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                       I'm a Political Weasel       6 Feb 10

I decided a few weeks ago I would try and run for office.  To many people, just this fact alone would make me a political weasel.  But I've never assigned that moniker based on that characteristic alone.  In fact, I've always wished more people would be engaged in political matters.  No, I realized I am a political weasel shortly after I started circulating petitions for my candidacy.  I went out the first day of circulating as a test to determine how difficult collecting the required amount of signatures might be.  I came to the conclusion after the second day it is really easy to deviate from your natural personality.

There are a lot of paradigms that need to be overcome for me to be elected to the position I desire.  Basic things like I've never held a political office and my family only recently settled in this area.  In fact, I've never even been in two of the counties I would represent.  But trying to convince people my strengths should be considered despite my deficiencies does not make me feel sleazy.

If the press would have recorded all my conversations and they were so inclined, they could have had a field day making an expose' deriding me as a chameleon.  When someone asked me what I thought of Sarah Palin I replied, "I thought she was a good choice.  When she walked up to the microphone the first time you could tell she was an real person who would let you know where you stood.  If her handlers would have embraced that quality, McCain would have won".  

 During one conversation I said, "McCain would have been a good president".  

In another I said, "I really like Huckabee.  I was rooting for him in the election.  I don't get cable but I've really enjoyed his show the few times I've got to see it".  

I don't feel dishonest at all in any of these presentations.  I've said them all sincerely in previous, private conversations.  I said and written some negative items about Sen McCain but I have the highest respect for his stance on torture.  I also believe him to have a great amount of honor.  I like Huckabee also because he seems real and contemplative.  

My natural political and social inclinations do not naturally align with the stated platforms of either the Democratic or Republican parties.  And since until recently I was active duty military, vigorously working to influence either party to better represent my views would have been inappropriate.  On one level, I could understand how people that have spent a lot of time within the organized party might be put back at an Independent trying to "take over" without putting in his dues.  Though sensitive to these feelings, these are the same people that define the political rules that determine who has the opportunity to seek election.  Today the rules are such that if I try to "take over" a party I only have to convince 50 people to support my nomination but if I want to run independent of a party I have to convince at least 2,000 and perhaps as many as 5,000 people to support my nomination.  One lesson I learned during the time I circulated petitions is many people really desire the opportunity for more and better choices for elected positions.  I get the impression more people would be civically engaged if rules for obtaining ballot positions weren't so favorable to the candidates who win the favor of the small clicks that try to dictate positions and candidates to the rank and file members of the parties.  Concluding this paragraph, yes I'm a little uncomfortable being in interloper.  I would much rather expound on my positions as an independent.  But I definitely don't feel like a weasel for this behavior.  In fact, I believe it is better classified as a duty which could help to significantly improve the quality of candidates for all offices.

That was a lot of writing before I actually got to this paragraph.  The paragraph where I finally talk about why some of my initial solicitations embarrass me.  Perhaps I was hoping you didn't make it this far.  The previous paragraph does set up the problem I find with my behavior.  I think it well and proper for me to attempt to influence one party or the other.  Getting on the ballot  may give me 15 minutes of fame to make a point or two.  However the first couple days of canvassing, I found myself not piping up with information and I allowed a number of people to make conclusions based on incomplete information.  In normal conversations I almost never let people think better of me than I deserve because they lack information I posses.  For instance I asked a lady to sign my petition and she asked if I were a Republican and I replied I was seeking a ballot in the Republican primary.  We had a little bit of conversation and before she made a decision to sign she said, "my neighbor is a Republican too, you need to make sure you visit her."  I replied, "Yes ma' m, I've already talked with her".  In a normal conversation I would have added - she decided not to sign because she really supports the incumbent.  But I didn't say anything allowing her to possibly believe her neighbor and friend probably signed as well.  We had further conversation after she signed the petition.  It turns out she knew a lot of the local party's issues and personnel.  She was the last person I talked with that day.  On the way home I started feeling the tinges of the weasel inside.

I went out again a second day.  I experienced various reactions while canvassing.  One question I often received was which party I intended to represent.  I would tell the person and often this was all that was needed to convince them to sign the petition.  I never felt guilty about getting a signature if that were the entire exchange.  Yes, I am more of an independent than someone from a specific party -- but I had to pick one party or the other.  Occasionally, though the person would say something that made it obvious their vision of someone in this particular party was significantly different than the vision I intended for that party.  The first part of the second day, I stood there silent and allow them to give me something I would soon determine I didn't deserve.  Some time on that second day I decided I was a weasel.  This really got me thinking about how difficult it must be for real politicians to stay true to ones self.  I like most people, consider myself as pretty honest.  Think of this in context - getting elected to the position is incredibly  improbable.  How is it possible I could so readily deviate from my personal values so early in the process?  I started to question why I thought if I ended up successfully earning the position I would behave so much better than the reputations of our current politicians.  

Once I decided to act more in line with my natural personality I was even more dismayed at my initial presentation.  Once I went back to my normal self,  I estimate only three people I engaged in coversation decided not to sign my petition.  I did hear quite a few "I'll sign to get you on the ballot, I can always not vote for you in the elections".  This reaction is the exact manifestation I would have hope for before I ever decided to try to get on the ballot.  This reaction supports my fundamental belief that people desire  to be engaged in the political process.  It strengthens my conviction the current system which limits peoples choices of candidates to  representatives of a narrow band of like thinkers causes people to disenfranchise themselves from the political process to the detriment of the country.  I learned a lot in two days of being a politician.  When I initially embraced the weasel within myself, I almost denied myself the opportunity to re-enforce my belief in open and vibrant political discussion.