It's that time of year when I get a little jumpy. I'm tired of winter, even though it has been a mild one. I'm ready for fishing (not through a hole), baseball, bike riding and a sun that shines until I am ready to go to bed. I know it is on its way, but this time of year it is hard for me to be patient.
It's this time of year where I need to be careful about the things I say because it is also the spring election season. So at a time when even more eyes are on me, I'm at my lowest. That could be dangerous.
Let me discuss a few of the things, in generalities, that really bother me about candidates, and admittedly, probably bother me more when I am suffering from cabin fever...
Candidates who stress details about their platform that are insignificant:
I've already mentioned my disdain for people who use their faith as a marketing tool for elected office. I should vote for someone because they are Catholic, Lutheran or "accepted Jesus"? Why? If i vote for the Muslim am I sinning? What if I vote for the gay candidate? What about the woman, the black, or senior candidate. Aren't we all "created equal"? Aren't we all constitutionally able to run for office? Stop pimping your religious beliefs in an effort to make my vote for you seem more valid in Gods eyes. I'm guessing that God wouldn't vote for you anyway.
Those who trumpet larger, national, issues such as being pro-life or pro-choice, when running for a local office. Does anyone really think that, if elected, they will have ANY impact on that issue? My favorite was the coroner candidate (failed) who was pro-life...really seemed like a bad business model.
Recently the trend has been toward trumpeting some stance on a constitutional issue. In Wisconsin, the 2nd amendment has been front and center. When a candidate boasts about being 'Pro-2nd Amendment" I want to ask them "what about the other ones?". It seems to me that there are other constitutional amendments that you should be equally 'pro" about. Unless the Bill of Rights is a smorgasbord and you can pick and choose which rights are most important.
Finally, lists. Lists of their "skills", especially when they look like they simply cut and pasted everything from a Microsoft template.
"Critical Thinking"
"Problem Solving"
Here's a news flash. We are human beings. Critical thinking and problem solving are traits we all have. How about you expound upon this unique skill of yours. Tell me HOW you problem solve. Tell me what "Critical Thinking" means to you...from my experience with some of these candidates, they belive it simply means being critical of everything that is thought of by someone else.
It seems that the discussions about what is really important are completely lost in the rhetoric of politics. There is one single thing I want to understand about a candidate.
Leadership and what it means to you.
When I ran for elected office, I had the slogan "Listen. Lead. Succeed." Those words were selected for very specific reasons and put in that order for very specific reasons. Even the punctuation is important.
Listen. First of all, before you can lead anything, you need to understand it. You need to listen. This can be tough when you come in with an agenda or a "plan". Until you learn the system and understand how we got where we are, you can't lead anyone to a different place.
Lead. Leading isn't about being in charge. In fact, I personally believe it is about putting others in charge. The most successful leaders in the world had better people around them. A good leader selects smarter/stronger people to work around them...and then gets out of their way. I can't take credit for that, it's a quote by several famous people, including Lee Iacocca.
Succeed. This one is the toughest to define. Personally, I believe it is unachievable. I only say that because once a goal is achieved, it's time to aim higher. Success only comes when you are done leading and you look back and say that things are better than when you started. It's like owning a stock. The price may go up, but you only make a "profit" when you sell. The same goes for failure.
So, all candidates for public office... dump the rhetoric and macro-political mumbo-jumbo and talk about the specific issues and how you would handle them. If you don't know, that is perfectly okay...admit that, I will have more respect for you.
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