I have worked on a campaign or two...I've also run for office myself. One of the things I've learned is that the staff and the people who volunteer to work dog tiring hours for a candidate have some of the best insights into the candidate's spirit, integrity and character.
I have recently signed on to help out one of my favorite people, Larry Grant. I say people, because that is what I think makes him a great candidate, but this diary isn't my testimonial...that will come later.
Many of you already know Larry. He attended the YearlyKos Convention in Chicago, which is where I first met him, and he ran for Congress (ID-01) in 2006...narrowly losing in a hard fought campaign...and, last but not least, he is a friend of Idahoan, McJoan.
I have asked those who work with Larry in his campaign to tell me in their own words about why they are committing themselves to working with Larry in Idaho, and over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing with you what they have written in a series called, In Their Own Words, and when it's all over, I think Larry will be one of your favorite people as well.
Larry's North Idaho Field Coordinator is Kristy Reed Johnson, and here is her story:
When I met Larry Grant over two years ago, I thought he was just another attorney who was willing to throw himself on his sword for Idaho Democrats in another 1st District Congressional race that would end like all the others since the early 1990’s.
I’m a fairly jaded political junkie. In 1968, at the tender age of 22, and a "hostess" for Trans World Airlines I received two "special assignments." First I was sent to work the Republican National Convention in Miami, FL. That was the year of Barry Goldwater, Nelson Rockefeller, and Richard Nixon. We all know what happened.
My next assignment was to be one of three crews who worked the Hubert Humphrey Charter after he won the Democratic nomination. It was five years after John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and three years after the Democrats got Civil Rights legislation through Congress, lost all the support of the Southern Democrats, and Lyndon Johnson decided not to seek re-election. It was also the year that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Two months after that, on the same evening he won the California Primary, Bobby Kennedy was also shot to death, as we all watched on television.
I became a Eugene McCarthy supporter. At the scene of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, there were protests in a park across the street against the ongoing war in Vietnam. Those kids (my age) were dragged and beaten by Chicago Police, actions ordered by Mayor Daly (a Democrat and the father of the current Mayor Daly).
I formed my life long opinion of politics that year. Politicians are just people, some good, some dreadful, and all flawed, just like the rest of us. There is nothing "grand" about them.
But they seem come in two types, regardless of party: The ones who are in it for their own aggrandizement and those who honestly believe they can make a difference in the lives of ordinary people.
Larry Grant is the only candidate I’ve had the opportunity to know that I would walk on hot coals for to get elected. Larry Grant earned my respect.
Time after time I have seen his honesty, his integrity, his core values and moral compass lead this campaign team in a way that restores my faith in the democratic process. It’s all about us, the people of Idaho, the team, the crew, the mission. I actually believe Larry possesses at the very roots of his character everything we so desperately need in our political leaders.
His kind of responsible, intelligent, thoughtful leadership is missing in most of the politicians who are running for office these days. Larry leads by example.
He will take that Idaho-grown moral and ethical compass to Washington D.C. and restore our faith in how a government should be run -- of the people, by the people, and for the people. Can you support a man like that?
Larry has a list of 9 reasonable, achievable goals he wants to accomplish the first year he gets to Congress. They are his ‘9 for 09.’ Check them out. You don’t have to walk on hot coals for him, but could you help us, his staff, help him, communicate with the voters in the 1st District?
Larry doesn’t take money from corporate lobbyists. Small donations of $9 or $19 or $29 are gratefully accepted. Larry knows times are tough for working families in Idaho, and he knows every donation that comes to him means that the donor is sacrificing something for him or herself.
As I write this, The Grant Team just received a bulletin: Larry Grant just received a phone call from a person who offered him the database for the Republican Party in Idaho. He refused. He thanked the potential donor, but said it would not be ethical, and warned us (the staff) not to accept something like that either.
I can vote for a man like that. Will you join me? Become a member of the club and let’s send Larry Grant to Congress. He is just what the citizen’s of Idaho ordered.
More Stories, including my own, to come.
Larry Grant for Congress, ID-01