Issue Position: Twenty Principles of a Principled Office Seeker

Issue Position

The following list of political principles did not all originate word for word with me -- the first in fact is almost verbatim from the lips of Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, albeit it is a dictum to which I have long subscribed, but never articulated so clearly as Gov. O'Malley. But I claim full ownership of the list -- a compendium of political philosophy, a hybrid code of gleanings from the swirl of current political debate formed on the skeleton of my personal ethic. It's what propels me to run for office and so to participate in the debate.

1. The test of an idea or proposal is not the direction whence it came -- right, left or middle -- but the direction it takes us. Will it move us forward or take us back?

2. Compromise in the legislative lexicon means giving something to get something. It is an accommodation, not a surrender. "My way or the highway" is not a plea for compromise; it is an ultimatum.

3. "Just say no" is not a policy. It is a roadblock. The only way to deal with a roadblock is to remove it -- which is one reason we have elections.

4. All campaign contributions are a quid pro quo. Those who contribute, whether individual or corporate, expect that should you be elected you will serve their interests. That is why it is a bad idea to allow corporations to meddle in elections with their money; those elected are supposed to serve the interests of the individuals as a corpus -- that we the people thing -- not corporations. To promise to work for the people's interest is honorable; to promise to work for corporate interests is a sellout; to promise the former and do the latter is criminal.

5. Poverty is not a crime, else why did we do away with debtors' prisons? To attach stigma to poverty is to malign fellow citizens who are less fortunate and who have done us no wrong. Mother Theresa was poor; Robert Madoff was wealthy. In the end, who was the better role model?

6. Wealth is not a sign of moral rectitude, wisdom, intelligence or the favor of the almighty. The first three are found in abundance in all economic classes. The last is at best conjecture and at worst a symptom of an enlarged ego.

7. Government is not the enemy, at least not in the United States of America. We, the people, ARE the government. If that government is failing, one need only look in the mirror to find the reason. When it doesn't work, it is up to us to fix it. That is why we have elections; that is why almost any citizen is free to seek public office.

8. Government regulation is neither evil nor unfairly restrictive by definition. Government regulation supplies a public conscience where one is lacking -- notably in corporate boardrooms. To prove the efficacy of such regulation, one need only look back to the time when regulatory authority did not exist -- to the era of smoke and smog pre EPA, child labor and the 60-hour workweek, to the days of paint and chemical befouled waterways, of miners dying early, often violently in unregulated mines, of poisons masquerading as patent medicine, and adulterated food. Or look even today at how American corporations treat Third World workers where regulation is nonexistent or unenforced. The unfettered corporation pursues profit at public expense, not profit in the public interest.

9. Prosperity is built from the bottom up, not the top down. A government mandated minimum wage establishes an economic base for the economy and recognizes the dignity of labor. The worker is entitled to a living wage because the worker is as much invested in the business as the owner and more personally invested than the shareholder, having invested his very existence in the business. The contract -- wages for labor -- is a 2-way deal: the workers owe the employer a fair day's labor and loyalty; the company owes the worker a fair day's pay and loyalty. It is only right that workers are empowered to organize to bargain for their fair share so as to balance labor and corporate power on the economic scales.

10. Tax giveaways do not create jobs nor automatically lead to greater prosperity. Jobs are created by demand for goods and services. Corporate tax breaks mostly go to corporate acquisitions, stock buybacks, profit, and management compensation, adding very little fuel to demand. Demand comes from a prosperous middle class with the spending power to fuel that demand. A healthy economy requires a healthy middle class.

11. Access to decent medical care is as much a fundamental right as free speech or life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Contraceptive care is routine medical care and part of that right.

12. The right to vote is a sacred right and any attempt to fetter or limit it is an attack on the fundament of liberty itself. Concomitantly, that right carries with it a sacred duty to exercise the franchise. Citizens who fail to exercise that right empower tyranny by a minority and deserve the scorn of those faithful to their responsibility.

13. "We the people" does NOT include corporations. A corporation is not a person -- it is an artifice of commercial convenience designed to accumulate money while dodging individual responsibility. Therefore it does not share the person's right to free speech or religion anymore than it shares a right to vote or can occupy a pew on Sunday. If it cannot be slapped, spanked, jailed or hanged, it is not a person.

14. Religion is an option, based on personal belief, and not the foundation of government, nor the business of government. Profession of religious belief confers neither moral authority nor proof of good character. Conversely, absence of religious belief is not an indicator of immoral behavior or lack of character. The maligning or ill treatment of person or persons because of a lack of religion is as intolerable as persecution of a person or persons of a faith alien to yours. Government should steer clear of all religion lest it be seen to be favoring a particular religion.

15. Equal rights includes everybody, even people we don't like. Free speech includes everybody, even people who say things we despise. Free speech, however, should not be taken to mean license to cause harm, intimidate or abuse.
16. Abortion is none of your business unless you are (A) a woman or (B) a woman's physician. If you are a male, you can't have an abortion so why should you be bothered about it? If you are a woman who abhors the very thought of abortion, don't have one -- but be kind enough not to malign or interfere with your sisters who may feel the need for abortion. It's a medical issue, not a political concern.

17. Marriage is a civil contract between consenting adults licensed, governed and protected by civil law. Marriages contracted between parties according to a religious rite are still subject to civil authority and, in fact, the religious minister acts as an agent of the civil authority in performing such and is required to fulfill the civil requirements. Religious leaders are not required to officiate at weddings that do not meet their particular beliefs but have no business objecting to those civil ceremonies that meet the civil requirements. In short, if gays choose to marry, they may -- so get over it.

18. I esteem the Second Amendment exactly as I do all the other amendments and exercise it responsibly. I have a license to carry concealed, not out of any great fear, but so as not to alarm my neighbors when traveling to sport shooting events. I am tired of the yahoos who boost their sense of manhood by bullying others with their "manly" assault rifles. If you need an assault rifle to hunt deer, it's an admission you're a lousy shot. If you really, really must have one, join the Army. They have some really cool stuff for you.

19. Abolish the death penalty; it is ineffective as a deterrent, barbaric in nature, unevenly administered, and when misapplied cannot be corrected. Life imprisonment is a horrendous enough punishment and when unjustly conferred, can be remedied and compensated.

20. Government of the people by the people is no better than the people themselves. Our Democratic Republic substitutes an orderly representative process for the mob rule of a pure democracy. It works best when we all participate, all pay attention. Lately, it hasn't worked all that well. We can make it better. Or not. It's our choice.

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