Summing Up, and Starting New

Getting back in the swing of Blogging is nice. It feels good.

This election was long and hard. Karen’s campaign was a grueling mix of dinners and meetings and parades and candidate forums and benefits you name it we did it, but for me the real grind was not knowing what I was doing and making it up as I went. Hardest to bear was hoping it was good enough.

I used for my motto, “What Can I Do Today?” I made lots of mistakes, but I was usually there to admit them and do what I could to fix them. I mean I was a rookie. I didn’t even have a cell phone to start. I didn’t know any of the players at the county level or city for that matter. Everything was a crash course.

I tried to run the County Headquarters as well thinking that I could help Karen our County Clerk through the offices there. I think I did make a difference in that regard as I talked a lot of people into taking her yard signs. These were people that I would of missed in the canvassing we were doing.

Everything I did seemed like a crash course, I had nothing to judge my performance by. Karen being the nice lady she is kept giving me compliments, and Larry when he was in from Texas worked hard to help me get the signs out. Mildred her mother was awesome in the sign department also.

All of the behind the scenes efforts with the local media, churches, nonprofits, and all the other organizations, plus the plethora of other important connections to be made, seemed at the time overwhelming. The Obama Tide was too much for all of that. At best in normal years our Muskegon County is a battle for a Republican to win. Karen won county wide in the election of 2004 by only 500 votes out of 60-70,000 votes. This year despite superior candidates in several slots we lost all county wide including Karen’s and Holly Hughes failed to win the 91st State House Seat.

Though Karen’s loss was least of all the candidates due to our heavy work in the city areas, it was still a loss and one of the saddest moments of my life. I know I could of done better, but I also know I gave all I could. That thought is why I know I will try again with the same conviction and a deeper insight into how the system works, and a surer hand in trying to work it.

Still a rookie I have learned a lot about people and how a campaign works and needs to work with people, and through people to be effective. People have to be enthused, excited about something in order to do what they would normally not do. That is what the Republicans lack. In Muskegon by and large I can vouch for that lack. That lack is what I will try to bring back for the next two years to our party.

As with the national and it looks like the state party our County party for better or worse will get new leadership. I will do all I can to try to foster a change in enthusiasm.

As with the campaign I will succeed through effort - by doing. By trying to do what I think is best. I will cooperate as much as possible but will DO something when all else fails or other dither. By trying as many different approaches and gimmicks as I can, knowing that most will fail. I hope my ego will not get in the way. My “do it my way or the highway” approach doesn’t work but seems my default mode of operation. I can and I will learn to control that.

Life “Real Life” intrudes but I will minimize that. Soon I will have to start to make a minimum of money to live and my house will need fixing in some pretty major ways. This too I will handle as need be. But always I will have my eye on the prize. 2010 then 2012 to get Michigan back in Conservative hands and a Young, Common Sense Conservative President and a fighting chance in the US House and Senate.

Pipe dreams? Back In the day I used to smoke a lot of pipe dreams and I can spot fantasy a mile away. I just hope I have the energy and wherewithal left to do all that I can see in front of me.

Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative.

PS. Kay Punter and I spent most of the day at HQ reorganizing and cleaning it and it is now ready to start receiving volunteers for the next election. We are talking about a separate Precinct Delegate Drive since they won’t get on the ballot till late in 2010, I’m calling it a Precinct Delegate Designate Drive. We are trying to come up with things that volunteers can do. John Koens our treasurer came by and we talked about what it would take to keep the HQ open money wise. If I build it well they will come and I won’t have problems that way. I hope to stress the idea that our efforts should pay for themselves. Being Republicans we understand that we have to be good stewards of other peoples money. When we elect a new County Executive Committee at the upcoming County Convention, and they elect new officials, we hope to have a suggested format to start with that they can change as they see fit. I do hope to start getting back into my neighborhood. Hope to let it serve as a model of how I think we can organize precincts. We’ll see. Hope to get back to normal blogging. This site will reflect the emphasis I’m putting into politics. This started as a political action site afterall.

Every day “What Can I Do Today?”