitching license until I roll up my sleeves and sweat a little, I know that much.
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