Understanding what being a representative is...
For 7 years, I put no bumper stickers on my car. It started with wanting to be a clean slate... I was starting my career as a professional troublemaker, and I figured I didn't want to to give people any more reasons to judge me or dislike me than they already had (that I was a young kid of 21/22 telling them I knew what they needed to make their job better). No band stickers, no Yankees or Rangers stickers, and no political stickers or decorations on my car.
See, I was the face of the union to those workers. When doing house visits and shop visits, I was representing the local, and in some cases, was the major interaction the workers had with their union that day/week/month. So I couldn't do anything that would cause people to object.... or at least, I tried. And when you sign up, when take on a cause, campaign, or project, it becomes necessary for you to to realize that it's bigger than you, and your missteps, shortcomings, and seemingly non relevant opinions now matter, and will attract attention to you and can be very negative for your cause.
I write this, almost incredulously, because already this 2008 Presidential Slog has been rife with gaffes, missteps, and public floggings of campaign officials and their staffers. we're getting to a point where not only will a candidate be flogged over past mishaps, but any staffers with controversial opinion will be taken to task as well.
There's been a lot of "ink spilled" in the blogosphere about some of the previous ones, but the one that jumps out at me as incredibly stupid is Robert Bauer's suggestion of a "progressive case for a Libby Pardon" in the Huffington Post. I don't think his argument has a lot of merit, but more to the point, why would you, a public figure involved in a very prominent political campaign, take a controversial position on a public issue that will certainly anger primary voters?
Like it or not, Bauer, you're a representative of Obama 08. So why you'd put your boss in the annoying position of having to answer questions about your argument to see Scooter Libby pardoned is beyond me. Now Senator Obama has to respond to your position, which will undoubtedly be picked up by the mainstream media and used to knock Sen. Obama down in the polls (ala the Scream).
It frustrates me that I've only been doing this for a few years, but somehow understand it better than these clowns who have been doing it forever. Maybe because they've been doing it forever they've lost touch. To the public, you must be a faceless representative of your candidate or cause. It's the workers, not you. It's the schoolchildren, not you. It's your candidate, not you. When it becomes about you, you need to rethink what you've done. When it becomes about you, you're not helping, you're hurting. I'm not saying I think it is fair. I'm not saying you should never have opinions.
Dad used to say "treat everything you write like it could be on the cover of the NY Times someday." It amazes me that, in the age of Drudge and the right wing media echo chamber, people don't understand that crap like this just gives the other clowns more ammo.
Dumbass.
See, I was the face of the union to those workers. When doing house visits and shop visits, I was representing the local, and in some cases, was the major interaction the workers had with their union that day/week/month. So I couldn't do anything that would cause people to object.... or at least, I tried. And when you sign up, when take on a cause, campaign, or project, it becomes necessary for you to to realize that it's bigger than you, and your missteps, shortcomings, and seemingly non relevant opinions now matter, and will attract attention to you and can be very negative for your cause.
I write this, almost incredulously, because already this 2008 Presidential Slog has been rife with gaffes, missteps, and public floggings of campaign officials and their staffers. we're getting to a point where not only will a candidate be flogged over past mishaps, but any staffers with controversial opinion will be taken to task as well.
There's been a lot of "ink spilled" in the blogosphere about some of the previous ones, but the one that jumps out at me as incredibly stupid is Robert Bauer's suggestion of a "progressive case for a Libby Pardon" in the Huffington Post. I don't think his argument has a lot of merit, but more to the point, why would you, a public figure involved in a very prominent political campaign, take a controversial position on a public issue that will certainly anger primary voters?
Like it or not, Bauer, you're a representative of Obama 08. So why you'd put your boss in the annoying position of having to answer questions about your argument to see Scooter Libby pardoned is beyond me. Now Senator Obama has to respond to your position, which will undoubtedly be picked up by the mainstream media and used to knock Sen. Obama down in the polls (ala the Scream).
It frustrates me that I've only been doing this for a few years, but somehow understand it better than these clowns who have been doing it forever. Maybe because they've been doing it forever they've lost touch. To the public, you must be a faceless representative of your candidate or cause. It's the workers, not you. It's the schoolchildren, not you. It's your candidate, not you. When it becomes about you, you need to rethink what you've done. When it becomes about you, you're not helping, you're hurting. I'm not saying I think it is fair. I'm not saying you should never have opinions.
Dad used to say "treat everything you write like it could be on the cover of the NY Times someday." It amazes me that, in the age of Drudge and the right wing media echo chamber, people don't understand that crap like this just gives the other clowns more ammo.
Dumbass.
Labels: 08 Election, Obama
posted by Ruby K at 11:32 PM
2 Comments:
I know I've said this before, but you really ought to blog more often.
Dumbasses indeed.
Thanks feygele. good to know i'm still saying something worth reading.
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