When thinking back to a time not so long ago, when I was fighting the good fight at the General Election for a (at the time) underdog politcal party I look back to a funny and rather forthright conversation I had with a colleague. Around this time another colleague planted the seed in my brain of myself one day running for some kind of elected office. After this happened, in one lazy day in the office folding endless reems of leaflets with the candidate's grinning mug on I turned around and asked him if he ever aspired to run for a local council seat.
His reply in short was an emphatic "no".
"Why is that?" I asked, slightly disappointed that my attempt at small talk to rid us of office tedium had sank like the Lusitania.
My colleague's reply summed up in part what I saw as the possible negative parts of being a politician: "Because at the end of the day, everything that you do is wrong".
He couldn't really have put it better. People HATE politicians giving promises, people HATE politicians not making promises about things they care about, people HATE politicians who are know too much and are too academic, people HATE politicians who profess to be common with buttoned down shirts swapped in place of their suits (ala Clegg, Cameron etc) to appear less threatening.
On some days I can understand this public's mentality. On other days I feel like throwing a brick in the face of one of these whiners and patting myself on the back for a job well done. Not one of them stops to think that some of the reason these strange people are fusing more over "image" than making sense is that nowadays people are more likely to engage with what is "interesting" or "fun" as oppose to what is relevant. Why would they bother doing it, if it was just for show? But NOOO the public can't be blamed, the poor sweet innocent public. Give me a break.
Yet on another level I think this year has seen a few knockback lessons being taught to two particular public figures, both of whom have started out as hopeful underdogs and are now tainted by decisions in power (good and bad). I speak of Nick Clegg and Barack Obama. The latter of whom I believe has shown more humility, on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart (a risky media spot as any) Obama endured ridicule to concede that the "hope" and "change" urgency message in campaign while not entirely wrong, certainly had a reality deficeit too great to withstand the rigours of the jungle of US politics. As a politician I think Obama is going to have to learn to grow up quickly, I imagine by now he has gauged the consequences of his decisions and where they have left him now. In particular with Afghanistan, at least I hope he has.
Now Obama faces a difficult game. Not an impossible one. Bill Clinton put through real (and very positive) changes with a hostile congress. As in the case of any struggle though, the game always depends on who your enemies are. And I must say we have some beauties in the rogues gallery of Republican presidential hopefuls, to compliment the incoming reds in Congress. All with real pros and cons. Mitt Romney (Massachussetts Mormon) is a possible. He has a smiley face, has mastered basic personal hygiene, speaks clearly and is a fiscal conservative (as is fashionable nowadays) and is already pretty rich so campaign funding is no biggy. The cons are that he has supported a version of Obama's evil Sovietised healthcare system in Massachussetts that senselessly allows universal access to healthcare. Oh and the religious tolerance of the Republicans cannot handle having a Mormon in their ranks.
Some of the new Red governors in the Mid West such as Mitch Daniels in Indiana have rising stars that may prove popular in this time of austerity, as the populace is looking for governors who can come up with workable budget squeezes.
And then there is Newt Gingrich who I understand is the Republican equivelant of a rockstar. That is a rockstar who's past times include throwing moral stones in glass houses and promoting religious agitation. He is certainly starting to bang the social conservative gong rather deafingly, but he may in the process scare away the moderates. To counter that he could burnish his fiscal conservative credentials.
And then there is who I am rooting for: Sarah Palin. I support her because I wholly believe she is a one woman political party shredding machine. I thoroughly support her fight for the common person, millionaire fortune in tow and all. Her "power to the people" type message in front of lefty central government-tendencies is looking evermore credible too. This shows every time she destroys a hapless hard working moderate Republicans career in the favour of some Tea Party blood-spitting non-moderate, like some kind of Caesar unleashing a proverbial tiger in the ampitheatre of US politics, and watching it tear apart moderate Republican scum. Hang those consensus builders and hang them high! Your not all suppost to agree with the other side dammit! Look angry! ANGRIER! That's better.
As for the politics in my country. What can I say? Well I can say one thing to my leadership which I feel needs saying. It's OK to be told by our colleagues in the Tory Party, to "shut up and enjoy being in government". I have been living with Tories not making sense for many years, and long may that traditon continue. But I have NO respect whatsoever for Nick Clegg sending that same message to his own grassroots activists. If he doesn't want to consul with us over our worries, TS I have a barrel full for him with his name on it. I am proud of many of our successes. But many things depress me. It depresses me when we drop one of our main reform ideas in favour of some half backed electoral system idea, that came out of the last and VERY desperate days of our adversaries, and parade it around like a badge of honour. As of now I openly admit, I am not convinced that the Alternative Vote is something we should throw ourselves behind. For me, right now it's Proportional Representation and failing that what we have now. That will probably upset some people I know in my party, but I cannot in good conscience support something I do not believe in.
For me though this year has been an especially eventful one in terms of my involvement in politics. At the start of this year I helped in the Parliamentary Election campaign of a good man who I am sorry to say did not make it into the job he thoroughly deserved. If I am still in this city when the next general election is up, you can bet your ass I will do everything I can to make sure that score is settled and the House of Commons becomes one seat less a cesspool of lies, narcissism and empty promises.
The other big event for me was putting my name in the hat for local candidacy. This was a big move for me, and one I made after considerable thought was given. Unfortunately I didn't quite make it, and was beaten at selection by some trully remarkable and hard working candidates. Towards the selections of the seats I was given much useful advice. And as time got closer to the decision times it became more clear to me that in some instances I was up against some candidates who in many cases had more connections in the particular areas I competed in. That in itself I believe is fair enough, if they have put the work in then I can only respect that. But that in itself leaves me in a somewhat difficult position. Having had most of my campaigning experience spread over several areas in the city (as oppose to one or a few), it could be harder to sell me as a local activist. My roots to a certain area can potentially be seen to be lacking. Be that as it may, I think this deserves to be looked at in context. I am committed to my party to the extent that I worked for it for 3 months full time without pay. So local campaigner in the traditional sense or not, I feel I have enough credentials to take my activism to the next level as an elected official. When? Who can say. Sometime.
I guess this is a "you haven't seen the last of me" in some ways, not in the megalomaniac Hitler Munich Beer hall way you understand, it is mean't in a kindly way. Getting rejected is not a nice experience, but getting motivated enough as I did and actually trying to go for something so important is something I feel proud of. I am not ashamed, and after learning from my mistakes I will try again. It may be a while, but till then I will keep myself busy somehow. I am determined the wait won't be my "lost years" in the Nixon sense. Watch this space.
I believe what politics in the UK and the US are both experiencing now is kind of the rollback of the "hope" and "change" tidal wave. Both of the making of the politicians and people in both countries. Obama and Clegg somewhat cynically and for the right reasons (in equal measure), started it and now both have to learn how to deal with the consequences. Because people become unpredictable and potentially aggressive when they realise their hopes and dreams are becoming unfulfilled. The higher the hope stakes gamble, potentially the higher the reward OR fall. Both now need to engage in dialogue with their respective public spheres to make the public and their grassroots know that they are talking on the same wavelength. On that level, something can be salvaged out of broken trust. And a more mature approach to one's enemies cannot hurt. As JFK said (or more accurately Ted Sorenson) "forgive one's enemies but NEVER forget their names".
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