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StrangerThan -> RE: Active participation in local politics (9/6/2010 12:21:36 PM)
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My first foray into the political arena was with a local chapter of the Democratic party. I moved away from that after a while because at the time, I worked for a government entity under a Democratic administration and saw wide-spread corruption. I literally have seen department heads manually manipulate reports to hide tax dollars and been instructed along with others to obstruct investigations. At the time it was both an ethical and economic issue for me given that local employment opportunities basically fell to three different employers if you wanted to make a decent salary. I suppose salary is always important, but for me, I was putting a daughter and an ex-wife through college. Again, I suppose you could argue that I didn't have to do either of those things, but the first I felt and still feel it was my duty to do. The second basically boiled down to the fact that I could provide a better life for my other daughter if her mother succeeded. So I helped her in every way I could. For my own employment, I in essence, did what I was told to do and hated every minute of it until I was able to leave.
That drove me away from the democratic party. It didn't drive me to the republicans. Bush came along shortly after that time period and put that nail in the coffin. I changed my party affiliation from Democrat to Independent about then. Somewhere in there my involvement changed from local parties to what might be best described as local movements. There was a radio show in the town where I lived hosted by a constitutionalist who refused to take either side and argued mainly for common sense in politics and against things he saw as unconstitutional. I became a frequent debater on his show, dealing with every type from the bubba next door to libertarians to people from both Republican and Democratic parties to ex-intelligence agents. Note I wasn't part of his show, but was one who debated on air positions mostly held by right-wing commentators or right-wing callers.
Over the next couple of years a group formed from that show that began taking issue with local and state politics where corruption was evident and where legislation was being pushed through without either due process or just was fucked up from its inception. The group was local, but the effort spread. Instead of forming committees and doing things the "right" way, we basically used the Tennessee tax revolt as a model. There's a group by that name - Tennessee tax revolt, but the the in this case pointed to the massing of thousands people at the Tennessee state capitol a few years ago in response to a vote on a state income tax. The massive flood of people scared legislators to the point that some had to be removed in ambulances.
It seemed a good way of showing that we the people part of government. This was in North Carolina by the way. In the four years I was involved, the movement was instrumental in instigating an investigation that led to imprisonment for the state speaker of the house, stopping legislation in its tracks by exposing law makers on air and doing it statewide, (One of those was to provide state funds for children of illegal immigrants to attend state college.), investigations into the manner in which the state lottery was implemented. It wasn't that we didn't like the lottery. What we didn't like was the way the vote was done, which was politics at its finest where one side sort of passed the word to its folks to hang around once recess started, then the speaker called something like an emergency session, held the vote then disbanded. On top of all that, nepotism was ripe. You'd have family members hired in at high paying jobs for the lottery wherein they had little to no experience for the job they were hired to do.
So we were sort of a tea party before there was a tea party. The membership was composed of both Democrats and Republicans though honestly, of the two parties, Republicans probably dominated. Overall, independents dominated. The focus was not towards or against either party but for more responsible, more transparent government and towards removing the strangle hold on politics that both of those parties held in NC. The same host would bring on anyone involved in a political race whether they be party favorite or Joe down the street - something that was much to the chagrin of the established parties.
I moved away a few years ago and have not kept up with them. Any efforts I make now though are in the same vein. I'm not taking sides and mostly call into local radio shows or work local message boards. Usually when I do its in response to these over the top comments or topics. Things like a local guy took a rant from some big time pundit over something Charlie Rangle had said about people joining the military, that they weren't bright. The quote was out of context, and no where near the slight the host was making it out to be, so we talked. My position is rarely one where the feeling of being slighted is wrong, but rather the light in which it is portrayed is wrong. It's not my place to judge feelings. I can however, judge the spin being put on it.
The good thing about local shows is the kill switch isn't something they like to employ unless you're just an absolute idiot. I tried listening to the big time right wing and left wing shows but honestly couldn't stomach the twisted bs that came from either.
We do have a local tea party chapter, but not joining them either. I like the concept of what they're doing, but I honestly think the effort is going to result in clearer and harder lines drawn between left and right. Given the way people lump up on one side or the other these days with no intention of taking their own politicians to task, I may end up joining them if for no other reason than I'm sick and tired of not having something I want to vote for, rather than simply voting against something or someone else.
Shrug.
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