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I had an interesting conversation the other day with a Democratic voter. It’s a conversation that I feel like I’ve had a million times already. It goes something like this.
Me: “Hi, my name is Rich Anthony and I’m running for Congress this November,” which is followed by my two-minute pitch about who I am and why I’m running. (I’ve learned that if you can’t explain it to people in two minutes or less, they will stop listening.)
Democratic Voter: “You know you’re going to lose, right? I mean its nothing personal. I like you and what you have to say and I think you're absolutely correct, but your opponent is unbeatable.”
At this point I say "But you and I both know that an overwhelming number of people in this district disagree with almost all of his votes in Congress and that his votes don’t match his public statements."
Democratic Voter: "Yeah, I know, but so what? The guy is going to win and there’s nothing we can do about it."
We go back and forth for about 15 minutes and by the end the conversation finishes with, Democratic Voter: "Well you’ve got my vote, but I hope you know that you’re going to lose. Good luck!"
The first couple hundred times I had this experience, I chalked it up to being the challenger against a long-time incumbent. I figured this must be the same experience most, if not all, challengers face. As time has gone by, however, and I’ve had a chance to reflect a little, I think it may be something else. A phobia or a disease maybe. And I’ve begun to think that like those medical conditions that seem to prey on one particular sex or genetic group, this disease is more prevalent in Democrats than with Republicans. It comes from the very nature of our goals as a Party versus the goals of the opposition. The Republicans have one goal and we have another.
This is the first lesson I have learned: "Republicans want to win elections and Democrats want to govern." It’s not that governing is a bad goal, it’s just that somewhere in all the debates and arguing the merits of a certain point, we’ve forgotten what is required to get to the point where we get to govern. We’ve got to win before we can govern!
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The second lesson I’ve learned is hypocrisy is in eye of the beholder, aka "The truth will not set you free and may end up costing you an election." At this point, you might be thinking to yourself that I’ve got to be pretty naïve not to have known all this prior to getting into this election -- and you’d be right, I would be naive if I didn't know that. Fortunately (or not), I knew long ago that facts can be manipulated and that politics and logic have little, if anything, to do with one another.
What I’m referring to is the ability to say just about anything (preferably with a straight face) and have people believe it and then walk across the street and say the exact opposite thing (face in same position) and have the same people believe it. Case in point: my opponent, Frank Wolf, voted against the Stimulus Bill. He called it a waste of taxpayer money that wouldn’t do what it promised to do and that, with the current state of the deficit, we couldn’t afford. Just a few months later, the same Republican who had voted against the bill was criticizing the Democratic Governor of Virginia for not spending the money fast enough. In one breath, he had found economic religion and was going door-to-door spreading the good word. Then, in the next breath he was saying, "This is no time to think about the best ways to spend the money, let go to Vegas and play some Craps." So, to the old adage "To Thyself Be True," we can add, "But Hypocrisy Can Win You An Election."
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The last lesson from this week (I think I’m coming up on two minutes and I’m afraid I’m going to lose you if I go on any longer): Never show fear or weakness and never admit that the other guy has a good point. Voters can smell a coward a mile away and if you give an inch in any election, you’re a coward. Now. there are some obvious expectations to this rule. For instance, everyone loves their country. Wait, I keep forgetting, just Republicans love this country. Then there's "everyone wants to keep America safe." Wait, sorry again, only Republicans want to keep American safe. Or how about, "a good idea is a good idea no matter who came up with it?" Wait, sorry, almost forgot, it’s only a good idea if a Republican has thought it up and can take credit for it (and if only a Democrat can get the idea passed, there must be something wrong with it).
So, to sum up what I’ve learned from this week’s peek into the Republican playbook, it’s that I’m genetically disposed to losing, that telling the truth will get me in trouble, and that none of my ideas could be any good because well, they're my ideas and I’m a Democrat.
Time!
Thanks, my name is Rich Anthony and I’m running for Congress in the 10th District of Virginia. You can follow me on Twitter here and on Facebook here.