The Time To Begin Begins Now

By Craig McCarthy

As I write this, it is the first week of March, 2011.  The next statewide and national elections are twenty months away.  As a former candidate for the Florida House of Representatives who campaigned between December 2009 up until the August 2010 primary, I can tell you that right now is the time for you to either make a commitment to run for office, if you are so inclined, or else to get behind someone who is, or perhaps more importantly, recruit or encourage someone to run. 

The time is right now to do one of those things.  Waiting for sixty days before the next elections to get involved is too late, my friends.  So, let’s go through the three options in order, keeping in mind that local and state races are less daunting for first-time candidates than the big jackpot federal elections are. 

Granted, it is difficult for potential candidates to make a commitment right now given the fact that it will be some time before we know how Florida’s districts will be drawn after the last census, but waiting for that data is not an option for the tea party movement given what is at stake. 

The 2010 elections went well; the 2012 elections will either validate and strengthen our movement to save this great State and Country, or it will mark the failure of what we worked for last year.  I don’t personally think that middle ground between a good 2010 and a simply satisfactory 2012 is sufficient to sustain the great nation that the Founders envisioned.

Your first option is to run for office.  It could be anything from your town council to the county board to school board; to the state legislature or a federal office.  I am of the opinion that the more conservatives who vie for every position in the primaries, the better.  Yes, it saps some resources from the eventual primary winner that may have been applied to the general election, but a robust primary also has the effect of educating and training candidates who will gain experience for either future runs and gain networking opportunities and secure the future support of others. 

If you run against another conservative in the primary and lose, you still will have networked and learned and become a more effective weapon in the fight for the future of this still great land.  This option is a very personal one, and there is no way around the fact that deciding to run for any elected office requires a great deal of sacrifice not only from the candidate, but also from the candidate’s family.  If you are of that inclination, now, March of 2011, is the time to get started.

Your second option is to support someone you know whom you trust personally, who from your first-hand knowledge has fortitude and a significant history of being able to articulate conservative principles, and who is now ready and willing to enter public service, in the true sense of those words.  If you know someone like that who is thinking of running, go to him or her now and let him or her know that you are willing to serve on an election committee, to walk precincts, and to do the early work of getting other people to do the future grunt work to make the candidate viable.  The time for that is now.

Your third option is, in my opinion, the most important of the three, particularly at this early stage of taking on election day, 2012.  If you know someone who is a leader in the tea party movement who has impressed you, or if you know someone who has served with fairness and calm distinction on your homeowners’ board, or if you know a member of your church who is passionate and articulate and shows leadership qualities, — take the time this week to either encourage or recruit that remarkable person to embark on a political run.  There is no harm in mentioning it; at worst that person will be flattered and reconsider his or her responsibilities in this lifetime.  If that person is sparked by your encouragement, then back it up with a promise of work on the campaign, if not help planning the whole thing.  The time for that is now.