I've been voting for forty years. Ye, gods! I cast my first vote in 1969 in Houston, Texas. I'd like to tell you who the candidates were or what the issues were, but ... it was the sixties. I might have been drunk.
Once I traded scotch for politics (mostly) I had a blast. The first campaign I volunteered for was Frances "Sissy" Farenthold's bid for governor of Texas in 1972. That was so much fun, despite the loss, that I did the same thing again in 1974. Texas politics was a wild, crowded place, with some of the longest ballots I've ever seen. A politician's chosen party didn't mean a hell of a lot, being more a reflection of his or her desired constituency than any adherence to party lines.
It was a given that virtually every soul seeking office, whether for county commissioner or POTUS, published position papers.
Some of you young folks might be wondering, "What's a position paper? Does that have anything to do with a GPS?" Believe it or not, there was a time when people running for office would send you a pamphlet outlining their beliefs. The League of Women Voters published Voters Guides before every election, combining each candidate's position papers with their answers to sometimes impertinent questions and, if the candidate were running for a judgeship, they'd publish the opinions of the lawyers in the community. As a voter, you could make an informed decision.
When my mother died, I found one of George H. W. Bush's position papers, in which he stated his support for Roe v Wade. I wish I'd kept it. He was running for president that year ... and changed some of his positions when he became Ronald Reagan's running mate.
If someone wants my vote, two things have to happen. They have to tell me what their positions are, and they have to ask me for my vote. I'm old-fashioned that way. If an issue is controversial and/or complicated, like immigration, say, or health care reform, I expect a candidate to have the courage to say what he or she thinks.
I've been in Colorado for ten years now. I've been thinking about these things because of the two big races we have going on: U.S. Senator and Governor. The polls tell us that Andrew Romanoff is way ahead of Sen. Michael Bennet in the Democratic primary, but as much as I care about politics, I couldn't tell you why. I have never seen an ad or received an email or found a position paper in my mailbox from Andrew Romanoff. Not one phone call. Nada. That tells me that Andrew Romanoff doesn't care about my vote. So, you may ask, will he get my vote in November if he wins the primary?
Perhaps. Placed between a rock and a hard place I'll usually vote for the rock. God knows, I've spent my share of time in a hot voting booth, holding my nose with my left hand while punching holes in a ballot with my right. Andrew Romanoff may not care how I vote, or even if I vote, but he's being shortsighted, in my experienced opinion. When I get excited about a race, my one vote can explode into legions of votes and oodles of money, because I get busy. I'm old-fashioned that way. How about some respect and attention, Mr. Romanoff?
In the other race, Gov. Ritter chose not to seek re-election. A democrat who used to be mayor of Denver, John Hickenlooper, has been sending me today's version of position papers for months. He's been asking me to vote for him. When I declined to donate money until I knew more, he made sure my questions got answered. This week, when he offered to send me a bumper sticker, I accepted it.
Who else is running for governor of Colorado? I know, because I'm a plugged-in voter, but the average citizen couldn't tell you. They've seen TV ads for Hickenlooper many, many times, even in this red county, but who's running in the red column? They've seen TV ads paid for by some group that sponsors red governorships, ads that trash Hickenlooper, but they support ... whom? My hand to God, I have not seen a single ad for the mysterious Republican candidate(s) for governor of Colorado.
If I were an old-fashioned Republican voter, I'd be getting pissed off right about now. It's all well and good for a candidate to point out his or her opponent's shortcomings, but they need to do more. How would they be different? What's their vision for the office they're seeking? What experience will they bring to the job? "Throw the bums out" might sound good - it might even get you elected (once) - but it's not enough for old-fashioned voters. "No more taxes" has a nice ring, too ... until they start turning off street lights, closing schools, and not fixing the roads. We need new ideas, better ways of doing things, and a willingness to challenge sacred cows.
We need better candidates. I want the Republican party to survive and stop all this teabagging nonsense for one simple reason: better Republican candidates and ideas will force us to field better Democratic candidates and ideas. I want candidates who answer questions - MY questions - and who expect to get elected because they're the best person for the job.
I'm old-fashioned that way.