Ambition
Now last year I thought I would contribute to society in a unique way. A way that many try and only a few actually follow through on and even less are truly successful. I was going to become a politician. Nothing big of course, I was just going to run for the House get a 2 year term, be an incumbent and start a life long career as a politician.
The area I lived in was about a 50/50 split between the 2 parties so it was all about turn out. No problem, I had a canvassing plan that wouldnt fail. I worked in the community and lived there too so I was all set. I was a man of the people, average joe versus my opponent who was some lawyer who had been in the House one term and had nothing to show for it except a very lame attempt to raise taxes and pass a health rationing plan. Ron Latz in district 44b. The taxpayers league rated him versus tax friendly initiatives. He's not very tax friendly. Now, I was of course running the opposition party to him simply because a 3rd party option would not work. I toiled over whether or not to run, asked for support and finally decided I would do it. I called to find where to file and how to file and got the info. I then inquired with the party that I would be representing to see if there were any other applicants. One was filing as we spoke. I was crushed. I really wanted to beat Latz into the ground. Through the election I never got one thing from either of the candidates. No debates were scheduled. No one ever visited me.
I was devastated. I could have run a campaign in my spare time that would have crushed their "campaigning" but I relented. I knew that I couldnt fight an opponent in the primary and then fight to win a second race versus an incumbent. I knew too that the gentleman that was also running wouldnt have been able to win either. I didn't run simply because the plan that was so simple, so easy and fool proof, had become incomprehensibly complex and seemingly un-obtainable. Turn out in the district was fair for the election but John (the man in my spot) was horribly defeated by a good margin.
So where does that leave me now? Well I moved out of the district into a new spot where the political scene is almost 80/20 for the incumbent party. Basically it is a reward area for those who have served the party well, they move out here when the current person wants to retire and they run unchalleneged.
I almost feel wronged by the whole thing. I know I could have run a campaign to waste Latz. I also know that I would have had a damn hard time running in a primary against someone. But this is a lesson and a learning experience. I cannot think of a time better where I learned what self defeat was. I looked at the situation and said "I cannot possibly do this" and I found a way not to. If there was a way for me to go back, even knowing I would face certain defeat. I would go back and run. The lesson I must learn, the lesson I have learned is that the only impassible obsticles in front of me are the ones that I place there.
Maybe I just need to become a pro-wrestler, go bald and become crazy and I can be governor....
The area I lived in was about a 50/50 split between the 2 parties so it was all about turn out. No problem, I had a canvassing plan that wouldnt fail. I worked in the community and lived there too so I was all set. I was a man of the people, average joe versus my opponent who was some lawyer who had been in the House one term and had nothing to show for it except a very lame attempt to raise taxes and pass a health rationing plan. Ron Latz in district 44b. The taxpayers league rated him versus tax friendly initiatives. He's not very tax friendly. Now, I was of course running the opposition party to him simply because a 3rd party option would not work. I toiled over whether or not to run, asked for support and finally decided I would do it. I called to find where to file and how to file and got the info. I then inquired with the party that I would be representing to see if there were any other applicants. One was filing as we spoke. I was crushed. I really wanted to beat Latz into the ground. Through the election I never got one thing from either of the candidates. No debates were scheduled. No one ever visited me.
I was devastated. I could have run a campaign in my spare time that would have crushed their "campaigning" but I relented. I knew that I couldnt fight an opponent in the primary and then fight to win a second race versus an incumbent. I knew too that the gentleman that was also running wouldnt have been able to win either. I didn't run simply because the plan that was so simple, so easy and fool proof, had become incomprehensibly complex and seemingly un-obtainable. Turn out in the district was fair for the election but John (the man in my spot) was horribly defeated by a good margin.
So where does that leave me now? Well I moved out of the district into a new spot where the political scene is almost 80/20 for the incumbent party. Basically it is a reward area for those who have served the party well, they move out here when the current person wants to retire and they run unchalleneged.
I almost feel wronged by the whole thing. I know I could have run a campaign to waste Latz. I also know that I would have had a damn hard time running in a primary against someone. But this is a lesson and a learning experience. I cannot think of a time better where I learned what self defeat was. I looked at the situation and said "I cannot possibly do this" and I found a way not to. If there was a way for me to go back, even knowing I would face certain defeat. I would go back and run. The lesson I must learn, the lesson I have learned is that the only impassible obsticles in front of me are the ones that I place there.
Maybe I just need to become a pro-wrestler, go bald and become crazy and I can be governor....
posted by Haximus at 9:20 PM
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