Of Candidates and Kings
This past weekend I went to the Topsham Fair, walking the grounds, taking in the sights and sounds, and meeting some of the folks. The first gentleman I met as soon as I walked in the gates had recently slipped and fallen at work, fracturing six vertebrae and had breaking his leg. He said that he never imagined himself relying on a wheelchair to get around. He was understandably dour as he told me his story. I can’t tell you that he was entirely optimistic about the state of the country and the world. Yet in our brief exchange, despite his condition and his observations about the state of the nation, he let me know that he clings to a hope for a brighter future. He looked up at me from his wheelchair and said very sincerely, "Thank you for stopping to speak with me." It was humbling.
I stopped at a booth that was raffling off tickets for cancer research. The woman there told me that her husband, seated behind her, had just survived a bout with cancer. He, too, was bound to a wheelchair. He saw my card and said, “You a Republican?” I replied “Yes, sir.” The man pushed himself up out of his chair and slowly, determinedly made his way over to shake my hand. Echoing what many people said throughout the day, and indeed the entire campaign so far, the man said “Its about time we don’t get another lifetime politician on the ballot!"
Earlier in the week I attended a much different event that offered a study in contrasts. It was a lavish event, open exclusively to a select few. I certainly didn’t hear the stories of hardship that I heard at the Topsham Fair. There is a great contrast here in Maine. Some refer to the “two Maine’s” as being a geographic phenomena, but it exists within our own communities. We have folks on the extreme opposite ends of the socio-economic spectrum. As Republicans it is important that we include and appeal to all of them. The folks I met in Topsham seem ready for a citizen from the rank and file to hold office, not another politician. Meanwhile at the other event, the consultants, the well connected, the “movers and shakers” seem to play kingmakers.
We need to avoid the historical tendency to anoint our candidates in front of lavish landscapes beneath crowning canopies. We need to remember that our district includes places like Cape Elizabeth AND Dresden, the rural and the royal. Instead, our candidate for the 1st District Congressional seat needs to earn it the old fashioned way: hard work and hand shaking. Perhaps there is a reason Republicans haven't fared well recently in Maine. We need to spend more time reaching out to those like those I met this weekend. I am committed to doing this. As I have said time and again, I'm not the kind of Republican conjured by the media, the “Country Club Republican.” I was not born into wealth, privilege or status. I was the youngest of seven children in a working class family in Kittery. My father carried a lunch box to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard each day.
Speaking of roots, after the Topsham Fair I rushed back to southern Maine to attend my 20th High School Reunion. I was wonderfully reminded of my modest upbringing, surrounded by those I knew from childhood. No one there put on airs as we exchanged memories. I graduated from Traip Academy, a public high school. Kittery was a lot like other parts of Maine in many regards. We were far from affluent, bonded by our working class roots. We were molded by the traditional American values that emanated from the shipyard and embodied everything we did. Whether on the football field or the basketball court, we learned to wear our Maine heritage proudly, almost as a badge of honor. My upbringing instilled in me a sense of humility, modesty and self-reliance that is present in the spirit of Mainers statewide. It sure was present at the Topsham Fair. I think I’ll spend more time at fairs, festivals and the places where real Mainers gather...
See you there!
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