Handling Disappointment .....

This morning I am battling overwhelming disappointment at the results of yesterday's primary run-off elections here in my state... While I am certainly a champion of the democratic process (lowercase "d"), it's disheartening to see candidates that you believe in fail to win the praise of the public at-large. I could also see where, if I was a young voter, I would be dismayed with the political process and would turn to apathy as a means to avoid future disappointments. If that applies to you: fight that tendency.

I have spoken to hundreds, if not thousands, of students about civic participation. Many of those students were not yet eighteen, but likely all of them are now. I hope they've chosen to educate themselves about candidates running for office, and have made an informed decision about who they feel will best represent their interests-- whether it's on the board of education, the United States Senate, or on the bench. Too many times voters allow campaign ads and party propaganda influence their decisions. Other times, a candidate's race or sex may be the deciding factor. Individual life experiences and values certainly have an impact on the people we choose as our voice in the legislative process. Yet, there is another extremely important factor that has been overlooked for far, far too long: experience.

Yes, we heard Hilary mention it a few times during the Campaign of 2008 -- and the media glossed over it and her opponent's lack of experience was downplayed as unimportant. Looking back now, I hope that we can all agree that experience is not only important-- but necessary. Moreover, typically with experience (at least of a positive nature) comes political capital. No matter what level of government you look at, clearly it takes political capital to accomplish anything of value to the average voter. Want to pass a tax increase or a tax cut? You need experience + political capital (i.e. respect of other elected officials, a history of making good decisions and getting things done, with an ability to demonstrate the benefits of a particular decision to the general public) to get it accomplished.

So what's my point? I think this blog is read by more people than I realize, and I hope that maybe I can spark a discussion about the realities of candidates we choose to represent us.

I encourage you to make an informed decision about individual candidates running for office. By informed, I mean looking into their ACTIONS versus printed advertising or television ads. For candidates who have held office before-- look at how they voted, if they voted at all, and the types of things they supported. Look at their families, their religion, their philosophy on education, taxes, social programs, and the role of government. And when, after you have narrowed down the field to a few you can support, please, please, consider whether that particular candidate will actually be able to implement their philosophies if they are elected. It will not help you at all to throw your support behind someone who will be unable to accomplish anything if elected due to their lack of experience or political capital. It will not help you to support a candidate who has neither the personality or strength to accomplish the very things you feel are important. The bottom line is: candidates may be church going, warm, kind, genuinely nice people. But if they are not assertive enough to stand up against opponents or have an unproven track record of leadership or an ability to get things done, they (more times than not) will not be successful. Take a look at Jimmy Carter's track record if you'd like evidence of the above. Nice people don't always make great leaders.

Now we enter the long road to November, where we have the opportunity to re-evaluate our priorities as a city, county, and country. Every single vote counts (just ask Tim James, who lost a spot in the primary run-off my a meager 147 votes). Lets be realistic about the way government works and make informed choices about who can be a true leader for us, not just a weak figure-head who lacks the political capital to make changes that are necessary to protect our interests. The political process was never meant to be a popularity contest -- we are not electing prom kings or queens. The time has come for us to put our big boy/girl pants on and grow up. It's now or never.