Statesman or Politician?

As you could probably tell from my last blog I was a delegate for my state's convention. The convention was yesterday... an all day affair. The main objective for my part of the convention was to vote for a congressman. There were 5 candidates; 4 challengers and an incumbent. Each candidate was given 7 minutes to speak to the delegates. I had come to the convention leaning in a particular direction, however, I thought that the speeches might still sway one way or another. I was right.

The first speaker was in his own world. His speech made little sense, but we kindly clapped out of respect. The second, Joe Fergusson, made a great deal of sense, but tended to be over-zealous about a single issue (the North American Union). Though the issue deserves a great deal of attention there are many more things that needed addressing. He was articulate but didn't give himself much of a chance for serious consideration. The third speaker caught my attention. David Leavitt spoke about the need for a true statesman in Washington, not a politician. He had enough fire in his bones that I got stirred. This one deserved some serious consideration. Next, a very energetic Jason Chaffetz took the stand. He had some strong points, the strongest being that he was a fiscal conservative. He proved it by indicating he had a budget for his campaign and stayed within it. Both of his major contenders outspent him by 8 to 1 and also over-spent their budgets. He got a rousing response as he promised to run his office in Washington the same way. The final speaker was the incumbent, Chris Cannon. His point was simple, he has always fought for our state and was in a position to have influence in Washington. My experience has been that all incumbents make this argument. He does have a good voting record but this argument always wears thin.

Well, I voted for the "statesman". After the count, my candidate was in a tenuous third place. The bottom two were eliminated and we voted again. I punched my card for the "statesman", checked for any hanging chads, and stuffed it into the ballot box. When the results were announced I was disappointed once again. My guy was a distant third. Then the unthinkable happened. Campaign volunteers for the "statesman" funneled into the convention hall carrying Chris Cannon signs; a clear signal that Leavitt was not only admitting defeat, but pointing his voters towards his choice for congress.

Understandably Chaffetz supporters booed the effort until the convention officials cleared the illegal campaigners from the hall. I was stunned. My "statesman" had ripped off his mask and all I could see was a politician. I was disappointed in my choice for congress, and the incumbent, who clearly welcomed this effort to sway Leavitt voters his way. Anything to win I guess. I quickly took out my final ballot and punched the number for Chaffetz.

Now, I'm just a basicguy, and some might say I'm not smart enough to understand how politics works. Maybe so. But I can say that something didn't feel quite right. Basically speaking, you can't claim to be a statesman and then act like a politician. Well, I suppose you can, but it just isn't right. I expect more from anyone who seeks to enter public life. I've had enough of the political elite, America's voted royalty, who assume that position affords privilege and wealth. I thought they were to defend the Constitution and serve the public. I guess things have changed. Maybe Jason Chaffetz will surprise me. I can only hope he's heard of the term "statesman".