Back To Work

by Nikki | 2:49 pm, September 3, 2010 | 1 Comment

I admire Dan Maes for what he has accomplished.
I admire all my fellow grass roots groups for what they have accomplished.

We rose up, took the bull by the horns, taught ourselves the process and have given up countless hours to stop the destruction of our country and state.

We all had to get up to speed quickly. The learning curve has been incredibly steep and has been fraught with landmines and snakes along the way. And so much is at stake.

But at this point, we all need to take a deep breath, step back and take the emotion out of the decision-making process. After all, we are conservatives. We rule with our heads, not our hearts.

We need to take a clear-eyed look at where we are, and plot a course going forward.

The gubernatorial race is not the only race we are invested in. Although by judging from the time and energy expended in the past few weeks, it would be hard to tell.

Dan Maes is not a bad man. He is not perfect, as none of us are. Many of the circumstances that are harming him now can be contributed to the fact that he is a political neophyte, as most of us are. But this is where Dan’s path and our path diverges… we are not running for the highest elected office in the state. Our leaders don’t need to be perfect, but competence matters. Leadership skills matter.

What does it take to be a good leader? I submit that it takes honesty. Honesty requires that you look at yourself and recognize your own shortcomings and weaknesses. Honesty requires you to question your motivations on a regular basis. Honesty requires you to examine where you have gone wrong in the past  – and then work to do a better job. Every day.

You then need to surround yourself with the right people. Assemble a team. Choose people who have the depth of knowledge and expertise that you lack. Find those that compliment your skill set and can help you with the areas where you are weak.

Unfortunately, that never happened with Dan’s campaign. Over the past year, many came forward; many left. Had he had the right team around him, a lot of the problems that are so damaging to him now, could have been avoided.

I ask you, what would happen if he did ascend to the Governor’s seat? Would he be able to assemble the team that he would need to govern? Would he seek out and listen to those who know more? Would he seek out and heed the expertise he lacks?

And if he stays in the race, what will be achieved… more media attention, more distraction from other races, more disagreement amongst ourselves? What a waste of energy.

We need to be looking for the unintended consequences. Many of which, I am not even aware of. I am too new to this game.

How many of us know what this does to the down ticket races? To the Treasurer’s race, the US Senate race, to the Secretary of State’s race? To all of our fine men and women who have stepped forward for the first time ever and put their necks on the line to run for State House & State Senate?

What about them? They deserve so much more than this. I wouldn’t want to do it. Thank goodness there are those that do.

How often in the past week have you stepped away from the constant drama in the gubernatorial race and turned your time and attention to a House District race?

I resent having to spend so much time on this debacle. I am angry for our many candidates who will suffer from this, through no fault of their own.

It’s time to recognize that we may have lost this race, no matter who the candidate is. I am not willing to let any other races slip through the cracks due to navel gazing.

I am done talking about, reading about, obsessing about the gubernatorial race. It takes too much time.

We have a State House and Senate to win. We have a Senator, Treasurer, Secretary of State to elect and Congressional Districts to win.

And after November 2nd, we have a whole new course to plot.

I’m going back to work.

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