6/2/2000

Would Our Readers Run for Office?

I asked readers two weeks ago if they would run for political office. Their resounding answer to that question was, "No!" Readers gave many reasons for their disillusionment with US politics; many had run for local offices and been elected themselves, but wouldn't run again. I applaud the person who challenged me to "put my money where my mouth is," so to speak, and run for the School Board. Rather than sit back and criticize, he said, why not jump in and make a difference? Good advice for us all. Reader opinions:

MONEY TALKS

"I agree with you that money seems to be the only way to get elected--not talent, not ideals-- just money. In some respects, the differences among the parties are not even well defined.

"My Dad was a Republican until he reached 90. At that time he marched into the town hall and declared he was now Independent--I nearly fell over. My Mom had been a Democrat, but wasn't that interested in politics. I became an Independent. My views are 5% to the right and 10% to the left.

"I wouldn't run for office even if money weren't the primary concern-I hate the mean spirited atmosphere and the emphasis on your personal life. Some of our greatest leaders have not done well in their personal life. This goes for many business, sports and entertainment figures, too.

"I offer no defense for these people, but out of interest I have studied it some. I have come to the conclusion that the same traits that made them good in their field--aggressiveness, relentless pursuit of their objective and skillfulness-also make them attractive to voters and make them desire the conquest.

"Not only have many political leaders done poorly in their personal lives, their behavior has also brought them down no matter how "smart" they are -- remember Gary Hart -- if you think I am cheating on my wife, why don't you follow me. He might have made an excellent president but what a fool!

"If we rule out those who have a past, I fear we will rule out the best for the job. We might get George W. Bush -- from a state where the governor is little more than a figurehead. He wants us to look to him for leadership in education when Texas ranks 48th or 49th out of 50!"

***

POLITICS IS JUST RHETORIC

"I agree with the basic foundations of your arguments about running for political office on a national or state level. I have been involved in town politics, as a parent who supports education, a teacher and a knowledgeable person with an understanding of public issues.

"I have found that much of politics is rhetoric. Very few politicians have conscience -- they only want what will get them into office. Others have one view alone -- they don't care what people want. In the municipality where I live, there are no members of my political party who actually represent the voters. They either represent businesses (real estate) or their own interests. They lost during recent elections. My statements, as a member of the public and not affiliated with any party or group, were taken out of context and distorted completely by my opposition in letters to the editor and public statements.

"Why does so much of politics involve contorting factual information to the listeners/readers discretion? I am fed up with politics, so I will not run for local office in the near future.

"However, I still will be an active consumer of the local town "business." The good news is that I am taken seriously by many people in the community who are also fed up. As an active "letter to the editor" writer and advocate for families, maybe I can make a difference in my community."

***

RUN FOR LOCAL OFFICE

"I think you're somewhat off base. First, before I consider you for national office, I'd like to see what you can do locally. Plenty of local offices cost next to nothing to run for, and the local parties will pick up those costs. Try your local Board of Education, or the Planning and Zoning Board. Our local towns frequently BEG to have someone run.

"You seem bright and well informed. You would make a great Board of Education member. If you really mean what you wrote, put your money where your mouth is and give it a try.

"Warning! You still have to keep your regular job, the hours are long, pay is ZIP, and after you've spent literally thousands of hours on something, you'll still find lots of people (a lot who haven't got a clue about much of anything) who'll tell you what a big jerk or a bum or a rat you are."

***

POWER CORRUPTS

"I wonder how it is that real people that do become "legislators" somehow become corrupted by the power that we all know as politics. If they do become "servants of the people," there is always a person or group that will try to subvert you into voting their way on an issue that is in their interest, good or bad.

"Yes, you must be rich or well-heeled with the money people to even think of a try. Will campaign reform do any good? It could, if the current servants of the people will think for the masses and not for the chosen few that wish to control all. Yes, the big money seems to control what and who gets elected and what laws get passed, but it can change. What needs to be changed first is the current band of lawyers that are in Congress, State and Federal. We must tell them that we are tired of chronic "pork" that inflates the budget and makes the common man pay more taxes and regress, rather than being able to get ahead. I guess Jefferson said it best that if we killed all the lawyers, there would be no one left in Congress!

"I wish there were more people willing to run for office, no matter what, who refuse to become automatons for special interest groups and "pork" spenders for those groups."

***

LOCAL POLITICAL JOBS ASK MUCH, RETURN LITTLE

"You could run for office. It doesn't take much money to run in your local community. On the other hand, it does take a lot of time, and there is basically no pay. Perhaps, one does it for the "good" of the community.

"I (unfortunately) ran for selectman here in New Fairfield. I say unfortunately, because I won. It didn't cost a lot of money to run. I thought that my doing so was in the public interest. As I am not a politician, I really thought I could change something. Boy, was I wrong. Many, many hours of work can be put into even the smallest public office in hope of making things better.

"One thing I did learn, however, is that you can only make half of the people (on a good day) happy. The others? Oh, well. So, would I run for public office? Did it, been there. Would I do it again? No."

***

WATCH OUT FOR SPECIAL INTEREST VERMIN

"You are so right, but you've only skimmed the surface. Beneath the surface lies a cesspool teeming with all manner of special interest vermin. Those are the people who buy our candidates.

"The late Rep. John Dent, D, PA, once said that to be elected to a political office you had to first sell your soul to the devil. That devil was named David Lawrence, political boss for all of Western PA. That was 40 years ago. Things haven't changed. The press is no help either, as they are not interested in political discourse. They just want to sell papers, to spread advertising. Dirty laundry sells papers."

***

POSTAL EMPLOYEES CAN'T RUN

"I probably would run for office if I had the same rights as you and the rest of the population. Being a postal employee, I am not allowed to hold any office that you get voted into. And they call this a free country! Why does being a letter carrier for an independent branch within the U.S government disqualify me from running for office? Years ago Clinton loosened the Hatch Reform Act that prevented us from even working at a political party's campaign Headquarters, but we still can't run for elected office."

***

USING TAXPAYER MONEY TO FINANCE CAMPAIGNS IS A BAD IDEA

"How do you feel about union contributions to Al Gore? How about fundraisers in the Lincoln Bedroom? You use the fact that George W. Bush is a popular and great candidate and that many successful, smart, hardworking, wealthy people have given to his campaign-and then use it against him!

"Using taxpayer money to finance campaigns is a bad idea. If a candidate is too lazy or ignorant to raise money for his or her campaign, I don't think that candidate would be "qualified."

"In Connecticut the Democratic Party is in the majority because of voter registration. The Democrats usually have a fund raising advantage and, in most cases, that is due to labor contributions and support. Why would you, obviously a liberal Democrat, want to change that?

"I ran for office in a city that has a Democratic majority of voters. I'm a Republican. I raised over $3300 and my opponent raised less than half that. I'm proud of my fundraising ability and don't want to see the state meddle with my right to raise as much money as I can. On paper, I was the better qualified candidate. The better man lost. But the better man should be able to keep his fundraising advantage in the future, in order to combat voter ignorance.

"George W. Bush has not been spending his own money. People have given him money because they think is the most qualified candidate."

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.