Adam Graham
There's a price to pay
By Adam Graham
As we look towards the future, the Conservative movement is divided. I think every Conservative wants to see our nation with more freedom, strong national security, low taxes, and society that honors our most fundamental values.
Its just how we get to that result that we disagree on. Some say the answer is putting up moderates, anybody that can beat the Democrats. Their philosophy can be summed up in three word, "Just win, Baby." It's the philosophy of the National Republican Senator Campaign Committee which is attacking the Conservative running against Senator Lincoln Chaffee (who refused to even vote to re-elect President Bush) in the Republican Primary. Win at all costs! They want that intoxicating buzz on election day that's more powerful than any liquor.
But what did you win? A tap on the break of a car heading over a cliff. More Rs than Ds, in the Senate, goody for us. We've forgotten the words of that great statesman, "He who serves his country best, serves his party best." We've got it reversed.
We need to stand up for what's right. We need politicians who will tell the truth without fear or equivocation. Great things can happen. Leading up to the arrival of Ronald Reagan in Washington, people had worked hard for many years to build a coalition, to speak to the most basic American values that had been pushed aside by American liberalism and '60s permissiveness.
Yet, people remember the great Reagan Revolution of 1980, and the Republicans storming the halls of power in 1994, but they don't remember 1964. They don't remember the years of heartbreak that Conservatives went through leading up to the '80s. We want to avoid even the risk of losing. The mind of many Conservatives goes no further than the next election. We want victory, no matter how pyrrhic, and we want it now.
Yet, great things are not accomplished without risk and sacrifice. The Founding Fathers pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the cause of freedom. Those who reject the path of least resistance and seek to call our nation to its highest and best will pay a price.
I think of Brandi Swindell (http://www.brandiswindell.org) who's running for the Boise City Council to make a difference in our community. She has been subjected to the most vile attacks on her person. She has been called "princess of the Religious Nazi Wing of the Republican Party," some people on a local internet forum have even made sick, altered photos of her.
As a former candidate and as an activist, I'll tell you politics in America is a lousy business. Campaigning door to door, you're viewed with suspicion. The moment you enter a political race, to the cynical you become part of the subhuman class, politician, and they can and treat you however they want.
It doesn't matter how good of a person you've been, no matter where you live, there are people who've got pens that write arsenic. They will savage you and level the most unfair allegations that they can get away with. They'll paint you as the devil himself.
Working on campaigns that lose (or worse yet, you win but it gets tossed out by an activist judge) you feel like its all vanity. You're wasting your time, you're wasting your life on a bunch of people who love ignorance and will never listen. You get to the point where you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, you can't even see it's a tunnel, darkness just shrouds everything you do.
You die a little every losing election night, whether you're the candidate or not. You think of other things you'd rather do, anything you'd rather do than this. Losing leaves a sour taste in your mouth. You feel this profound sense of failure. Maybe you cry and you second guess everything you did in the campaign.
Today, we want to be comfortable, we want to be well-liked. We want that broad, easier path, but as Christ told us, that leads to destruction. America today needs people of courage and integrity who are willing to be candidates and work on campaigns, win or lose. They are willing to put up with the indignity of it all for one reason.
They see more than tomorrow, they see more than next November. They see what the future can be. They see America as worth sacrificing for, worth committing to. They know as Thomas Paine once wrote, that "it is dearness only that gives everything its value." They'll take their lumps, but they'll keep coming back. They won't give up and they won't give in. And by carrying themselves with class and dignity through it all, these are the people who will change our nation.
© Adam Graham
As we look towards the future, the Conservative movement is divided. I think every Conservative wants to see our nation with more freedom, strong national security, low taxes, and society that honors our most fundamental values.
Its just how we get to that result that we disagree on. Some say the answer is putting up moderates, anybody that can beat the Democrats. Their philosophy can be summed up in three word, "Just win, Baby." It's the philosophy of the National Republican Senator Campaign Committee which is attacking the Conservative running against Senator Lincoln Chaffee (who refused to even vote to re-elect President Bush) in the Republican Primary. Win at all costs! They want that intoxicating buzz on election day that's more powerful than any liquor.
But what did you win? A tap on the break of a car heading over a cliff. More Rs than Ds, in the Senate, goody for us. We've forgotten the words of that great statesman, "He who serves his country best, serves his party best." We've got it reversed.
We need to stand up for what's right. We need politicians who will tell the truth without fear or equivocation. Great things can happen. Leading up to the arrival of Ronald Reagan in Washington, people had worked hard for many years to build a coalition, to speak to the most basic American values that had been pushed aside by American liberalism and '60s permissiveness.
Yet, people remember the great Reagan Revolution of 1980, and the Republicans storming the halls of power in 1994, but they don't remember 1964. They don't remember the years of heartbreak that Conservatives went through leading up to the '80s. We want to avoid even the risk of losing. The mind of many Conservatives goes no further than the next election. We want victory, no matter how pyrrhic, and we want it now.
Yet, great things are not accomplished without risk and sacrifice. The Founding Fathers pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the cause of freedom. Those who reject the path of least resistance and seek to call our nation to its highest and best will pay a price.
I think of Brandi Swindell (http://www.brandiswindell.org) who's running for the Boise City Council to make a difference in our community. She has been subjected to the most vile attacks on her person. She has been called "princess of the Religious Nazi Wing of the Republican Party," some people on a local internet forum have even made sick, altered photos of her.
As a former candidate and as an activist, I'll tell you politics in America is a lousy business. Campaigning door to door, you're viewed with suspicion. The moment you enter a political race, to the cynical you become part of the subhuman class, politician, and they can and treat you however they want.
It doesn't matter how good of a person you've been, no matter where you live, there are people who've got pens that write arsenic. They will savage you and level the most unfair allegations that they can get away with. They'll paint you as the devil himself.
Working on campaigns that lose (or worse yet, you win but it gets tossed out by an activist judge) you feel like its all vanity. You're wasting your time, you're wasting your life on a bunch of people who love ignorance and will never listen. You get to the point where you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, you can't even see it's a tunnel, darkness just shrouds everything you do.
You die a little every losing election night, whether you're the candidate or not. You think of other things you'd rather do, anything you'd rather do than this. Losing leaves a sour taste in your mouth. You feel this profound sense of failure. Maybe you cry and you second guess everything you did in the campaign.
Today, we want to be comfortable, we want to be well-liked. We want that broad, easier path, but as Christ told us, that leads to destruction. America today needs people of courage and integrity who are willing to be candidates and work on campaigns, win or lose. They are willing to put up with the indignity of it all for one reason.
They see more than tomorrow, they see more than next November. They see what the future can be. They see America as worth sacrificing for, worth committing to. They know as Thomas Paine once wrote, that "it is dearness only that gives everything its value." They'll take their lumps, but they'll keep coming back. They won't give up and they won't give in. And by carrying themselves with class and dignity through it all, these are the people who will change our nation.
© Adam Graham
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