Blog: On Being "Quixotic"

Statement

In a recent editorial Pete Aleshire of the Payson Roundup called me Quixotic and said i was titling at windmills to challenge the Gosar Gould Big Red Machine. I tapped out a rebuttal but i don't kno3w if or when it will run so--

First I would like to thank Pete Aleshire for writing anarticle about our Democratic primary for US House and spending a line or two toestablishing who I am as a person and a candidate, instead of taking the alltoo common approach papers take of merely mentioning how much money we've raisedas if that were a reflection of our character. I for one am quite sick ofpoliticians whose relationship with the public is solely about the money. If westop caring about working of, by, and for the people and only chase theirdollars, then the republic is no more and our country's fate awaits the auctionblock.
Next I would also like to thank Mr. Aleshire for referringto me as "quixotic." Famed photojournalist, Jerry Nelson, from the website JourneyAmerica also uses that term while writing about my efforts and I take it as acompliment. "Don Quixote" is the nickname of my favorite political character ofall time, Jefferson Smith, from the movie Mr.Smith Goes to Washington (Frank Capra, 1939), a film about someone who,like me, has been thrust into politics and takes on seemingly impossible oddsto battle a corrupt system. I have watched it dozens of times and use in itclasses when teaching legislative process. Smith is brave, devoted, fearless,tireless, and wishes the best for everyone. He works to make the America he'dlearned about as a boy and even more, believes it is our life's most importantwork to make the America we're always told to dream of. This is the way I havelived my life every day since I climbed out of a plumber's ditch at age 30 andstarted back to college.
I must say, it is a sad, sad time in our country, when aperson who works to make an America that cares for all its citizens andrespects all humanity is dismissed as dreaming an impossible dream. As Smithrails at the film's climax, "If you want me to tell these kids that all thisAmerica stuff I've been filling your heads with is just a bunch of hooeybecause some rich guys need some graft, then you've got another think coming!"America is not supposed to be a country that casually cuts schools and socialservices so we can be sure the plutocrats get their tax cuts. America is notsupposed to be a country that shoves 36 kids in a classroom designed for 18 tosave money. America is not supposed to be a country where we shame, demonize,marginalize and imprison our poorest people, or one that looks at eachimmigrant as a terrorist because of the color of their skin or the words theychoose to pray to their idea of god. America is supposed to work for allAmericans. America is supposed to care.I do care. I would hate to have to believe that makes me a hopeless dreamer.
Lastly, I would like to correct a small factual error in thearticle concerning my educational background. I earned a BA in English fromSangamon State University in 1992 and an MA in English (literary criticism tobe precise) from the University of Illinois at Springfield in 1999 and thenmoved to AZ and earned a Masters in Secondary Education from NAU in 2005.Speaking of which, revitalizing and fully funding education is also a priority.As for private prisons, I work to reverse the entire trend of privatization ofgovernment services , which increases our costs and diminishes quality of essentialservices when unscrupulous businessmen cut corners and defraud the public toincrease their profits. As I say it is a sad time in America when the goal ofworking to improve the lives of Americans is considered as hopeless as tiltingwindmills.

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