My Maiden Voyage

I'm officially accepting Fred's invitation to offer my occasional thoughts on his blog. For the record, I've long been an anonymous fan of his. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting him personally, he's a really neat, humble guy. (And, no, I'm not saying that just 'cause he invited me to blog!) His wife is a delight and they have one of those marriages that you just gotta admire. Anyone who decides to run for office to change his surroundings--regardless of party--is someone we should respect.

Let's get a couple of things outta the way. You'll notice I'm the queen of run-on sentences. I love to hyphenate and I use a lot of parentheses. I used to make my staff insane while in the Senate. They were incredible wordsmiths and proofreaders who saved me many times from embarassing myself with my abuse of the written English language. So, before "Scott" and some of the other regular lefties criticize my soon-to-be-called "illiterate sentences", (there go the hypens again), I'm already admitting my guilt.

So, my first official blog entry has to do with a recent effort by some to form a recall group against my successor, John Lehman. I've been asked what I think of it.

Running the risk of alienating some of my biggest fans, I must honestly say I'm not sure I'm really comfortable with it. Now don't get me wrong. John and I have had many, many heated disagreements over the years. (Did I say "many?") However, I've long thought that recalls should be for elected officals who violate ethical standards and expectations that come with those of us privileged to represent you. You know, things like: bribery, extortion, (Does the name Chuck Chvala ring a bell?), lying under oath, criminal convictions, (ala Michael McGee), etc...

I know there is a great deal of righteous indignation over his recent votes in the Senate. His blatant disregard for pro-jobs initiatives, his stalwart support for the broken machine of RUSD and REA, and his staunch support for the largest state tax increase in US history are certainly reasons for heartburn.

But none of these positions were unknown prior to his election in November. While I disagree with John on almost everything in the world, I knew of his beliefs before the election and I voted accordingly. That's why we have elections. When we disagree vehemently with a candidate, it's our obligation to either run ourselves, or actively support those who agree with our values and ideas.

Do I begrudge any of you who feel passionately about recalling him? No, I don't. The recall laws are currently written in a way that's conducive to your goal. But I didn't think George Petak should have been recalled due to his vote on the stadium tax. (Although, I remember being mad as a hornet over his actions!) But did that mean I wanted him run out of office? Absolutely not.

I think we should start focusing on someone who could run for the seat in 3 years. To the loyal readers of RealDebate: look inwardly first.

Do you have what it takes? If not, remember the passion you feel today and call it to action when we have someone else running for the 21st district. We're gonna need it.