Election campaigns | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: Jim Bispo's weekly column appears in the Beaufort Observer.

    Editor's note     Tongue-in-cheek: a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a composition is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. Best read between the lines.

    I was thinking about running for County Commissioner, but had to rethink the idea because the field had become so crowded (especially with all the Dems running in the Rep primary). When what had been happening became really clear (i.e. the Republican primary ballot is full of "recycled" Dems) it occurred to me that if I would only "switch my allegiance" to the Dems. I could run almost unopposed in the Dem. primary. Well, you know, that may not be such a bad idea. After what seems like most of them switching to Rep. there should be so little competition left among the liberals that winning the primary election should be like a walk in the park.

    Then, if one of the faux Republicans (i.e. chameleon Dems) won the Rep primary, winning the general election should also be like a walk in the park. Any faux republican who makes it to the general election would have to tout conservative positions at least until after they are elected (bite your tongue!!). To see how this works, see the prior Jay McRoy and Al Klemm campaign histories.

    At the same time I would be free to play the race card. I could summon up the Eric Holder argument that requiring photo IDs in order to vote would be discriminatory. I could also embrace fairness and the need for the rich to pay their fair share (which implicitly the 37% of income taxes paid by the top 1% of taxpayers is not.). Say what?? Of course, I would have to figure out a way to avoid answering any question to the effect of "What is a fair percentage for the rich to be paying." Perhaps something along the lines of what we could do for the (so called) poor with all the additional money we need.

    In the meantime, I have what should be the ultimate idea for revenue enhancement at the county level. This idea will allow us to sock it to the rich and provide the wherewithal to help the hard working middle class county taxpayers. To wit: Anyone who owns a house assessed at $1M or more, should have their property tax rate increased on a sliding scale. The property tax rate should be increased by the same percentage as the assessment exceeds the $1 M threshold. And, of course, if the revenue increase isn't enough, we could reduce the "base assessment" threshold from $1M to $500K or something in between. That would surely increase revenues. Surely this is a virtually fool proof way to stick it to the rich while at the same time getting tons of increased revenue to spend on a lot of good sounding things. If I campaign on this issue, my chances of a victory should be pretty good. I'll just tell folks that if they elect me, I will institute such a program, just like the promises made by all the other politicians.

    To add strength to that argument, I can also point to all the good things we will be able to do with all the extra money we will be collecting. We can start by increasing our contributions to all the 501(c)(3) organizations operating in the County which will allow them to do a great deal of additional "good" for us. Of course it's not clear that whether or not we would be violating the First Amendment by funding any of them which are religiously based. (But as long as no one kicks up any sand about that, why worry??) We can increase our contribution to the Chambers of Commerce so they can do whatever it is that they do, which I believe is to represent their member businesses. Of course, it the Chambers did that, I suppose we could entertain a question as to why we would need the EDC any longer - but that is likely something we should not be discussing in any depth until after getting elected. (Too many people feel too strongly about that issue for taking sides to be a winner in the campaign.)

    We could also increase our contribution to the Committee of 100 in support of all the great things they do for the county. Perhaps we could even add another County Funded Industrial Park to compliment the two successful (??) parks we already have. Oh, they aren't successful?? Well, maybe if we add one more.... After all, isn't that the cure for everything else the government does?? If it doesn't work, pour more money on it..

    Of course there is no way that an individual person can actually deliver on any promise that they are going to make something happen (all by themselves) after they are elected. That's true in a seven member County Commission, and it's even more true in the 435 member US House of Representatives, or the 100 person US Senate. And even though there are a lot of things he (or she) can do without anyone else's help (like making recess appointments to various governmental entities - like the NLRB - even when the congress was not in recess) even the Prez can't do everything he (or she) promised. But none of that matters. All you do is have to is make the promise and folks will vote for you. (If you don't believe me, just look at the current occupant of the White House.) Seldom will very many folks (other than rabble rousers) even bother to check to see how "doable" the promises are or follow up to check on the results to see what was actually delivered. It is the promises that are important, not the performance. (Knowing that, makes it one less thing to worry about after being elected.)

    Of course, the deadline for throwing my hat into the electoral ring has come and gone, so it's too late for me this time around. The decision as to whether or not to run in the next election will have to be put on hold until we see how many (if any) of the "crossover" candidates who started this madness will have decided to dance with the girl they brought to the party.(i.e. stuck with the party with which they are truly philosophically attuned.) Of course if any of the chameleons had a true epiphany and were able to convince everyone of that....

    In any case, if I didn't want to dance with the girl I took to the party, I wouldn't have taken her and that's that. But then self defense is self defense.

    D'ya think??