Why I Changed Course

Back in the 1970s, I spend a year working for the Close-up Foundation as a program instructor. Delegations of high school students from all over the country came to Washington DC to learn about government. One of our duties was to introduce Congress members and Senators to the students. I was asked to introduce Tip O’Neill, Speaker of the House, to a group from Massachusetts. Our meeting was on the floor of the House of Representatives. I got up to make my introduction, turned red, and all that came out of my mouth was “ah, ah, ah”. I had completely lost my words. The Speaker walked up with a big smile on is generous face, shook my hand, laughed, and took over.

I have to confess that when I stood up at that podium, I though, this is where I want to be. I love the House of Representatives and all that it stands for. But, clearly, I don’t have a talent for it; I lost my words, and members of Congress don’t do that.

Now, thirty years later, I feel like members of Congress have lost their words. I cannot believe that our representatives do not know that the shameful war on Iraq must be ended. I believe that our representatives know that the President and his administration have committed high crimes and misdemeanors and must be held accountable for their actions. I will not believe that our representatives do not understand that most Americans are fed up with their inability to act in the best interests of the American people. Yet, except for a few squawks, Congress is silent at a time when there is turmoil within the nation.

While the U.S. Constitution maintains that members of congress must live in the state they represent, my own opinion is that a member of Congress should be more than just a state resident. A representative should live in the district and enjoy the support of the voters who live there. When I began my quest as an unlikely candidate, I said that I needed to know that there were people from New York’s 8th CD behind my candidacy. I understood that we would begin small and it would take time to build support. I also knew that it would be tricky to get support without an official announcement.

During the month that we tried to put together a congressional challenge, we sent out notices to people who are committed to the impeachment issue and asked for help. The majority of people, who responded to our call to action, lived outside of the 8th Congressional District. They were tireless with their energy, had wonderful ideas, and were a terrific support in this endeavor, but they couldn’t sign a nominating petition or vote for a challenger. I, possibly because of my own ideas of what representative government is, could not continue with this campaign without some support from voters of this district.

Our goal for this campaign was to raise awareness about impeachment and the need for hearings. As we worked on the campaign, we found that our energy was taken up with the details of creating a primary campaign. One of the great flaws of our election system is it has been created and maintained by incumbents. Consequently, it is near impossible for a challenger to mount a campaign unless there is the support of the party or a large number of voters. Campaigns involve mountains of paperwork, tedious details, and a need for money that is obscene at a time when so many people have financial troubles.

Mounting a primary challenge a month before the petitioning period is a bit of a fool’s errand especially in a district that is pretty much satisfied with the job that the Congress member is doing. Our greatest problem was the limited amount of time we had to mount this challenge. From what I saw and heard from different people, knocking this incumbent out, might not be as impossible as it seems if there were the time to do it properly. If somebody from the 8th CD was interested in taking this seat and began to work on it now, it wouldn’t surprise me to see our Congressman handed a pink slip in January 2011.