Tea Party

I had the pleasure of speaking at a Tea Party “Meet the Candidates” forum last night in Holly Springs. Each candidate was allowed time to speak, and then answer questions. I did notice that almost all of the audience was older, which is typical of the politically active public. The problem is that they are in a minority, as most of the public doesn’t really care much about anything outside of their daily routine. That’s the problem, they aren’t motivated and getting through to them is very difficult.

I’m not sure of the value of these events, as a few minutes is not enough time to go through the details of why I’m running for Congress and should be elected, and not my opponents. Obviously, each candidate will say the same.

What I did hear was a lot of slogans being thrown about such as “I’ll fight for you” and “We need to shrink government” and so on. These slogans are used from campaign to campaign to generate hope that the audience will respond by giving money and voting for that generic candidate. It’s mostly the money that counts, as a handful of votes, in practice, doesn’t make any real difference. Large amounts of money does.

It may be that I’m out of touch talking and addressing solutions to specific problems, such as the root causes of why we have these massive financial issues, and specifics about how to fix them. Perhaps, I should be shouting… “I’ll fight for you,” “It’s Time to Change America,” “The Strength and Experience to Bring Real Change,” or even “Yes, America Can!.” The problem is that slogans don’t fix anything. They are used to persuade the public that candidates can do something by shouting memorable statements.

I believe in solving problems. You do that by looking at the outcome you want, and working backwards to develop the steps needed to attain that goal, and not by thrashing around.

If you want me to actually fix problems in Washington, you’ll support my campaign. If you want someone who throws around slogans without substance, you’ll look elsewhere. The way the game is played is to say anything to get in. Once in, it’s very hard to remove a congress person so they can change their minds if they want without recourse.

As you know we’re on the very edge of a very difficult future. I hope that I’m the one that will help to fix Washington and thus America. We need fixing.