Recently I received a registered letter in the mail wherein was contained a pledge I was to sign to run a "clean campaign." The pledge states that I would run a campaign based upon my own background and my own stand on the issues. I would not mention any negative traits of any fellow Republicans who are running, thereby adhering to Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment: Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.
I believe that the motivation behind this letter and the pledge idea is very sincere. I want to thank publicly the person and persons behind this letter, because for one thing it got me to do some serious thinking on the subject. Had I not received this letter, I probably would not have given much thought to what I am about to express in this article.
Ronald Reagan did state on numerous occasions his 11th commandment. I don't recall, though, his asking others to sign a pledge, and I don't recall his signing any sort of written pledge. Maybe he did, but I just don't recall him doing either of those things.
The former President was of an era and generation, just like my dad, who believed that a man's word was as good as gold. Not federal reserve notes, but gold. This Great Depression/WW2 generation, that Tom Brokaw called The Greatest Generation Ever, believed that all was required was a man's word and a gentleman's handshake. I know times have changed, sadly, but even written contracts today are easily broken at the drop of a hat.
The first ten commandments were written down on stone, but even the Author of those commandments did not ask His closest people to sign their names on a pledge to keep these benevolent, wise rules. Even if the people did sign a pledge, it would not have amounted to a hill of beans. They were guilty of breaking the whole lot of them even before Moses came down from the mountain.
There is something else to consider--I figure if I sign a clean campaign pledge, that the assumption behind that on my part would be that I would normally run a dirty campaign if I did not sign that pledge. Secondly, the implication would be that the only reason I would run a clean campaign is because I had signed a pledge to do so. So whatever happened to a man's word being as good as gold? And what does it say about a man's character if he needs some outward man-made device to keep him honest?
It has been rightly stated that a reputation is what people see you are in public; character is what you are in private, when no one sees except God.
As a common man running for this senate seat, I know there are two issues that grate people about politics and politicians. I hear it all the time, and it has bothered me my whole life. I call these two issues the M&M effect. Some M&Ms are plain, and some are nutty. These political campaigning M&M issues are just plain nutty.
The first M is Mudslinging, which is the topic behind this letter and pledge I received. Every election cycle people get tired of the constant mudslinging they hear in campaigns. Proper debate over issues is necessary, but rudeness and slander cross the line of sane campaigning. We hear of football players "talking trash" on the football field during a game. Shouldn't we expect more of our elected leaders, though?
The other issue is Money. People rightly deduce unfortunately, that many politicians are guided primarily by the not-so-almighty dollar. They get elected because they are able to accumulate large piles of cash from professional lobbyists, and then after they get elected they repay the favor by voting according to the lobbyists' wishes. Once in office they continue to get under-the-table and over-the-table monetary rewards from lobbyists and special interest groups. Legislators' cushiony paychecks and pension funds make it hard for some officeholders to do the right thing for the people they serve, when the right thing may cost them financially. It all made Will Rogers to bemoan the fact that "a fool and his money are soon elected."
It is for this reason that I have refused to take any money from lobbyists now or ever. Plus, I want to work to reduce the legislators' paycheck and pension plans. Do you know that Oklahoma pays its legislators more than all our surrounding states, and that legislators here make over $6,000 more annually than the median income in our state?
I have not signed a written pledge stating that I will not take any money from lobbyists. I have just said it over and over again, and it has been in my campaign literature from day one. I guess some might think I have made a pledge of sorts by writing it down in my literature (and here in this article), but I have not written it down in a formal pledge where I have signed my name to it. Nor will I ask anybody else to sign a pledge to do such a thing. That is an individual decision, and I firmly believe, and somebody can call me old fashioned, that a man's word should be as good as gold. Not federal reserve notes, but gold.
For over thirty years I have been in the pastoral ministry. If I made it my business to "talk trash" of other people, I would not have lasted very long in the ministry. I wouldn't be worth my salt as a pastor, let alone as a Christian. I never signed a pledge before I assumed the pastorate of any church that I would conduct myself uprightly in my daily life. It was expected of me, and I expected that of myself. For those moments when I faltered, and there were plenty of them, I asked God and others for forgiveness.
The beautiful thing about it is that God IS the one who has made a verbal and WRITTEN pledge that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
While being on the campaign trail the last several weeks, I have never said anything negative about any of my fellow Republicans or Democrats. People can testify to that. I don't plan on starting now or ever in partaking of the M&M effect. I want to be a man whose word is as good as gold. Whether one is running for office, or running things from an office, or running the children here and there, it would be a giant leap forward culturally if more and more people today would live up to the high standard of doing the right thing, in public and in private.
Sincerely yours,
Chris Humphreys
