STARVE THE FEDS

Olson 42%, Hartman 25%, Kent 20%, Morgenstern 13%.

I know it’s been a few weeks, but it’s taken some time to adjust back to normalcy.

It’s been almost one year since I publicly, and crazily, spouted my sudden urgency to run for President. It seems funny now looking back at it, but the humor is stifled by the earnest seriousness of the matter. Tea Party movements weren’t progressing fast enough; I needed some way to take back what I and many others let slip away. It led to running for county office and busy campaigning, which came to a crashing halt when the results came in the night of the Ohio Primary.

Many were utterly stunned by the loss, mainly myself. I am more shocked that I came in third place. Most of the folks I talked to in Richland County expected Olson and I to go neck-and-neck. Even those that did not support my candidacy expected the same. I’m not sure if reporters contacted the other two challengers an hour or so before the polls closed, but they found me. One tracked me down at our election party, even though I didn’t give him a heads-up personally. I know he expected a pretty close race. It wasn’t; so be it.

I never understood why some primary candidates stick around in races that involve three people or more, even though they know that they’re lucky to garner 5% of the vote. I promised myself that if I felt that the campaign was going to result in something similar, I would have dropped out and saved myself the time and money. I also promised myself that if I was running against someone who was more qualified for the position and was someone that I trusted, I would also drop out. I wasn’t in this for me. I was in this because so many believed in me and were counting on me. No matter how much hard work and money I poured out of my own pocket for this campaign, coming up short inevitably results in myself wondering where I went wrong and what I could have done better.

Graciously, people have pointed out that all the candidates have lived all or most of their lives in Richland County, except for me – I’m only on my fourth year of residency. In a county where most people have family and ancestors dating back past the Civil War living in the same area, the idea of running for office as an unknown could have been somewhat laughable. One person in particular pointed out that I haven’t really began reaching out to people until 6 months before election day; so through that perspective, pulling 20% was a miracle. Maybe so, but I wasn’t looking to do well for the first time out. I wanted to win for the sake of those who believed in me enough to put their trust in me. No matter how disappointed we all were about the outcome, I’ll never take that trust lightly. I am grateful to anyone who gave me the time of day, even if they didn’t vote for me..

I also noticed something – I got over 2,000 votes out of 10,000 approximately. I would have almost killed to get 2,000 fans of my bands/music projects, and I’ve been trying for years at the musical ventures. Maybe it goes to show that in order to inspire those who are teenagers or twentysomethings, you play music that they can believe in. For anyone older, one has to stand up for what they believe in politically. Both music and politics require integrity, and I hope to live up to those standards on both fronts.

Back to the politics for a bit – First of all, the voter turnout sucked…..hard. For a crucial primary election in 2010 – the year that citizen awareness was supposed to be the highest since the Revolutionary War – too many from Ohio stayed home. This didn’t just affect my race, but every race in the state. Just about every Tea Party endorsed candidate lost 2-to-1. Good thing this wasn’t a nationwide trend, as Utah and Kentucky primaries can attest. This blunder belongs to Ohio alone. So Ohio….you blew it!

In contrast to Ohio’s lethargic apathy towards politics, there is the red hot fiery political zone of Arizona. What John McCain wasn’t, Jan Brewer was in a big way. What’s with all this boycott talk from city councils across America all of a sudden? To me, this just sounds like your typical junior high school “fight” with the boys in the locker room barely slapping each other only because they were being egged on by peers looking to see some excitement to tell the kids on the bus on the way home. These aren’t knockdown, dragout fights to the death we’re talking here, just some sissy slapping with a bunch of tough talk going nowhere but wherever hot air ends up. Now if the one commissioner from Arizona follows through on his threat to cut off Los Angeles’s power supply, then we’ll have a level F3 political storm on our hands. It’s one step closer to civil unrest. Has it really come to this? I hope not; there has to be other peaceful means of achieving political ends. I don’t know what the answer is in this case; I haven’t been to Arizona in quite awhile.

I don’t know where to go next. I do know that Ohio is 400,000+ signatures away from putting a law on the ballot that can nullify all federal overreaching, such as Obamacare. If we were Arizona, no problem. We’re Ohio though; I’m not sure what to make of this but I am in full support.

Some of us from the Tea Party have made our county’s Republican committee. We can appoint replacements to county office when an official dies or resigns from office before his/her term expires. Other than that, I don’t know what to expect. Maybe I should have joined the Constitutionalist Party, since we still have too many RINO/”country club” Republicans here. Only time will tell. I just hope to rejoin life on somewhat of a normal basis, and have an impact elsewhere.

I took the day off the day before the Primary Election for 2010. Back in May 2009, I never thought I’d be in this position. THANK YOU to the Tea Parties for making this all a very real possibility, but most of all, thanks to God. The journey is still a mysterious one, and not one that was orchestrated by myself only. This wasn’t my plan. The journey to elected office may end tomorrow at the end of Primary Election Day, or it may continue on a miracle. No question, it will take a miracle to unseat a 24-year long incumbent, especially when there are two other challengers seeking the same thing.

Regardless of what happens tomorrow, there is something very real happening. This is beyond politics and Tea Parties; it involves more of civilization. More people are getting involved. Many are voting for the first time in years. Many understand the subtle differences that would have eluded us in the past. We didn’t wait for someone to educate us, we educated ourselves. As more and more start seeing fallout from the destructive politics that permeated our culture from 9/11/01 until today, we’re becoming more united, even if we don’t know it ourselves.

Granted, destructive politics started way before 2001, but 9/11 was a grand opportunity to take how we all united together and make something special of our country. Instead, we’re doing this as a result of our undoing that started with the bailouts of late 2008. The Tea Parties aren’t going away; in fact, the idea of Tea Parties are appealing to many more people.

This past week there have been attempts to use words from Starve The Feds against me in my campaign, and the attempts have backfired. People smell a rat from a mile away when quotes are taken out of context. Anyone who reads this knows that there is not a single racist statement listed anywhere; in fact, go ahead and try to find one yourself! I will never back down in deference to outside pressure, just as anyone would not allow their minds to be changed forcefully from another person. It seems like conservatives are getting a little sick and tired of being made to feel guilty, or feel pressured, or be intimidated. I won’t let it happen here; especially when everyone has gotten every opportunity to contact me during the campaign. I would have been happy to clarify any ambiguities. If someone who decides to bypass this route and go for the jugular with malicious intent, well I can’t help that.

What I have learned from all this, including the attempts to damage my reputation, is that people will stick together when the cause is noble. People will stick together willingly, when the cause is an unspoken duty and goodwill towards others. Immoral and unethical causes are unified only by force – whether physical (by intimidation), emotional (from having guilt placed on them), or by endurance (where the message is so prevalent, it seems to be not worth fighting against in the public eye anymore).

I am beyond thankful to God, my family, my extremely patient young lady, the Mansfield North Central Ohio Tea Party organization for not only their endorsement but for their insistence to all that we should vote for the person and not the party. Thanks to those I have talked to along the campaign trail in their living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, front porches, and on the sidewalk. You all have taught me the idea of community is still very alive and well, and while we may not agree on every issue, we are truly all in this together. We definitely surround “them”, and not the other way around.

The path to county office may or may not end tomorrow, but I do know that this journey will not end tomorrow regardless of the election results. I’ve gained so much, and I really wish this on everyone to at least give this a try; to have your thoughts and ideas questioned and challenged; to put ourselves out there to lead instead of follow; to put our names on the line for what is truly right and not what is easy; to know that there are still good people in this world, who try hard, and work their collective tail ends off in order to achieve their goals. I consider myself honored to even be considered as a representative for over 120,000 people, and I will never take for granted the hours and days that many have poured forth of their own time, with or without being asked, so that this campaign still had a good chance for a miracle upset of a longtime incumbent that sorely needs to go. I will sleep tonight with renewed hope. The hope that was promised to us in Election Year 2008 never came from our president. It only comes from ourselves. That is what makes us Americans. We refuse to deteriorate voluntarily. I will definitely sleep with renewed hope. Never give in, never give up. Thank you, all of you.