Thank you for running for office. If I assume that your goals are honorable, which I shall until proven otherwise, you deserve our thanks for running.
Until, that is, you don't.
As the election hurtles towards November, there are a few things I'd like for you to keep in mind.
The first is, I'm not stupid, and a lot of voters aren't either. Quit acting like we are.
For that reason, if you are an incumbent, don't send me a letter that brings up a topic and then immediately hurl into "Biden's radical green agenda" and other such things. In quite a few instances, I believe you don't believe a word of what you are saying. Coming from here, I know that you have to be conservative, or pretend that you are, but if you weren't a populist when first elected, I know that you aren't now. You are lying to me, as you know that a lot of imports and gullible are led to their positions.
Some of us think about them.
If you've been holding office, I want to know what you've done for the good of the country, and the good of the state, and why you believe what you cite was good. That doesn't mean immediately launching off on a screed that holds the opposing party is evil incarnate, which will mean, from my prospective, that you can't think of anything to tell me of what you accomplished.
I'm not going to vote, I'd note, for a liar. If you are telling me that Trump is great and the election was stolen, I know that you are lying and don't believe that, if you are an incumbent. If you aren't, and run around saying that, I'll regard you as ill-informed at best.
Just tell the truth.
If you send me an email that states:
From where I sit, it looks like Democrats are doing their best to screw up your life. The rising prices of groceries, gas, new cars, homes, and tuition, along with the increasing crime in our communities.
It's not your fault, but the Democrats are not going to stop.
If your positions comport 100% with your party's I'll know that you are lying or, almost worse, completely unthinking.
If you campaign like you aren't from here, and run on issues that don't matter, or that most Wyomingites are on the other side of, I'll assume that your default setting is set somewhere else. I don't want you talking about Kerri Lake or trials in Georgia.
For that matter, I know that some of you "radical green agenda" folks actually believe in climate change, but are afraid to say it. I know that some of you who are now for transgenderism or deeply disturbed dudes being admitted to sororities, actually find that icky, but your politics is governing your thought, not the other way around. I know that some of you know that electric vehicles are going to replace gasoline ones, no matter what you say. I know that none of you really think sixteen weeks is when a person suddenly becomes a human being.
If you campaign on something contrary to science, no matter how unpopular it is, don't bother me.
If your only arguments are economic, in the end, don't bother me either. "Vote for me so that we all get richer" isn't what I want to hear.
If you cite your (Christian) religion, I'd like evidence that you grasp it. If you are divorced and remarried, claim that we aren't our brother's keeper, or that God is keen with abusing refugees, I don't believe you for a second. If you've switched churches to accommodate a divorce and remarriage, or for politics, I'll feel that you don't really believe in what you espouse much. If you are an Apostolic Christian who can compromise on abortion, I'll feel that you can compromise on anything. If you are an Evangelical Protestant who believes the Constitution of the United States is divinely ordained and subject to your special interpretation, I'm not voting for you ever.
I know that some of you who spout about family values have not lived them or have compromised deeply on them. I'd rather you admit that, then pretend that you are in the outer camp at the Sermon on the Mount. If you cite your deep convictions, but they don't reflect what a personal life should reflect by somebody holding them, I'd like to know the reason, no matter how personal. There may be a very good reason, or maybe it was just personal convenience. It matters.
If you find that uncomfortable, I'd frankly rather have you act like Kyrsten Sinema or Tammy Duckworth and just say that your personal beliefs are personal, and not particularly any of your business. At least that's not acting like John Brown on the campaign trail, but not in the house.
If you come to me and proclaim your support for Israel but not for Ukraine, you better be able to explain it, and not in Evangelical Protestant terms.
If you were of conscription age during the Vietnam War, and were male, and didn't serve, I want to know why. I'll accept an honest answer, including that you evaded service. But I don't want a lot of flag waiving followed by "I wanted to go, but I had bad dandruff" or whatever.
I'd like to know what your real connection with the state is. If you don't really have one, and washed up here for economic reasons, just admit it.
I want to know what you failed at and what you were wrong about, including politically. If the answer is nothing, I don't believe you and can't trust you.
I want to you to run an entire campaign and not mention Joe Biden or Donald Trump a single time. They have their own race. Saying "I hate Joe Biden" or "I love Donald Trump" is the political equivalent to saying in the same campaign "I hate Rocky Road ice cream, but I love Vanilla". It's irrelevant.
I want you to say, during your campaign, at least one thing that your party opposes, but you know to be true. "We need to raise taxes" would be a good start.
I want you to show a personal command of something really boring but important during the campaign. Launch into a discussion of the Social Security Act, give a detailed explanation of the role of the Federal Court of Claims, discussing bovine infectious diseases. Something. And, once again, I want you do to that without launching into some BS attack on the opposing party, as in "Scrapie is a fatal brain disease of sheep and goats and is related to other similar diseases in other mammals. It remains a threat to the sheep industry, AND JOE BIDEN'S RADICAL GREEN AGENDA IS GOING TO STEAL YOUR LUNCH, SHAVE YOUR CATS, AND CONVERT YOUR DAUGHTER'S INTO LESBIAN MUSLIM TAYLOR SWIFT FANS"
Finally, on economic issues which you will be voting on, I want you to be bold enough to say that you'll pledge your personal assets for not getting our spending problems fixed. If you really believe lowering taxes is going to cause all boats to rise, so be it, but put your cash in the boat. The rest of us already do, whether we like it or not.
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