Last week I wrote the following blog post geared toward Mississippi and the fall out from the Thad Cochran fiasco and to encourage the supporters of Chris McDaniel who are still reeling from that loss. There is a lot of voter malaise and discouragement and I wanted to encourage people people and remind them that Nov 4th is not the be all that ends all. This letter is appropriate for voters all over the country so please read the following, it's a little bit long, but tolerable I think and forward to friends of yours who need encouragement. The sun will still rise tomorrow, regardless of who wins and more importantly, the work that needs to be done will still be there and that work need not wait for elections....
This election is not the end and it's not the beginning. The problems in our country didn't begin with Thad (41 years in Congress) Cochran, Lamar (I voted with Obama 62% of the time) Alexander, or Mitch (We can't repeal Obamacare because we won't have 60 votes even though Obamacare was passed using reconciliation which only needed 51 votes) McConnell, etc I could go and on with this, you get the gist.
The problems with America lies in the foundation of our Republic. "Of the people, by the people, and for the people"...it's just a cliche until THE PEOPLE enforce it. This doesn't mean getting involved in elections and trying to influence the vote(yes by all means do that), it means getting involved with YOUR government 365 days a year. It means paying attention to your local government and attending meetings when you can. It means calling and emailing your local and state officials and letting them know...no, instructing them as the Tennessee State Constitution says in 1 Section 23 “That the citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together for their common good, to instruct their representatives, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances, or other proper purposes, by address of remonstrance.”
I didn't know this before I read our state constitution, that the citizens had the right to "instruct" our leaders. Check out your state's constitution, there's some good stuff in there. Some of our leaders didn't know it either, but slowly, they are finding out. It's my job to enlighten and inform not just the people of our state, but our leaders too. A lot of people think it's the elected officials job to know everything. You elected them to represent you and after election day you go back to doing what you do and we let the leaders of our country do what we elected them to do. Wow, how easy is that? Only it hasn't worked out very well. Do some research on what your officials have been up to, read their talking points every couple of years and walk into the poll booth thinking you are making an informed decision. News flash, if you haven't been involved in the day to day goings on in your local and state governing bodies...you don't have a clue. That's not an insult. It's the nature of the beast. Not just the political beast, any beast. The same problems we have at the federal level with the disconnect between what the people want and what the elected class wants is huge and happening to an even greater degree in your local community.
Washington, D.C....that's where all the focus is for most people involved in politics but it's where the PEOPLE have the least amount of power. This is not accidental. Even though this massive disconnect is going on locally and at the state level, there is one big difference that is the key to changing EVERYTHING. Access to power. YOU have it locally and at the state level depending on where you live. The seats of power you have access to is where your focus should be.
But, but, but if we don't get a Republican majority in the Senate, the sky will fall right? I submit to you that even if the Republicans win a majority in the Senate the sky will still probably fall. Are we to believe that Thad Cochran, Lamar Alexander, Lindsay Grahamnesty, John McCain and others are going to fight Amnesty? Repeal Obamacare? Keep us from getting into another war in the Middle East, not spend like drunken sailors? The party is the problem. Both party's, so don't fall in with the crowd that puts their faith in the party. You will be sorely disappointed and as well you should be. George Washington warned us about party alliances that would consume the country if we let it take over, and let them take over we have.
But this isn't over, not today, not November 4th, and not 2016. Our Founding Father's did not fight for the Republican or Democrat Party. They fought for the principles of Self-Governance and those principles only need a spark to light a fire that will burn for centuries. It happened once over 200 years ago. It can happen again with one big difference. We already have the system of governance they were fighting for. It's there for the taking if you will stop sweating the small stuff like who to vote for instead of Chris McDaniel and losing friends you will need for this fight to save this great Republic.
I support Chris McDaniel as much as anyone but I know something that he knows too. This fight is not about HIM, it's about YOU. Whether you choose to hold your nose and vote for Cochran(I could not do this even if I lived in Ms), or whether you choose to vote for Childers the democrat, or write in Chris McDaniel as a protest vote...it' doesn't matter because regardless of who wins, we still have the same problems that won't be fixed because you elected the Republican(it most certainly WILL NOT). If the problem begins and ends with you, you don't have to hold your breath going into the voting booth Tuesday because you don't pledge allegiance to the Republican party. Put your faith in NO man. It's you that has to change. Whatever happens Tuesday, I know the journey of thousand miles lies in front of me and that I have to walk it. I have to engage. I have to read the bills so I CAN TELL MY ELECTED OFFICIALS WHAT'S IN THE BILLS BEFORE THEY PASS THEM. Your elected officials won't just do what's right, YOU have to make them.
How do we do that?
By engaging in the system. If you want a Republic, a successful Republic, YOU have to learn the system which MOST people do not know. An athlete that wants to play professional football does not start by trying out for the NFL. He starts in elementary, moves on to high school, then college, and then the NFL. He spends time learning the rules of the game, practicing, suiting up, and playing in the games. Politics is the same way. Everyone is waiting on a knight in shining armor to come save them or at least tell them what to do. Stop waiting, the answer is looking at you in the mirror.
In order to change the direction of the country, you have to go to where the seats of power are. Learn the rules of your local government, research the agendas, unite with other like-minded people and coordinate strategy to defeat the issues that come before you. It may seem like a formidable task but I can assure you, it's not.
I have worked with a local team here in Shelby County Tn for 3 years and we have taken on around 18 issues winning 16 of them. Did I mention that we are in the bluest county in Tn and the only one that went for Obama?
I didn't know what to do when I started, I just knew where the failure of government was happening, at your local town commissions and councils, and I went there. We started with one issue. We didn't expect to win. It went on for 6 months and then something radical happened that forever changed my focus from the federal level of government to the local. WE WON!
You want to be a part of the consent of the governed? This is where it starts and this is how we will change the direction of the country, one local government at a time. Trust me when I say this...You will not regret getting involved in local governance. You will be amazed at who is representing you. You will see in practical application how, like Plato said "You can refuse to participate in the realm of politics but if you do you will be governed by your inferiors"...This is why it's not hard to beat them. You are smarter than most of them but you need to learn and plan and play the game...not to win but to save the Republic.
You will lose sometimes but not really, because all the while you are engaging, you are gaining intelligence about your elected officials that is impossible to learn from the news. The whole political system is broken from your city to Washington D.C and you can't fix it starting in D.C. We owe those who have fought and died for this country more than what we are giving them. The divisions, infighting, and discouragement that I have seen over the last few weeks has been a disappointment. Ask yourself before you post something on facebook, am I helping the cause or hurting the cause? I have seen people get frustrated over differences of opinion and I have seen people willing to give up over the Chris McDaniel fiasco. Is this how you repay those who gave you the greatest country on earth? Your decision on November 4th is not the be all that ends all.
The battle for the heart of the country is going on in your local community. Fight your battles there and at the state level if you live close enough. Think local, Act local. This is what Benjamin Franklin meant when he said he had given us a "Republic Madam, if YOU can keep it. If you are waiting on elections to fix things, it's too late. The cool thing is, to fix this, you don't have to wait for elections to fix things. My next local meeting is November 10th....when is yours?
Let me leave you with something Milton Friedman said when asked about the problem of electing good leaders...
I do not believe that the solution to our problem is simply to elect the right people. The important thing is to establish a political climate of opinion which will make it politically profitable for the wrong people to do the right thing. Unless it is politically profitable for the wrong people to do the right thing, the right people will not do the right thing either, or it they try, they will shortly be out of office.
This election is not the end and it's not the beginning. The problems in our country didn't begin with Thad (41 years in Congress) Cochran, Lamar (I voted with Obama 62% of the time) Alexander, or Mitch (We can't repeal Obamacare because we won't have 60 votes even though Obamacare was passed using reconciliation which only needed 51 votes) McConnell, etc I could go and on with this, you get the gist.
The problems with America lies in the foundation of our Republic. "Of the people, by the people, and for the people"...it's just a cliche until THE PEOPLE enforce it. This doesn't mean getting involved in elections and trying to influence the vote(yes by all means do that), it means getting involved with YOUR government 365 days a year. It means paying attention to your local government and attending meetings when you can. It means calling and emailing your local and state officials and letting them know...no, instructing them as the Tennessee State Constitution says in 1 Section 23 “That the citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together for their common good, to instruct their representatives, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances, or other proper purposes, by address of remonstrance.”
I didn't know this before I read our state constitution, that the citizens had the right to "instruct" our leaders. Check out your state's constitution, there's some good stuff in there. Some of our leaders didn't know it either, but slowly, they are finding out. It's my job to enlighten and inform not just the people of our state, but our leaders too. A lot of people think it's the elected officials job to know everything. You elected them to represent you and after election day you go back to doing what you do and we let the leaders of our country do what we elected them to do. Wow, how easy is that? Only it hasn't worked out very well. Do some research on what your officials have been up to, read their talking points every couple of years and walk into the poll booth thinking you are making an informed decision. News flash, if you haven't been involved in the day to day goings on in your local and state governing bodies...you don't have a clue. That's not an insult. It's the nature of the beast. Not just the political beast, any beast. The same problems we have at the federal level with the disconnect between what the people want and what the elected class wants is huge and happening to an even greater degree in your local community.
Washington, D.C....that's where all the focus is for most people involved in politics but it's where the PEOPLE have the least amount of power. This is not accidental. Even though this massive disconnect is going on locally and at the state level, there is one big difference that is the key to changing EVERYTHING. Access to power. YOU have it locally and at the state level depending on where you live. The seats of power you have access to is where your focus should be.
But, but, but if we don't get a Republican majority in the Senate, the sky will fall right? I submit to you that even if the Republicans win a majority in the Senate the sky will still probably fall. Are we to believe that Thad Cochran, Lamar Alexander, Lindsay Grahamnesty, John McCain and others are going to fight Amnesty? Repeal Obamacare? Keep us from getting into another war in the Middle East, not spend like drunken sailors? The party is the problem. Both party's, so don't fall in with the crowd that puts their faith in the party. You will be sorely disappointed and as well you should be. George Washington warned us about party alliances that would consume the country if we let it take over, and let them take over we have.
But this isn't over, not today, not November 4th, and not 2016. Our Founding Father's did not fight for the Republican or Democrat Party. They fought for the principles of Self-Governance and those principles only need a spark to light a fire that will burn for centuries. It happened once over 200 years ago. It can happen again with one big difference. We already have the system of governance they were fighting for. It's there for the taking if you will stop sweating the small stuff like who to vote for instead of Chris McDaniel and losing friends you will need for this fight to save this great Republic.
I support Chris McDaniel as much as anyone but I know something that he knows too. This fight is not about HIM, it's about YOU. Whether you choose to hold your nose and vote for Cochran(I could not do this even if I lived in Ms), or whether you choose to vote for Childers the democrat, or write in Chris McDaniel as a protest vote...it' doesn't matter because regardless of who wins, we still have the same problems that won't be fixed because you elected the Republican(it most certainly WILL NOT). If the problem begins and ends with you, you don't have to hold your breath going into the voting booth Tuesday because you don't pledge allegiance to the Republican party. Put your faith in NO man. It's you that has to change. Whatever happens Tuesday, I know the journey of thousand miles lies in front of me and that I have to walk it. I have to engage. I have to read the bills so I CAN TELL MY ELECTED OFFICIALS WHAT'S IN THE BILLS BEFORE THEY PASS THEM. Your elected officials won't just do what's right, YOU have to make them.
How do we do that?
By engaging in the system. If you want a Republic, a successful Republic, YOU have to learn the system which MOST people do not know. An athlete that wants to play professional football does not start by trying out for the NFL. He starts in elementary, moves on to high school, then college, and then the NFL. He spends time learning the rules of the game, practicing, suiting up, and playing in the games. Politics is the same way. Everyone is waiting on a knight in shining armor to come save them or at least tell them what to do. Stop waiting, the answer is looking at you in the mirror.
In order to change the direction of the country, you have to go to where the seats of power are. Learn the rules of your local government, research the agendas, unite with other like-minded people and coordinate strategy to defeat the issues that come before you. It may seem like a formidable task but I can assure you, it's not.
I have worked with a local team here in Shelby County Tn for 3 years and we have taken on around 18 issues winning 16 of them. Did I mention that we are in the bluest county in Tn and the only one that went for Obama?
I didn't know what to do when I started, I just knew where the failure of government was happening, at your local town commissions and councils, and I went there. We started with one issue. We didn't expect to win. It went on for 6 months and then something radical happened that forever changed my focus from the federal level of government to the local. WE WON!
You want to be a part of the consent of the governed? This is where it starts and this is how we will change the direction of the country, one local government at a time. Trust me when I say this...You will not regret getting involved in local governance. You will be amazed at who is representing you. You will see in practical application how, like Plato said "You can refuse to participate in the realm of politics but if you do you will be governed by your inferiors"...This is why it's not hard to beat them. You are smarter than most of them but you need to learn and plan and play the game...not to win but to save the Republic.
You will lose sometimes but not really, because all the while you are engaging, you are gaining intelligence about your elected officials that is impossible to learn from the news. The whole political system is broken from your city to Washington D.C and you can't fix it starting in D.C. We owe those who have fought and died for this country more than what we are giving them. The divisions, infighting, and discouragement that I have seen over the last few weeks has been a disappointment. Ask yourself before you post something on facebook, am I helping the cause or hurting the cause? I have seen people get frustrated over differences of opinion and I have seen people willing to give up over the Chris McDaniel fiasco. Is this how you repay those who gave you the greatest country on earth? Your decision on November 4th is not the be all that ends all.
The battle for the heart of the country is going on in your local community. Fight your battles there and at the state level if you live close enough. Think local, Act local. This is what Benjamin Franklin meant when he said he had given us a "Republic Madam, if YOU can keep it. If you are waiting on elections to fix things, it's too late. The cool thing is, to fix this, you don't have to wait for elections to fix things. My next local meeting is November 10th....when is yours?
Let me leave you with something Milton Friedman said when asked about the problem of electing good leaders...
I do not believe that the solution to our problem is simply to elect the right people. The important thing is to establish a political climate of opinion which will make it politically profitable for the wrong people to do the right thing. Unless it is politically profitable for the wrong people to do the right thing, the right people will not do the right thing either, or it they try, they will shortly be out of office.
RSS Feed