Op-Ed by Nancy Cahalan
I never saw myself as someone who would run for an elected office. My older daughter has dreams of running for president one day and I always thought she would be the first in our family with her name on a ballot for election. The most I was involved in politics was in voting. I have never worked for a particular campaign nor have I donated to one. It wasn't that there were not candidates or issues that did not grab my attention, becoming more involved was just not something that I felt called to do.
Last Spring, someone in my church who is active in our county Republican party asked me if I would be interested in being a precinct committeeman. Not really knowing what that was, I said sure. A short while later, I got a letter saying that I had been appointed as the precinct committeeman for my voting precinct.
I began educating myself on just exactly what a precinct committeeman is. I must admit that the first article I came across on the Internet threw me for a loop. It was titled "The Most Powerful Office In The World Is NOT The President of the United States": (http://www.eagleforum.org/misc/brochures/precinct-committman.shtml)
I will admit I was doubtful that an elected office--about which I had never heard--could be the most powerful in the world. I am still not totally convinced that precinct committeeman is the MOST powerful, but there is power there that many people probably don't realize because, like me, they have never heard of the office--nor do they know anything about it.
What has compelled me to actually run for the office in the February 2010 elections is multifaceted. One reason is what is happening at the federal level in our country right now. There are bills being passed and signed that are not being read by those who are paid by us to do so. The provisions included in those bills are not in line with what is contained in our U.S. Constitution and I object to that greatly.
Another reason is the Republican Party is a mess. In our state (Illinois) and in our nation, there are so many who have been elected because they claimed the "R" after their names and yet I find it hard to discern why they claim the "R". The votes they cast, the issues they support, the speeches they give are not in line with my understanding of what the Republican Party has as its values and ideals. The Bush administration gave us the deficit with which President Barack Obama began. While I do know Obama has tremendously increased that deficit, he did inherit a huge debt from a Republican president and a Republican majority in Congress. U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter at least was honest enough to admit his affinities were more in line with the Democratic Party than the GOP and stopped pretending to be a Republican. I wish more of those who are referred to as RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) would do the same.
Finally, I was brought up believing if you are not part of the solution, you are a part of the problem and just sitting around complaining is not the way to actually get things changed. Since I am already the precinct committeeman for my precinct, I intend to hold onto that position and do what I can from there to bring about the changes that I can.
Becoming a precinct committeeman is one of the easiest things that one can do. It does take time, but not much money. You have to get the appropriate paperwork from your county clerk, get the requisite signatures on the petition to get your name on the ballot, and then 'campaign' as you wish. If you do not know anything or very little about the office, educate yourself. If you don't feel called to run, maybe you know someone else who you can encourage to do so. With all the talk about grassroots movements, here is the grassroots of any political party.
Precinct committeemen do have an impact on their respective parties from the ground up--whether you run, encourage someone else to run or not. Please don't just sit back. Truly our country--as it was intended to be--and, more importantly, our freedoms are at stake. If we do nothing, we will wake up one morning to find we are living in a country we do not want. If I am accused of fear mongering, so be it. The stakes are high and we need to be aware and we need to fight back.
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For more information on how to run for the office of Precinct Committeeman in Illinois, go to:
http://rffm.typepad.com/republicans_for_fair_medi/2009/08/wanted-republican-precinct-committeemen-how-you-can-help-take-back-your-party.html
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I have endorsed your spirit to fight back take back our liberties of this country. GET IN BY ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING IN PRECINCT COMMITTEEMAN!!! MAKE A DEFFIERENCE FOR THIS NATION
We must not allow anything neither inside nor overseas to trespass on our sovereign soil to legislate as a people.
The people too long in this country have sit back and folded their arms looking for the next person to go out to do their job and fight for their rights, where they leave everything thing to congress to manipulate the constitution taking away the more rights and place it in the branch of government.
In the end we all have to live here as a people in one accord, and we all have to live and breathe the same air in this country
I say to you all as a people, you all need to wake up and educate your self, gain wisdom, wisdom is the key to succeeding in how things presented itself, and the true nature of the content of an individuals or organization or a branch of government.
I leave this with you, free your minds from mental slavery, don’t allow your minds to capture the sweet nature of what person or persons presented itself, but more allow your self to be govern with what you see and what you feel in the spirit and above all seek wisdom and get knowledge and with it get understanding.
My people take a good look around you; you will see that this is the last days and clear and present danger for our nation.
Lets us all as one collective body bring back God and morals and discipline in the homes and schools, and in the society, demand of our media to bring back the quality and broadcast the truth and be gate keepers and eyes and ears for this nation from internal enemies in very high places across the board from abuse of power and manipulation/lies!!! Right now as the media stands presently, the media is of quantity not of quality, they are not so concern of bringing the truth, but they are more concern to form alliances in the political party secretly and discreetly, what you called tribalism, fighting for scares benefits and political spoils. Now you have seen the media have been embedded in political tribalism not for the truth but to spread papa gander to full fill one’s agenda. In the end we as a people and a nation will be crumbling. I can go on and on this is not a speech but the truth
My precious people act now don’t sit back allow yourself to be cripple and push this national importance off to the next one beside you, because the more you do this, your liberty and rights and freedom will be hijack, and when you look around you will find this country as plunge into an monarch dictatorship where your own freedom have been trample on!
free your mind free your spirit get wisdom and with it gain knowledge and with it get understanding, those are the three fundamental of power to running a nation and intern see your enemies regardless how things as presented itself corruptly!!!
Pray for your leaders of government and leaders of churches and congregation, and the nation and the people, so power don’t corrupt them!!!
Power is very sweet let me tell you that one, but the more power corrupt absolutely remember that!!!!!!!
But remember all powers belongs to God/Jesus Christ use it wisely regardless what position you may hold in government or civil society or in private or in the homes and so on
Pray for peace wisdom and understanding and the knowledge for this nation.
Go now my precious people put your words to action for a transition of physical results and spiritual results
E
Posted by: E | November 26, 2009 at 12:08 PM