As the political season approaches, the political ads have been on a definite upswing. The other day I was fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to listen to one of these ads. This man was running for Congress. He started off saying how fed up he was with the way Washington was operating. I’m fed up with how Washington is operating, too. He showed a picture of his wife and kids walking around in his back yard. I have a backyard, wife, children and even some grandchildren. He stated that he was an outsider and had never been to Washington. I’m an outsider and have never been to Washington, as a matter of fact, I’ve never even been close to Washington. He wanted to abolish Obamacare and balance the federal budget. Gosh, I would like to do the same. He served in the Army. I served in the National Guard. He shows a picture of himself shooting his gun. I have a gun and shoot it all the time. He stated he was a business owner. I’m a business owner. The ad shows him standing by his pickup truck and fishing and yes you guessed it, I have a pickup truck and like to fish.
By his advertised criteria, I’m as qualified as he is to be a congressman. As a matter of fact, I know quite a few people who would also qualify. But what do we really know about these Congressional wannabees? Anyone can dress up, gather up his family and take some pictures. Anyone can get in front of a camera and tell you what they feel you want to hear. But what kind of person are they? Will they be able to accomplish anything if they make it to Washington where they will have 434 other Congressman to deal with? Will they do what they say they’ll do? Probably not, their ads are little more than a wish list of what they would like to do. If you reach Washington, D.C., the political realities will then set in.
With most jobs you want to show how much experience you have at the position you are seeking. Yes sir, I can do that, have been doing this for years and am very familiar with the system and how it works. But with Congressional approval ratings hovering around 8%, everyone wants to be outsiders. Never been there, never done that before. These new candidates never wear coats and ties in their ads to keep from looking like a “career politician”, only sports clothes.
Heck, with this new wave in politics, maybe I should run for Congress!
