What Can One Person Do?

Had enough yet? Do you miss Dubya and the Republicans yet? Tired of a dictator doing everything his way, the Hell with Congress, the Supreme Court, the Church and anything else? Did you catch his latest amnesty program announcement today? Fed up? Well, I am and I'm doing something about it. Not bragging, just stating the facts here. Many are doing far more than I am but every person who gets active and does something is on the solution side of the problem. Those who do not are just hoping against hope that everything turns out all right or willing to let others do the heavy lifting for them. There are many things a citizen can do without the total involvement a political activist invests in a cause. First and foremost is: Vote! Fewer than 66,000 voted in the Republican primary last month in Bexar County. There is a runoff election for key nominations the end of next month. Those who vote have the upper hand on those who don't because each vote in a low turnout election can count 50, 100, 500 times as much as a vote in November. Want to have a choice in the General Election, or do you want another RINO (Republican in Name Only) or moderate hardly distinguishable from a Liberal Democrat as your choice? If we want candidates in the GOP with Conservative values and stiff spines, the time to vote is in the runoffs. There are clear choices. May the most Conservative Candidates win (Donna Campbell and Ted Cruz, to name two running against Moderates Jeff Wentworth and David Dewhurst) in July to show aneven clearer demarcation against the Democrats running in November. Another thing even non-voters or those not registered to vote can do is donate. Money is tight, for sure. But greenbacks are what keep the wheels of a campaign moving. I throw away all those surveys and pleas for my hard-earned cash from the RNC, the Republican Senatorial and House election committees. They are just kidding themselves. For years I filled out the surveys and sent them back with no money or very little. Time after time the GOP disappointed me, even when they had the Presidency, Senate and House. Now I donate to candidates who reflect my values. We sent money to Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Ted Cruz recently. It wasn't much in either case and I send more to the Wounded Warriors Project, the USO, the Smile Train, the Boy Scouts of America and other causes I believe in, but every little bit helps and if millions send twenty bucks to their favorite Conservative Candidate at any level, it adds up. Can't hurt, if it is the right candidate, win or lose. Joining the Tea Party and FreedomWorks, its more political action side were two of the wisest things I ever did. Costs me nothing, other than my time and an occasional donation. But the information I gain is invaluable. Going to Tea Party events, meeting with others who are like-minded and even more dedicated strengthens my resolve that we can make a difference if we work together. The 2010 elections showed that and so has every special election since, right down to Scott Walker's win in Wisconsin. The other smart thing I did was join the Heritage Foundation. They have a wealth of information to arm me in any discussion about any issue facing us. I have used their material since I was a speechwriter in 1982 for Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine general officers and speakers. Getting into a discussion with someone who cannot command the facts is a sure way to win, if you have the facts at your command. So, what can a regular person do? Get involved. Join or affiliate with a group you like. It can be Grassroots.com, Grassfire, Tea Party Patriots, the local Tea Party in your area or any number of other groups that will help inform you and, yes, take your time and talents if you choose to contribute them to the group's goals. Finally, a concerned citizen can become an activist for a candidate or party of their choice, be it a local candidate for office, the GOP, the Libertarian party, a religious-affiliated group or any of a number of organizations. I had a boss once who liked to say "All of us are smarter than any of us." So true. Sitting there at a computer, you can only reach so many people with forwarded emails, writing blogs, discussing things on Facebook and Twitter. All are good. But are they good enough? Hardly. Getting out and block walking, giving people rides to the polls, becoming a poll watcher or a poll judge,thwarting voter fraud, displaying a bumper sticker, a yard sign or better yet, distributing them to friends and family, neighbors or other Conservatives for candidates and causes you support are real multiplier effects of your own dedication to the candidate or cause. This is not intended as a sermon, but rather an answer for many friends who are fed up and wondering what they can do, just as I was doing all by myself. No one has to be like me. Everyone should be like themself. But I never want to wake up on the Wednesday after Election Day feeling like I did in 1992 and 2008, or worse, never having gone to sleep at all worrying about our future. My kids, your kids and their kids deserve better. So this is what I did. I am working the phone banks for Congressman Quico Canseco, my Congressman. I first got to know him when he was a primary election candidate for the office, trying to become the opponent of an entrenched Liberal Democrat. Canseco showed up at my polling place, staying 100 feet away as prescribed by law, but he was all alone in that parking lot. Coming out after voting, I walked up and introduced myself, then started peppering him with questions on where he stood on the issues, especially as they affect the military. He agreed with my position on every one, so I told him I would vote for him. Once. But, if he ever went back on his word, I told him, or voted against my interests, he would never get my vote again. Ever. He got elected! And I have watched him closely throughout his term in office, getting his emails, going to his townhall meetings and writing him letters and emails about critical votes to let him know where I stand and asking for his support of those issues. He has never disappointed me. He has been at every Tea Party monthly meeting I have ever attended and has spoken at most of them. He is very approachable anywhere in his District and holds townhall meetings from here to El Paso. If his votes in the House were any more aligned with my wishes, I could be the Congressman for the 23rd Congressional District of Texas. I have even had his District Office Manager come to lunch with some Conservative friends and he was as in line with our thinking as his boss is. Now, I will gladly vote for Congressman Canseco's reelection and did cast my vote for him in the primary even though he ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. Today one of the other volunteers got a Democrat on the phone (we are only calling Republicans now, but this one got through - probably a wrong number). She answered the questions and volunteered the information that she is a Dem and no way, no how will she ever vote for 0bama again. I talked to a woman whose 59-year-old husband is out of work. He does work that illegals are taking and man, did she give me an earful of how the Republicans need to grow some testicles and stand up to this dictator, specifically over his announcement today. The other day I talked to a guy who was so much like me that I had to look in a mirror to make sure I wasn't talking to myself. People are asking for yard signs and bumper stickers; some are becoming volunteers themselves. There are people out there, Democrats and Republicans, and especially Tea Party members, who would crawl naked over broken glass to get to a voting booth in November! I'm doing all I can and a little more to see that we get good Conservatives in office all the way down the ticket to dog catcher. Texas voters will go for Romney anyway, so the electoral votes here are safe. The only thing we can do is see that we have a good Conservative Senator to replace that RINO Kay Bailey Hutchison (and it ain't David Dewhurst) and defeat the Democrats trying to take back that seat, plus Canseco's in the House. Rest assured, the other side is going all out to take those two seats in particular to hang onto control in the Senate and take back the House. And they don't care how much they have to cheat, lie, bribe and steal to do it. Power is everything to them because then they can control you, me and all Americans. Doing the right thing for our country and our children's children is what drives me. We need all the help we can get to not only defeat the 'Rats and the moderates who would compromise their principles to agree with them. We need to keep beating them back every election cycle, not giving up thinking everyone agrees with us now that we won, like we did in 1994 after the Contract With America. Ronald Reagan used to say about the Soviets in the arms race that "When we build, they build. When we stop, they build." The same thing is true of Liberals and Democrats. If we ever stop working to promote our values and ideas, they won't stop promoting theirs, until they win once more and here we go again. That's my point of view. I hope you are still reading this far and even more, I hope it moves you to do something about saving this country, starting with winning this election for Conservatives at all levels. Thanks for listening to my words by reading them! By the way, an 80-year-old woman showed up today to volunteer for the first time at the phone bank. After 15 minutes, she was an old pro!