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Posted by bwana on
November 8th, 2007
Jimmy
Stewart played a naïve man who went to Congress
and stood up for us all in “Mr. Smith Goes
to Washington.” Down in Tidewater ‘Jimmy’
Bowden isn’t naive, but neither is he
wealthy or connected to big money. So, can Jim
Bowden go to Washington armed with only support
of regular folks and a better grasp of public
service and Armed Services expertise than well
funded career politicians? We will find out this
weekend.
On
November 10th, the Republicans of Virginia’s
First District select their candidate for the
special election to fill the seat formerly held
by the late US Representative Jo Ann Davis. In
this very Conservative district of Tidewater -
and a bit of Hunt Country – Virginia, the
Republican candidate has a 3-2 advantage. That is
why a dozen or so Republicans want the nomination.
Unsurprisingly,
a key issue of winning the candidacy is boiling
down to money, and that’s where maybe Jim
Bowden is as naive as Jimmy Stewart.
Bowden
once wrote that the tight time lines of a
nominating race lasting a few weeks that all the
money in the world can’t buy the election.
Maybe
he’s wrong…
The
field includes the wealthy, the elected, and the
connected…then there is the political
activist, grassroots guy –James Bowden…and
his path to the nomination is obstructed by a
wall of checkbooks.
He
enjoys financial support from regular folks,
average $20 to $200 in donations from across the
country as well as his home District. His
campaign is driven by volunteer workers across
the District who are recruiting and shepherding
the Delegates needed to win the Convention next
Saturday. Can such a grassroots effort win
national office?
Please
forgive me if I get a little preachy, but when
you see a good man like Jim Bowden getting
kneecapped by those he has worked with…well,
it gets my dander up. Moreover, what is happening
to Jim Bowden is reflective of what keeps so many
folks from considering entering public life
Jim
tells his story in text and videos here and here. This
new media tells a story that otherwise can’t
get out in this special election. The MSM is too
busy reporting on and now commenting on the
general election to say much about the nominating
conventions on November 10th. This despite the
opinion of some that the Republican convention is
the de facto election for the U.S. House of
Representatives.
If
his story shows the credentials to compete and
win the nomination and the special election
against Conservative-appealing, ex-military
Democrats, then what is the problem? The problem
is that money buys paid professionals to promote
one candidate or down another. Wealth brings paid
professionals. Bowden can work hard to exhaustion
and wield the sword of truth to good advantage in
one place at a time while the paid staff of other
candidates work simultaneously in the other 22
counties and cities. His volunteers across the
District have only sparse minutes to do what pros
are well paid to do by the hour.
Money,
like power, is an aphrodisiac, and many are
choosing patrons over principles. A Virginia Pro-Life
organization sent out a press release touting two
candidates, candidates who have made major
financial contributions to the organization. Pro-Life
lobbyists knew that other candidates have just as
strong a commitment to life, and have welcomed
their support. These same lobbyists continue to
ignore others whose passion for life is larger
than their checkbook.. How powerful is the pull
contributions past and the hope for more in the
future!
Of
course it’s reasonable for many
Conservatives to repay the generous financial
support of the past with political support now.
Yet, movement Conservatives and Conservative
advocacy lobbies should ask themselves how they
can serve two masters - truth and wealth. If they
believe in the principles they espouse, they
should be more candid in their endorsements and
not ignore those who have fought the good fight
with them. I can only hope other groups extend
better treatment to those running in Va 1.
The
same can be said for politicians who wanted to
carpetbag into the District and run for the
office. The timelines between getting one office
on November 6th and winning a different office
nomination on November 10th were just too tight.
Even a seasoned politician is too hard put to
explain the logical inconsistency, moral
mousiness and just sleazy politics to pull such a
stunt. So, keeping in mind a future chance at a
prize, these politicians support the guy they see
as a walking ATM.
Where
does that leave Jim Bowden? Earning delegates one
by one, one phone call at a time. He wants to
recruit a Gideon’s Army-sized force. If not,
I imagine he’ll take a Gideon’s company
or platoon into Caroline County, Virginia and see
what can be wrought.
Why
does my friend Jim Bowden fight this fight? For
the same reasons he served this country in the
military, for the same reason he uses his voice
and pen to address the important issues facing
this country. He believes the United States is
the best hope of the world, and the best way to
keep us all safe and strong is to seek “dignity,
justice and hope” for all Virginians…and
for all Americans.
It
has long been said “Public office is a
public trust”. Has it become nothing more
than a private purchase? Has cash
overwhelemed conscience as a test for public life?
Tidewater Virginia, it’s your time to answer
that question. If you have filed, search
your heart and mind and vote rightly.
____________________________
October 18th, 2007
Chairman, Republican Party of Virginia
First District Committee, Republican Party of
Virginia
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I hereby resign as the Chairman, First District
Committee effective at 5 p.m. today, October 18,
2007. Under our By-laws, the First Vice-Chairman,
Tom Foley will assume my duties as the Acting
Chairman until a new chairman can be elected at
the next called meeting on November 16, 2007. I
know that our Committee will all support Tom in
approving a Call for a fair, open, above board,
and civil nomination process when the Governor
declares the Special Election for our First
District of Virginia.
I resign because I am seriously
considering running as a candidate for the
Republican nomination for U.S. House of
Representatives, First District Virginia.
I am resigning because I consider
Party office a public and personal trust. Some of
what I must do as a Party Official is governed by
the Code of Virginia, thus, I serve our Rule of
Law - which is the key aspect of the public trust.
There is also an associational trust from the
rank and file members - all members of the RPV
who live in the First District. And, there is a
personal trust which you established with me when
you elected me on September 21st.
I believe that my public trust is
significantly less than the legal, ethical and
moral responsibilities of any elected official
from cities and counties on up succeeding levels
of government. Yet, elected political office
remains a trust - a duty - not a position and not
a job.
Consequently, I find, for myself,
the seeking of an elected public office while
holding on to an elected party office to return
to if I fail to earn the nomination for the House
of Representatives, First District Virginia to be
unseemly. I choose not to do so.
Thank you for electing me when I
asked for your support. Thank you for your
fellowship and friendship for the past 10 years
on the First District Committee. Thank you for
your loyalty to the principles of our Republican
Creed of Virginia, to America’s First
District, to Virginia and to our Nation.
Sincerely,
James Atticus Bowden
Poquoson, Virginia
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Authorized by JamesBowden4Virginia,
Treasurer Kerry Christian
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