Politics!!!
I have said a million times that I never wanted to be a politician. It opens up your whole life to the world and all of the ideas and thoughts that you have are out in the open for the world to scrutinize. And on a regular basis, people tell you how they feel about you... some good, some bad, all of it interesting.
Yesterday, I recieved a piece of mail that was addressed from "current resident" - the anonymous sender had cut up my education mailer (below) and crossed out several lines, made silly irrelevant comments, and let me know exactly how he felt about the piece that he received in the mail.
First of all... dude... I don't care if you are not voting for me. I don't care if you don't agree with me. I'm sorry you felt the need to waste a stamp. Had I received a piece in the mail I didn't agree with, I would have thrown it in the garbage and moved on with my life.
So, I know of one guy who isn't voting for me. I am sure there are a few more.
But just five minutes ago, a self-described "hard core" republican called me up and told me that I need to bring a sign to him immediately, because in his words, I am "his kind of person" and that I am the *only* democrat he will probably ever vote for. And then I recieved an email from a person saying that "two respected republicans" would like yard signs, and could I please deliver them this morning. That's 3:1 folks. I can only hope that *those* odds are in my favor.
Isn't life funny?
posted by Emily @ 7:28 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
You'd be a fresh change to the staid, good old boys and girls we're used to. This Republican would vote for you in a heartbeat.
The person who sent you the flier needs to be sent to the ward nursery for remediation as soon as possible--pronto!
Emily,
I received one of your mailings last week. On one side was a quote from Ronald Reagan. Nowhere on the flier was any mention of your party affiliation. Why the apparent effort to hide your affiliation? If it's "about people and not politics", why the shots at Repubs on this site, and why didn't you run as an independent? Initially, I had some interest in you as a candidate, but this touch of deception turned me off. If you're going to run as a Democrat, be open about it and explain why - don't hide it. You've lost my respect.
Hi Blate -
I can see that party affiliation is important to you... and I'll try to explain my point of view. I have asked people to get to know me first, and then find out what my political affiliation is... because unfortunately, too many people see the donkey and stop dead in their tracks.
We were knocking doors on Saturday and had such an experience. The gentleman talked to me for about 30 seconds, and the conversation was quite jovial until he asked what my political party was. I told him that I am the Democrat. He threw my flyer back at me, called me an abortionist, told me he would never vote for a democrat and slammed the door.
Never mind that I am a member of "Democrats for Life" which seeks to end the number of abortions in America by 95% within 10 years. He didn't give me 2.5 seconds to explain my position on abortion and assumed that I was something that I am not.
But this illustrates my point. The minute people find out about the "D" next to my name some are not so open to hear what I have to say. If they would spend any time talkign to me, they would learn that I actually don't like the two party system and would advocate for a good 5 or 6 or 7 party system, because then at least voters *would* be forced to look beyond political ideology and vote for a person, not a piece of political clipart.
I am a Democrat for many reasons, too long to list here. But if you read my platform and read what I have to say, you'll learn why I am a Utah Democrat.
Emily,
Why not campaign this way then:
"I am a Democrat, but I don't agree with all the positions of the national party, for example I'm a member of Demcorats for Life, etc., etc....
"I've chosen to remain a Democrat because I do believe in....., and because I want to work to build support for cherished values within the party."
Or something like that? That would be an honest and appealing approach, and I believe it would open more Republican minds than the mailer I received.
I am a Republican, but I do sometimes vote for Democrats and independents. I firmly believe that the best thing for this country would be for the national Democratic Party to become more moderate in both rhetoric and policies. While this would ensure fewer Republican victories, it would be better for the country. At first, I thought you sounded like the kind of person that could help make this happen, but it can't happen unless you're open about it. Or am I reading you wrong? Or would the Democratic Party withdraw support from you if you campaigned this way?
Blate,
Thanks for replying. I agree, there are some things that I haven't done perfectly in this campaign, and when I started the whole process I was more afraid of being beat up for being a Democrat than I am now. As for the Ronald Reagan quote... you should know that I consider myself a "Reagan Democrat" and one thing that would have made the postcard better is if I would have identified myself as such on the other side of the card.
I agree with you that the National Democratic Party is severely lacking in attracting moderate people into the party. I think that needs to absolutely change, because I believe without doubt that the far left wing is completely out of touch.
I do think you're reading me wrong. I am incredibly open about being a Democrat, I talk about it all the time, and I am tired of "politics as usual" which makes you swear allegiance to a political party, even if you don't agree. The best thing about being a Utah Democrat, however, is that I haven't had to swear allegiance to any platform. I have been free to be a pro-life democrat, to speak my mind about things important to me, and have been able to do so without any backlash.
I know that we got off to a rocky start in this conversation, but I hope you will believe me when I say that above anything else, I believe that politicians need to stop being such idealogues who are more concerned about party dogma than doing what's right for the people whom they serve.
Thanks for engaging me in a good conversation. I promise to do better next time!
Best,
Emily
Zane,
Thanks for your good note. I appreciate the efforts of good people like you who have crossed party lines to campaign on my behalf.
No matter how it turns out tomorrow, I couldn't be more grateful for all of you good people as I am now. Thanks so much for all you have done for me!
Emily
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