It’s Time To Invest In The Next Great Step In Regaining Our Nation’s Bright Future

It has been marvelous to watch the Tea Party Movement that’s grown up across the U.S. this year. For me, it’s been a bit like being able to step into the pages of a U.S. History Book. Probably like most of you, I first heard the stories of the Patriots of the American Revolution when I was an elementary school kid and I wondered what it was “really like.” Thanks to this year’s Tea Party Movement, I have a better sense of what it was “really like” to be a part of a watershed event, leading up to the American Revolution … the Tea Party Movement’s namesake … The Boston Tea Party.

I think it’s fair to say that the Boston Tea Party was not the result of a group of people who were just looking for an excuse to overthrow British rule and establish their own country. In fact, it’s my understanding that, generally, American Colonists were OK with being British Subjects. If it wasn’t for certain ways in which the American Colonists felt that The Crown was dealing with them unfairly, we might all still be attending cricket matches instead of baseball games and singing “God Save The Queen” instead of “The Star Spangled Banner” … you may have noticed they use the same tune. But, there were those unfortunate “certain ways in which the American Colonists felt that The Crown was dealing with them unfairly” … the Sugar Act, the Currency Act, the Quartering Act, the Stamp Act, etc. resulted in more and more organized colonial protest and the Tea Act led to the hallmark protest we know and honor as The Boston Tea Party.

The parallels between The Boston Tea Party and today’s Tea Party movement are striking. When you look at the actions of our sitting government, that the Tea Party Movement has protested … the Federal Budget, the ARRA, the National Debt, Tax Increases, Nationalization of major business entities, etc. … the similarities are obvious.

Sadly, it seems that those of us, who align with the spirit of the Tea Party Movement, are at a point of confronting another great similarity with The Boston Tea Party … in spite of our vigorous protestations, the sitting government is ignoring us. In the 1700s, in the face of Colonial opposition, the British continued to pass Colonial Act after Colonial Act and to turn aside the Colonial opposition, including the “turning aside” known as The Boston Massacre. Today, heedless of months of Tea Parties and Town Halls, where present day Patriots have stood up and said “Forbear!”, the Obama-led sitting government seems determined to proceed with their self-absorbed partisan agenda, while using various disparaging labels to describe Today’s Patriots.

The obvious question about our current state of affairs is, “What do we do next?!” To answer this, I think we can, again, look to the actions of the Patriots of the American Revolution. When, in their minds, they had “bent over backwards” to give the sitting government every opportunity to listen to them and to respond by dealing with them fairly, they began to invest themselves in next-steps they believed would achieve the results they had in mind. Namely, they began developing the First Continental Congress and they began preparing for war. Before going on, let me be clear that I’m not in favor of Today’s Patriots completely emulating the actions of the Patriots of the American Revolution … especially the “war” part. I’m certainly not in favor of that and I don’t want to even hint that and invite my fellow countrymen who work at the FBI to come visit me. But, I do think Today’s Patriots would be wise to follow the general example of the Patriots of the American Revolution – i.e. When it became obvious that the wealthy and powerful organization they had established for organized protest was continuing to be ignored, they determined different next-steps where they could invest the resource they had created in order to actually effect change.

Thankfully, there are encouraging signs that today’s Tea Party Movement is recognizing the need for “different next-steps.” With the Tea Party Movement in my own backyard, I’ve noticed: A very successful Labor Day event was held in Portland, today an impressive Vancouver-Portland Patriot Rally is being held, in two weeks there will be a Glenn Beck event at Safeco Field in Seattle and at the beginning of October there will be an “Open Candidate Call” in Beaverton. It’s this last event that I find most encouraging. Its not “just another tea party” and in fact, it seems like it may be an example of the direction I believe the Tea Party Movement should take next. My fear is that, if the Tea Party Movement was to just continue having more tea parties, that might continue to be good fodder for radio and TV Talk Show Hosts and a few personalities might be raised up along the way who will get their “15 minutes of fame” but in the end we won’t have raised up a “Revolution Army of Alternative Candidates” who have Servant’s Hearts, whose central desire is to take their turn at Representing us in D.C. More specifically, my fear is that if we don’t invest in this way, the alternatives we will end up with will face the Career Politicians of the sitting government, who will beat them like a drum.

In summary, then, I want to say: I’m very thankful for what the Tea Party Movement has accomplished and I truly admire those who have invested themselves in this, to the benefit of us all. My recommendation and hope and prayer is that this rich resource will now be invested in leveling the playing field between those who truly want to Represent us (and who are truly qualified to do so) versus the incumbent Career Politicians of the sitting government, who can continue to ignore us, while having access to the tremendous resources of the offices they hold.

The Unanswered Question For Baird Remains:

 “What have you learned from the 3rd district's constituents this month that will cause you to behave differently in representing them when you return to DC?”

According to an article in Thursday’s edition of The Columbian, “U.S. Rep Brian Baird closed out a tumultuous congressional recess Wednesday with a final town hall meeting before a capacity crowd at the Corbet Theatre in Centralia.” I’d say that The Columbian’s use of the word “tumultuous”, though not inaccurate, is putting it mildly. Here are some of the highlights (or lowlights, depending on your perspective) of Brian Baird’s visit to Southwest Washington during the Congressional August Recess of 2009:

§On July 31^st, just as the recess was beginning, Victoria Taft, KPAM 860AM Radio’s evening drive-time Talk Show Host, interviewed Baird. When she asked about his plans for Town Halls during this critical time, Baird’s responses revealed that what he had in mind was more of what I have termed “Brian Baird’s Stealth Town Halls” … something I first commented on in an article this past April entitled ‘How Does “Baird Marketing Baird” Fit With Representing His Congressional District?’

§Baird’s leading opponent for the 2010 congressional race, Republican Candidate Jon Russell, announced his schedule for a series of Town Halls he would be holding throughout the 3^rd District, “to give voters the oportunity to be heard.”

§On August 7^th, still refusing to meet with constituents face-to-face, Baird, still claiming to be “The King of Town Halls”, conducted a “Telephone Town Hall” in Clark County. Notable aspects of this included: 

o      In commenting on a related article in The Columbian, Larch Mountain’s Pam Benson said she realizes Baird disagrees with her on health care reform but the lack of town hall meetings makes her feel angrier and more helpless. She went on to say, “He’s supposed to be our representative. He’s supposed to listen to us, whether he’s on our side or not.”

o      One of the handfull of callers who actually got to speak to Baird was Nansen Malin, Chair of the Pacific County (WA) Republican Party. She said “Come here to Seaview. I will host a Town Hall in my living room. We can disagree and still have a conversation. I will be your bodyguard.” Baird’s response was “I will take you up on that.” However, though he strung her along on this promise for most of the rest of the month, he ended up rejecting her offer.

§Finally, on August 18^th, Brian Baird came out of hiding to face voters. Over midway through the Congressional August Recess Baird gave in to political pressure (in particular, the pressure of having his Republican opponent schedule Town Halls while he was refusing to do so) and the related bad press he was getting on this, to hold a “Health Care Town Hall” at the Clark County Fairgrounds Amphitheater. Some of the more remarkable moments of this event were: 

o      Baird being taken to task on several occasions for having referred to those attending Town Halls as “Brownshirts” and likening them to Timothy McVeigh.

o      A Vancouver woman, who first quoted the Patriot, Patrick Henry and then said, “It seems to me that most of the time lately our Congressmen and Representatives have been representing the President to the people instead of representing the people to the President.” Baird made no response to the woman’s implied question but, in response to her quoting one of our great Patriots, he threw in that his kids’ middle names are Washington and Franklin.

o      The Marine Corps Vet who told Baird to “Stay away from my kids!” and asked him, regarding the oath he has taken to defend the Constitution, “Do you ever intend to keep (your oath)?”

For the balance of August, from Baird’s first appearance at the Clark County Fairgrounds Amphitheater to this last event in Centralia, it seemed to continue like this. The consituents of Washington’s 3^rd Congressional District kept showing up, hoping that the one charged to be their Representative would truly hear them. Sadly, they just continued to see a Career Politician trying to make lemonade from lemons his misrepresentation has produced. One of the clearest examples of this was when Baird was questioned about his support for the ARRA (AKA the stimulus bill). One speaker was Gordon Johns, an ophthalmologist from Chehalis, who said, “We’re responsible, we raise our kids, we pay our taxes, we vote, we go to church, we contribute to charity, but then we do all of these things, and when other people who don’t live the same lifestyle don’t follow those same principals, we are asked to bail them out.” Although Johns received a standing ovation, Baird ended up responding by saying that by no means did he agree with everything in the bill, adding that when the votes are already locked in for a bill he has to weigh the benefits of going against it. Then he said, “If I go to the speaker of the House and say, ‘There is no way I would ever vote for this bill. This is what I want,’ it’s not going to work.” In other words, pleasing Nancy Pelosi will continue to be his priority over representing the people of Washington’s 3^rd Congressional District. So …

… for the Vancouver woman who raised the implied question: “It seems to me that most of the time lately our Congressmen and Representatives have been representing the President to the people instead of representing the people to the President” … Baird’s response seems to be … Don’t expect to see any change in him with this.

… and, to my question: “What have you learned from the 3rd district's constituents this month that will cause you to behave differently in representing them when you return to DC?” … Baird’s response seems to be … Nothing!

Republican Congressional Candidate Proactively Filled Void Left By Baird

This past Saturday, I got to attend an event that seemed unique in at least two ways. It was the first in a series of Town Halls being made available to voters in Washington’s 3^rd Congressional District by Republican Candidate Jon Russell. The first aspect that I believe to be unique was that this was a Town Hall being offered by a Congressional Candidate instead of a sitting Member of Congress. The current Member of Congress from Washington’s 3^rd District is Brian Baird, who initially refused to hold face-to-face meetings with constituents during the current Congressional August Recess. In the face of this, Russell scheduled his series of Town Halls to assure that these constituents would have the opportunity to be heard. Another aspect that I know was unique was that I got to attend in person. Up to this point, it had only been made possible for me to attend one Baird Town Hall by watching online.

In a radio interview this past Thursday evening, Jon Russell, Republican Candidate for Congress in Washington’s 3^rd District (WA-03), said that he has taken the initiative to arrange a series of Town Halls “from Olympia to Vancouver” during the current Congressional August Recess “so the people can speak”. Russell’s interview was on a Victoria Taft Show (KPAM 860AM Radio) that focused on WA-03’s current Member of Congress, Brian Baird, disparaging Constituents and refusing to face them. When asked for his explanation of Baird’s behavior, Russell offered that it seems like “a symptom of a Career Politician” whose “focus is him, not us”.

Meanwhile, where was Brian Baird? Well, he wasn’t on that Victoria Taft Show. On the same day as that show, he was in Toronto, Canada, giving the Keynote Address to the American Psychological Association Annual Convention. Now there’s a fancy way to duck confronting the electorate! And, what plans did Baird have for engaging with the electorate? When Victoria Taft asked about this, during her last interview with Baird, he said that he had changed to Telephone Town Halls. Here’s how those work, as reported in The Columbian:

• If you happen to be sitting near a publicly listed Clark County telephone line on the right day at the right time, your phone will ring.
• In order to avoid software problems, Baird’s office says, the exact date and time will be kept secret from the public.
• If you answer your landline, an automated message will ask whether you have a question for your Congressman.
• Press *3, and you’ll be asked your location and the subject of your question.
• Sitting at his own telephone at an as-yet-undisclosed location, Baird then will choose a name based on its location and the topic.
• There will be no further pre-screening, Baird said. After the call is over, the recording will be posted on his Web site. 

As of this morning, the article that included the above description had received 184 Comments. The majority of them reflect the following Comment, from Larch Mountain’s Pam Benson, that was included in the article: 

She said she realizes Baird disagrees with her on health care reform. But the lack of town hall meetings makes her feel angrier and more helpless, she said. “He’s supposed to be our representative,” said Benson, a purchasing manager for Portland Cascade Architecture and Engineering in Portland. “He’s supposed to listen to us, whether he’s on our side or not.” Benson said she doesn’t understand why health care reform is moving forward when everyone she talks to seems to oppose it. “We are not nut cases that disagree with this issue,” she said. “There are a lot of very well-informed people that are against this health care thing.” It’s enough to make a Republican like her paranoid, she said. “It makes me feel that there is a conspiracy here to screw up the whole entire United States,” she said with a laugh. “It’s just too much, too fast.”

Although I agree with Jon Russell, that Baird’s behavior on this seems like “a symptom of a Career Politician” whose “focus is him, not us”, he has been a crafty enough Career Politician to get reelected several times so its not surprising that he was, at least, aware of the tumult he had instigated back home. In what seems to have been a move aimed at stemming the tide against him on this matter, Baird hastily scheduled a Telephone Town Hall on Friday. And, today, Baird’s Website trumpets this, saying:

Brian Holds Telephone Town Hall Meeting with 6,000 Constituents

In this article, Baird refers to himself as “The King of Town Halls”. And he says, “Today was an incredible opportunity to talk with thousands of people in Clark County about what is on their mind, and how government can serve them better.”

You may be interested to know that when I came home yesterday, after my workday in Portland, I learned that I had missed out on this “incredible opportunity”. I found a voice mail letting me know that I had been invited to join in this Telephone Town Hall … at 1:01pm on a Friday afternoon. This morning, a 30 minute recording of the Telephone Town Hall was made available on Baird’s Website so, at least, I got to listen to that. For me, it served as another reminder that The Emperor (“The King of Town Halls”) has no clothes and it’s well past time for his Subjects (AKA the Constituents of WA-03) to point that out to him. Here are some of the “highlights” from the recording that you probably won’t get on Baird’s Website:

§BAIRD SPOKE WITH 7 PEOPLE! At the outset of the recording, he says there are 400 people on the call. Just before the next-to-last caller, he says there are 3,500 people on the call. And, as mentioned, on his Website he says there were 6,000 people on the call. BAIRD SPOKE WITH 7 PEOPLE!

§The key issues raised by callers and their frequency was:

o      Health Care – 4

o      Debt-burden being created by government deficit spending – 1

o      Government programs not helping the mainstream – 1

o      Request for Baird to have face-to-face Town Halls – 3

§This was a classic example of “Baird marketing Baird”. In starting the Telephone Town Hall, Baird touted the fact that he is a clinical psychologist. And, with almost every question, he first responded by giving his resume-points on the related topic … “I sit on X committee”, “I introduced Y bill”, etc.

§Likewise, this was another excellent illustration of what Jon Russell pointed out … that Baird’s “focus is him, not us”. A Career Politician, who has been in the same job for over 10 years, should be able to speak coherently on the issues. However, as our REPRESENTATIVE, especially after this long in office, he should have some interest and skill in extracting what the voters want. Here again, you heard a lot about Brian Baird’s views but NOT ONCE DID YOU HEAR BAIRD ASK WHAT THE CONSTITUENTS WANT!

Needless to say, it should be quite interesting to watch the continuing metamorphosis of this situation. One specific I’ll be watching for is Baird’s follow through on an offer made by one caller he did talk to. Nan Malin, Chair of the Pacific County (WA) Republican Party, was one of the 7 who got to speak with Baird. She told Baird it was a disappointment that he was not listening to both sides. Then, in response to his claims of anarchy and threats, she said “Come here to Seaview. I will host a Town Hall in my living room. We can disagree and still have a conversation. I will be your bodyguard.” Baird’s response was “I will take you up on that.” We’ll see. This is the same Brian Baird who told Victoria Taft that having the media participate in his Telephone Town Halls “would take some arranging” but that “it could be done.” So far, nothing has come from that implied promise.

The one part of this that I do have confidence in, as these circumstances continue to unfold, is the brave role that Jon Russell is playing. Of course, he recognizes that no matter what he learns from voters at the series of Town Halls he is hosting “from Olympia to Vancouver”, he is not yet charged with representing that in Congress. However, he is an elected official. Taking this action in response to the tumult instigated by Baird shows that he has the experience and maturity to do what is called for. Beyond that, this clearly demonstrates the leadership of one who has a heart to serve. With that in mind, my hope and prayer is that attendance at Jon Russell’s Town Halls will be overwhelming, both to clearly demonstrate that we appreciate the opportunity Jon is making possible “so the people can speak” and that this courageous “leadership of one who has a heart to serve” is precisely what we want and what we desperately need.