Translating Big Daddy: Rules for the Campaign Trail

This was a welcome surprise in the in box today.

From EthicsDailey.com

Some words of advice and wisdom from a good friend and brother...

COLUMN
Translating Big Daddy: Rules for the Campaign Trail

Burns Strider
07-30-08

Leading up to the 2006 mid-term elections when the Democratic Party regained majorities in both the House and Senate I was on the phone one evening with my friend, Christine Pelosi, when she asked me to share with her the rules of politics I follow.

Christine had been tireless over the year traveling across the nation conducting training sessions for Democratic candidates, political staff and volunteers. These trainings remain a key part of Democratic strategy and her book, Campaign Boot Camp: Basic Training for Future Leaders, has become a must read for those who want to win.

Christine's question was an interesting one. I have spent my whole life working in politics and much of what I do is more second nature than a set of rules on a piece of paper for referral. What were my rules for succeeding in politics? Eventually, the answers came. I learned about politics and how to win from my father.

He was known as Big Daddy by nearly everyone. He stood at 6 foot 7, weighed in at over 330 pounds and wore a suit, cowboy hat and cowboy boots seven days a week. Jesse A. "Big Daddy" Strider was sheriff of Grenada County, Miss., for 24 years. Big Daddy lived out and taught a progressive brand of politics that was about doing and not talking.

With Christine's encouragement and a lot of remembering I managed to put on paper, for referral, the basic rules he taught me. So, here it is, translating Big Daddy, rules for the campaign trail.

--"A pick up truck beats a Cadillac every day of the week out here in real America." Translation: Don't get fancy. Don't get fancy with your words, with your plan or with your attitude. Folks are looking for one of them to lead.

--"Every tub has got to sit on its own bottom." Translation: In the final analysis the candidate has to carry the day. The candidate is who the voters want to hear from. Only the candidate can ultimately speak for the candidate.

--"If you're driving down the highway and see a car coming toward you in your lane then you're going to change lanes." Translation: Don't get in the way of your friends. Stay out of other people's races. Stay in your lane and don't bring undue criticism and opposition by being nosy or getting involved where you shouldn't.

--"If you come up on an old yella dog that is barking the word 'God' then let him bark." Translation: Don't challenge, denigrate or dismiss the faith of anyone. A person's faith represents the core, the essence of who they are. It's one of their most personal choices. You tear that person down if you tear down their faith.

--"Be careful what you say about someone, you're probably talking to their cousin." Translation: You're probably talking to their cousin.

--"Preach it three times. Before you do it, when you're doing it and after you do it." Translation: It's not just enough to believe it or even do it. People must know where you stand on an issue. They must know your actions. Just doing something without getting the news out is a waste of good time. I run across people running for office all the time who have done good things but no one knows. They're even indignant that others don't know of their good work. Well, they lose no matter how much time they waste being indignant. Tell your story and tell it often.

--"No one ever had to apologize for something they did not say." Translation: Don't talk if you don't have too. If it doesn't help you, remain quiet. If you're unsure if it helps you, keep your mouth shut. You must know for certain what you're saying and why. Don't take chances saying something you likely can't fix.

--"The person with the khaki pants, sweaty shirt and old baseball cap, driving the old farm truck is probably on the local bank board. The slick guy with the pin stripped suit, silk tie, tasseled shoes and new car probably charged his clothes and is, more than likely, a couple of payments behind on his car." Translation: Big Daddy was never impressed with those who put on airs. Being flashy was artificial to him. He wasn't against spending money and living good, but he was against anyone who seemed to take pleasure in using material items to show off or feel superior to others. We all know that flashiness is a waste of time in politics.

--"Take the blame. Be responsible." Translation: Don't pass the buck. Stand up and take it when things go bad.

--"Spread the credit" Translation: And when things go good, let people know who all was involved. Share the wealth and it will be returned to you over and over again.

--"Don't kick a person when they're down." Translation: When people are at their lowest, no matter what they did, no matter how bad, it is not the time to pile on. Show them attention, love and support. This was Big Daddy's philosophy not just in politics but for how the inmates were to be treated at his jail. Not your normal take on how a Mississippi sheriff may run things. And he kept running his jail and sheriff's department because his county would give him 70-75 percent of the vote nearly every time he was on the ballot.

--"Remember your raising." Translation: Cissy Ross Pierce was moving to South Korea with her soldier husband who was being stationed there. There was a going away party on our farm with all the area families in attendance. At the end of the party, Big Daddy hugged Cissy and simply said "You remember your raising while you're over there." I think it would bode well for all of us if we took time every now and then to remember our raising.

There you have it--Big Daddy translated. I don't think Big Daddy considered himself a post-modern philosopher, but what he taught and lived is as relevant today, in an age of blogospheres, Internet social networking and micro-targeting, as it was in the last century. It's about building true relationships, sharing your heart, playing fair but tough and keeping your eye on the ball. It's about winning with integrity.

Burns Strider was senior adviser and director of faith-based outreach for Sen. Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. He is a founder of Eleison Group, a consulting firm that helps political candidates, businesses and non-profit organizations engage with people of faith.

Republican Archbishop Chaput meets with McCain

In a not so surprising move, the outspoken and partisan Republican Archbishop Chaput has met "privately" with Republican Presidential hopeful John McCain. I suspect that wedge issues and McCains extreme view on abortion was the topic of discussion while the 100 year war of McCains imagination was not even brought up. Chaput has been seen with many Republicans over the years, however I suspect that if Senator Obama made a similar meeting request, Chaput would be high tailing it out of town.

Read more....

Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests targets Sen. John McCain

This is an interesting tid bit from Stephanie Innes of the Arizona Daily Star.

The national Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests is angry at Sen. John McCain.

Members of the national group say they’ll be holding a media event in Phoenix on Tuesday, July 29, to demand that McCain fire Deal Hudson from his Catholics for McCain steering committee.

The SNAP protestations come shortly after a group called Catholics United, which leans left, also demanded that McCain dump Hudson. Catholics United says Hudson does not represent Catholic values.

The reason? A sex scandal…..

In 2004 the National Catholic Reporter revealed that Hudson had resigned his faculty post at Fordham University a decade earlier — in 1994 — after an 18-year-old student complained that he had sexual relations with her in his office after taking her to a party at a New York bar and getting her drunk.

Just months after Hudson left Fordham, he was hired as senior editor of Crisis, a conservative Catholic magazine. In 1995 he became editor and publisher.
And just a month after the National Catholic Reporter story broke, Hudson stepped down from a job with the Bush-Cheney campaign. He also resigned as publisher of Crisis.

It was national news back then, four years ago. Now, it’s news again.

Hudson is also being criticized for ‘brokering a deal’ between a meeting of conservative Catholics and San Antonio mega-preacher John Hagee.

Bill Donohue of the conservative Catholic League is incensed by the vitriol aimed at Hudson.

“Hudson has made several public statements of apology regarding his improper sexual encounter with a coed in 1994. What are we to do as Catholics—say it isn’t enough?,” Dononue wrote.

“Hudson and Hagee have paid their dues. It’s time everyone—especially Catholics—acknowledged it. Kudos to the McCain campaign for seeing through this phony effort and standing by Hudson.”

SNAP on the other hand refers to Hudson as a “wrongdoer.”

“We feel that when wrong doers are given positions of power it sends a very dangerous message to victims, a message that wrongdoers are rewarded and there is no point in reporting abuse since the predator is not punished,” a SNAP press release states.

The event will take place at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday outside the McCain Southwest Regional Headquarters at 5353 N. 16th Street, Phoenix, AZ

Article on line here...


I must say though - if Hudson were a Priest, he would not be involved in the activities he is now involved in. The thing about politics is that people have long memories....

In 2004, Hudson was gleeful about his role in costing the job of Ono Ekeh, a “low level employee” at the Secretariat for African-American Catholics, and father of three, who had hosted a “Catholics for Kerry” Internet forum. Hudson told NCR’s Feuerherd, “If you’re going to play in the sandbox, then you have to take the consequences of your public utterances and your public actions.”

Indeed Deal, and that is why states have "sex offender" registry's.

"Why Obama Seized the Faith-Based Mantle"

In this weeks USA today, the ever observant Amy Sullivan writes about Presidential Candidate, Barrack Obama's plan for Faith-Based initiatives. (It should be noted that I advised the Obama campaign along with many others prior to the release of the plan)

Amy notes in her editorial that "It's fair to say Democrats were expecting a presidential nominee who would vow to overturn the faith-based initiative once he reached the White House, not one who doubled down on the program." --- I agree and we faced similar sentiments in Ohio, when Governor Strickland took office and inherited a statutory and mis-managed Faith-Based Office. Some were not quite sure what to do with it while others would have privately liked to have seen it done away with had it not been a statutory office. It is refreshing to see that the Obama team has a plan viewed through fresh eyes to put into place for Faith-Based initiatives from day one.

As Amy notes there is reason for Obama to embrace the initiatives rather than do away with them. "For one, by embracing the idea of partnerships between government and faith-based institutions, Obama isn't moving to the right so much as reclaiming an issue Democrats used to support. For decades, religiously affiliated organizations like Lutheran Social Services and United Jewish Communities received, without a hint of controversy, government funds to provide social services." ----- What is often lost though is the purpose of Faith-Based initiatives. That is to build capacity for small Faith-Based organization to apply and compete for Federal Funding. The big organizations have grant writers and the staff needed to go after this money. More often than not, the only organizations that will serve the least among us and provide services in poverty stricken neighborhoods are small Churches and faith based organizations. These services are certainly enhanced and improved with the proper funding.

The common misconception of Faith-Based initiatives, especially among Democrats is that there is a big pot of money for Churches and that they can use it to build Churches and buy bibles, a clear separation of church and state issue in their eyes. The facts are, that federal money comes with complications and strings attached to it. Faith Based initiatives sought to level the playing field. Money was made available to provide training and resources to small faith based organizations who did not have the large staffs and talented grant writers like a Catholic Charities would have.

With the Bush administration, the money was made available, but at times to only those who had the "right" kind of faith. With a fresh look from an Obama administration, we may well see the initiatives implemented in the right way, and services delivered to those truly in need of the assistance that in most cases can only be provided in a meaningful way by local faith based organizations. It also helps that Senator Obama began his career as a faith based organizer, living his faith with works.

With an Obama Faith Based initiative, we may finally see the small faith based community organization receive the training, funding and capacity they need to provide robust and long term services for those in need in their communities.

Read more of Amy's article here...

Bush commits man to Death Penalty

I have long struggled with my views on the Death Penalty and my Catholicism. The Church is clear on this issue. It is a life issue, although some will argue that there are clear exceptions to the Church's teaching. Circumstances where the crime was so repugnant and offensive to humanity that it warrant's taking ones life. Robert Gray may be such a scumbag, based on his horrific and heinous crimes. Do we in society have the right to judge before Gray is judged by his maker?

President Bush, who some have described as the first "Catholic" President for his "Pro Life" credentials signed off on Grays execution yesterday.

AP Report:

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush could have commuted the death sentence of Ronald A. Gray, a former Army cook convicted of multiple rapes and murders.

But Bush decided Monday that Gray's crimes were so repugnant that execution was the only just punishment.

Bush's decision marked the first time in 51 years that a president has affirmed a death sentence for a member of the U.S. military. It was the first time in 46 years that such a decision has even been weighed in the Oval Office.

Gray, 42, was convicted in connection with a spree of four murders and eight rapes in the Fayetteville, N.C., area between April 1986 and January 1987 while he was stationed at Fort Bragg. He has been on death row at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., since April 1988.

The court-martial panel convicted Gray of:

_Raping and killing Army Pvt. Laura Lee Vickery-Clay of Fayetteville on Dec. 15, 1986. She was shot four times with a .22-caliber pistol that Gray confessed to stealing. She suffered blunt force trauma over much of her body.

_Raping and killing Kimberly Ann Ruggles, a civilian cab driver in Fayetteville. She was bound, gagged and stabbed repeatedly, and had bruises and lacerations on her face. Her body was found on the base.

_Raping, robbing and attempting to kill an army private in her barracks at Fort Bragg on Jan. 3, 1987. She testified against Gray during the court-martial and identified him as her assailant. Gray raped her and stabbed her several times in the neck and side. The victim suffered a laceration of the trachea and a collapsed or punctured lung.

Gray has appealed his case through the Army Court of Criminal Appeals (then known as the U.S. Army Court of Military Review) and the Court of Appeals for the Armed Services. In 2001, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

Read More

The Cost of Irresponsible War and Mismanagement of Goverment

The White House predicted Monday that President Bush would leave a record $482 billion deficit to his successor, a sobering turnabout in the nation’s fiscal condition from 2001, when Mr. Bush took office from President Clinton who left three consecutive years of budget surpluses.

The worst may be yet to come. The announcement does not reflect the full cost of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the potential $50 billion cost of another economic stimulus package, or the possibility of steeper losses in tax revenues if individual income or corporate profits decline.

tsk tsk

1-20-09 can not come soon enough....

Noah And The Flood of 2008?

In the year 2008, the Lord came unto Noah, who was now living in the United States , and said:

Once again, the earth has become wicked and over-populated, and I see the end of all flesh before me.

Build another Ark and save 2 of every living thing along with a few good humans.

He gave Noah the blueprints, saying: You have 6 months to build the Ark before I will start the unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights.

Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his yard - but no Ark.

Noah! He roared, I'm about to start the rain! Where is the Ark ?

Forgive me, Lord, begged Noah, 'but things have changed.

I needed a building permit.

I've been arguing with the inspector about the need for a sprinkler system.

My neighbors claim that I've violated the neighborhood zoning laws by building the Ark in my yard and exceeding the height limitations. We had to go to the Development Appeal Board for a decision.

Then the Department of Transportation demanded a bond be posted for the future costs of moving power lines and other overhead obstructions, to clear the passage for the Ark 's move to the sea.

I told them that the sea would be coming to us, but they would hear nothing of it.

Getting the wood was another problem. There's a ban on cutting local trees in order to save the spotted owl.

I tried to convince the environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the owls - but NO GO!

When I started gathering the animals, an animal rights group sued me.

They insisted that I was confining wild animals against their will.

They argued the accommodations were too restrictive, and it was cruel and inhumane

to put so many animals in a confined space.

Then the EPA ruled that I couldn't build the Ark until they'd conducted an environmental impact study on your proposed flood.

I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on how many minorities I'm supposed to hire for my building crew.

Immigration and Naturalization are checking the green-card status of most of the people who want to work.

The trades unions say I can't use my sons. They insist I have to hire only Union workers with Ark-building experience.

To make matters worse, the IRS seized all my assets, claiming I'm trying to leave the country illegally with endangered species.

So, forgive me, Lord, but it would take at least 10 years for me to finish this Ark.

Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow stretched across the sky.

Noah looked up in wonder and asked,

'You mean you're not going to destroy the world?'

'No,' said the Lord.

'The government beat me to it.

As Ohio goes ... the nation may not go

A good analysis of the 08 Campaign from PolitickerOH's Justin Miller..

"Is Ohio's reign as the single must win state for the presidency over?

As a handful of states across the country show fresh signs of swinging from one partisan column to another, it appears that Barack Obama and possibly John McCain could lose Ohio and still win the presidency.

Using the 2004 electoral map as a foundation, Obama could lose Ohio and win three Western states he's targeted prominently: Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada. The total electoral votes from those three states are one short of Ohio's 20, but taking them from McCain would give Obama 271 votes in the Electoral College - one more than he needs to win. Alternatively, Obama could win Iowa and add either Virginia or Missouri to survive and Ohio loss."

READ MORE...

Senator Durbin on Abortion Reduction

This is in my opinion one of the best sound bytes from a Democrat on Abortion I have heard in years. Senator Durbin is dead on regarding the issue of Abortion. It is smart public policy and more Democrats should begin to talk this way and follow through with substantial policy and legislation.



From Media Matters:

On the June 12 edition of his MSNBC show, Chris Matthews asserted, "I don't hear Democrats talk ... about the need to reduce the number of abortions." He continued: "They talk about the rights issue, the constitutional question of Roe v. Wade, but you don't hear them talking a lot about the need for education, for much fewer, maybe enormously fewer, unwanted pregnancies, which is the reason people get abortions." In fact, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama, Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, Sen. Hillary Clinton, and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chairman Sen. Chuck Schumer (NY) -- have all said that the United States should work to reduce the number of abortions through education and access to contraception.

Matthews made his comment after Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said: "I think women and men have the same concern about where this country is going and struggling from paycheck to paycheck. When it comes to more basic issues, issues of privacy, certainly it means a lot to all of us. And it means a lot to women in this country. I think Barack Obama's position on the issue of choice is one that most Americans agree with. He wants to try to downplay and discourage the number of abortions in this country, to have more family planning, to avoid unplanned pregnancies."

At a Compassion Forum at Messiah College on April 13, Obama said, "[W]e can certainly agree on the fact that we should be doing everything we can to avoid unwanted pregnancies that might even lead somebody to consider having an abortion," and, "I think that we can reduce abortions and I think we should make sure that adoption is an option for people out there." Obama's campaign addresses the issue on its website also; under the headline, "Preventing Unwanted Pregnancy," it reads: "Barack Obama is an original co-sponsor of legislation to expand access to contraception, health information and preventive services to help reduce unintended pregnancies."

Time for Some Campaignin'

The Matthew 25 Network - Christians supporting Obama

I would love to take credit for the name of this group, maybe inspired by the name of this blog, but alas it appears to be a simple coincidence.

Named after the Bible verse (“I tell you the truth, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me”) The Matthew 25 Network is a consortium of Christian faith leaders and activists working to elect more Democrats, including Senator Barrack Obama, to office who share the same “biblical and gospel values,” my friend Mara Vanderslice, the head of the PAC tells me.

The group began to run ads prior to the Indiana Democratic primary in early May. Mara tells me that the group intends to spend at least $500,000 in advertising between now and Nov. 4, and the group will focus mainly on Christian radio and Christian publications, such as the National Catholic Reporter and Relevant Magazine.

A new one-minute radio ad will be airing on Christian radio in Ohio, Michigan, and Colorado in the short-term. Vanderslice said they plan to expand the buy to other swing states, including Pennsylvania, Virginia, Missouri, and North Carolina.

Obama’s Christian faith has been well documented this election cycle, and multiple polls have shown that many Americans still believe the false notion that he is a Muslim. The ad underscores Obama’s Christianity.

“You know it’s an election year when certain people start grabbing headlines by attacking the faith of presidential candidates, with all these stones being cast at Barack Obama it can be hard to know what to believe,” the ad states. It features a clip of an Obama speech where he says, “I think we make a mistake when we fail to acknowledge the role of faith in people’s lives.” and "I submitted myself to his will and dedicated myself to his to discovering his truth"

On a conference call yestereday with the media Bart Campolo, an urban minister and founder of Mission Year who works out of Cincinnati, Ohio, told reporters that he has long been “uncomfortable” with evangelicals marching in “lock-step” with the Republican Party in recent decades largely over the wedge issues of abortion and gay marriage. He said the Matthew 25 Network is working to expand the dialogue about Christians and public service.

“What I’m excited about at this stage of the game, it seems like the evangelical community is waking up to the deeper and broader approach to the teachings of Jesus for the poor, the depressed, and the marginalized,” Campolo said.

Others on the conference call included:

Mara Vanderslice, Founder and Director, Matthew 25 Network
Rev. Derrick Harkins, Nineteenth Street Baptist Church, Board Member of World Relief
Sharon Daly, Former Vice-President of Catholic Charities
Rev. Wilfredo DeJesus, Vice-President for Social Justice Ministries,
National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference

Of great interest to Catholics was discussion surrounding the issue of Abortion. Rev. DeJesus and Sharon Daly openly acknowledged their pro-life beliefs. Both discussed how Senator Obama supports Abortion reduction measures and how society and lawmakers must begin to address the circumstances surrounding abortion to reduce the numbers of abortions.

Here the radio ad:




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