David Webb: Vote from the ground up

A great deal of attention has been paid to the key races in the battle for the U.S. Senate. Yet only some governorships and House seats have made the headlines, and it’s expected that local elections will be covered by local news. 

This has been a mistake inside the political institutions for years. In part it is understandable, because politics is a numbers game. First you win the majority, then you increase your numbers for better control, then you make policy. 

{mosads}The short-term thinking of political parties is why neither national Republicans nor national Democrats are ready for 2016. It is also why — all too often — the parties glom on to the “next big thing” and the “next big figurehead” versus a substantive, properly groomed field of candidates. Let’s not kid ourselves: neither party at this time has a presidential candidate that can capture its base in the respective primaries and transition to the general election for 2016. Two years is a long time in politics, but not long enough to build a real farm team. 

The American political landscape has become a system of red states, blue states, Republican counties and Democratic counties. The cycle of two, four or six years for Congress, for president, for Senate has driven the support system of committees, consultants, special interests and lobbyists to the current status of perpetual campaigns. Before one election finishes, another is in play. This is good for the wonk crowd, for radio and television hosts like myself, but in many ways it’s detrimental to the American political psyche. Although we’re in a new populist revolution since the inception of the Tea Party movement I helped to found and still nurture today, apathy and unhealthy cynicism is all too common. 

The reason for voting from the ground up is simple. Politics needs new players to evolve and keep up with the changing and challenging landscape that is America, as well as globally. It is likely that some newly minted elected official will grow into a true leader or possibly the next, dare I say it, Reaganesque candidate. 

Find the candidates at every level. Study them, and cast your vote accordingly. To borrow from Thomas Jefferson, “the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” I say freedom must be refreshed with new political blood. Here are a few who deserve a good look:

Mark Donka is a Republican congressional candidate in Vermont, a law enforcement officer, EMT and firefighter for three decades combined who believes in and fights for the Second Amendment. Vermont has one congressional seat. This win would send a message to the Democrats that they don’t own Vermont, that our Bill of Rights is not a Bill of Needs and that the state’s petrie dish for a single-payer system is not a safe environment to take away Americans’ rights. 

Dr. Alieta Eck is a GOP candidate for New Jersey’s 12^th District, and would be the only woman doctor in Congress. As a past president of the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons, a 71-year-old organization that focuses on the patient-doctor relationship and keeping healthcare choices in your hands, wouldn’t you want her qualified voice on the issue of healthcare?

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has gotten involved in Doug Ose’s race for California’s 4^th Congressional District because it’s so competitive. If the GOP can win this seat, it tells the Democrats they don’t own the state. 

Joni Ernst, who is running for Senate in Iowa, is the ultimate anti-“war on women” candidate. She’s a warrior, a lieutenant colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard who serves our nation honorably. She’s been a construction worker and is a leader. Her political advertisements are legendary, and reflect someone who understands voters in the real world. She would be the first female senator from Iowa. 

The time is now to read an editorial, to stop a candidate on the street or in the supermarket and engage with them. They live in your neighborhood. We must make informed choices on Nov. 4. We are a great nation and we are a center-right nation. This is a battle against the liberal progressives under President Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, and it is a battle for the future of America. 

Webb is host of “The David Webb Show” on SiriusXM Patriot 125, a Fox News contributor and has appeared frequently on television as a commentator. Webb co-founded TeaParty365 in New York City, and is a spokesman for the National Tea Party Federation. His column will appear twice a month in The Hill.