THE GODS OF HYPOCRISY

THE GODS OF HYPOCRISY

 

            Imagine yourself in need of an army.  You are faced with the task of changing the political landscape of rural New England states that for years had been known for their frugal, independent and God-fearing lifestyles.  How would you accomplish this?  How would you wrest the traditions that made up the fabric of years of generations linked by blood from the very fingers of the parents that birthed them?  You would follow the template set forth in the European Marxist and Communist revolutions of so many years ago.

Take the earnest hopes of parents who have sacrificed for a better future for their little ones.  Promise to be trusted stewards of these children’s education.  Pretend to hold this sacred trust in reverent high regard.  Now that you have control of these children at their most vulnerable stage, just beginning to blossom into adulthood, instead of teaching the very skills and practicum necessary to excel at the specific professions they may choose, you begin to barrage and impregnate their young impressionable fertile minds with your own agenda in an effort to stimulate a revolution that would devastate and crumble years of foundations laid in the hearts and minds of America’s youth.  You would capitalize on the rebellious nature of young emotions encouraging their propensity to defy authority, enflaming them with rhetoric railing against the institutions of government claiming it has failed the common man.  At the same time, you would mock the homespun common sense beliefs of the children’s upbringing, declaring them not worthy of higher learning.  In time, it would seem success was nothing short of imminent.

Imagine yourself in the present.  You have established a death grip on the educational system of New England.  Your classrooms have been the breeding ground for liberal think tanks across the nation for years.  Students have followed your model of “the end justifies the means” and have wreaked havoc on the local and State political system compromising its integrity.  But the common man in Maine finds himself in much worse conditions than before all the promises of a New Deal were made to him.  So the “commoners” revolt and, much to your surprise put a common man in a place of power.

Imagine your reaction when the leaders put there by the common man, despite their weak and clumsy attempts at leadership, put in place a reform that shakes the very core of your power structure.  They demand honesty, accountability and integrity in the voting system.  No longer will there be giggles and snorts at fraternity and sorority parties after young students have done your dirty work and made a mockery of the democratic process on election nights.

Imagine how you would retaliate.  It would be loud and angry.  You would decry the fact that the Republicans are denying these young students the right to vote…and vote…and vote again.  After all, these are educational opportunities.  They’re young and they need the practice.  And voting in multiple States brings so much diversity to the experience.

Imagine if the empire you had worked so hard to build was in danger of crumbling.  You would use every diversionary tactic you could think of to avoid the honest truth.  Wouldn’t you….or would you?

“________” ERS?

“________” ERS?

 

This past Thursday, The Maine Conservative Voice was invited to attend a “Capital for a Day” town hall style meeting of the Governor, Commissioners and the people of Piscataquis County.  My wife and I had the honor of sitting with my good friend Jason Savage, of Maine People Before Politics, alongside First Lady of Maine, Ann LePage.  The meeting was well attended.  The Center Theater was at least three-quarters full with a small contingent from the “I’m Just A Number”ers in attendance.  The night was filled with lively debate that stayed for the most part respectful.  It was disappointing to see the Chairman for the Democrat Party show up with a t-shirt bearing the insignia of the “Maine People Are Just A Percentage Point”ers but it just gives evidence to my assertion that Democrats view people as just mere statistics.

We left the meeting feeling greatly encouraged that the Governor has not wavered in his resolve to turn Maine’s spend thrifty governing style of the past 40 years into one of a frugal live within your means style that is more befitting to the Maine he represents.  It was impressive, to say the least, watching Governor LePage and State Treasurer Bruce Poliquin work seamlessly in tandem to deal with the several questions raised from the audience.  The Governor would present the broader goal with his perhaps brusque mannerism while the Treasurer would fill in the finer details with their fiscal impact in very precise terms for the people of Piscataquis County to hear.  It was this one-two punch that quickly silenced the protests from the “I Have No Identity”ers.

As was stated earlier, my wife and I had the privilege of spending time with First Lady LePage during the evening and this only reinforced what so many of us have come to see in her.  Maine is immeasurably blessed to have Ann LePage as our First Lady.  My wife, who still at times is uncomfortable going to all the political functions that we must, felt instantly at ease as Mrs. LePage talked with her about family, the evening and the issues that face our great State.  As we talked about the behavior of the “You Are Just A Statistic”ers towards her husband, the First Lady made an observation that I thought very insightful.  (It should be noted here that the First Lady never referenced the protesters with anything but respect in the conversations I had with her.  The tongue-in-cheek sarcasm is the work of the one and only Andy Torment.)  Ann LePage observed that the protesters always started out loud but quickly quieted when the facts were presented.  The Governor has nothing to hide, she stated, and it is hard to argue with facts.

Finally, yes, I am mocking the protesters.  Not because they are protesting.  That is a civil liberty protected by the Constitution.  I just can’t comprehend an organization that would so blatantly relegate the voting public to a number.  I am an individual.  I am not a number.  I am not a percentage point.  My name is Andy Torbett.  I will not relinquish my identity to any organization that I belong to.  I detest any institution that views humanity as percentage points.  My principles and beliefs are not to be ignored and I get angry when they are.  A heavy dose of independence has been past down through my Scotch and Irish bloodline.  So don’t fence me in.  I really don’t like it.  I am not a number.

STRENGTH, CONSERVATIVELY SPEAKING

STRENGTH, CONSERVATIVELY SPEAKING

 

Leaders are not necessarily liked.  They often do not care whether they are liked or not.  There is a goal to accomplish and true leaders have their sights set on that goal.  You can either follow and help or get left behind.

Often on job sites that I have been a part of, there is an individual who tends to rub everyone the wrong way.  He or she would never win any popularity contests and any expenditure of effort to do so is the last thing on their mind.  Behind the back, these leaders generally acquire names such as perfectionist, pain in the butt, nit picky and those are some of the ones I can use in family friendly forum.  There are other metaphors, which take on a more colorful descriptive nature.

Everyone cringes when this person walks towards them and inwardly despises their attention to detail….until…..a crisis occurs.   Then, the emotions change.  Suddenly, a solution is needed.  Oh, some individual, desperately craving notoriety, will quickly fumble around trying to prove he is as good as the big dog.  The rest of the crew will just roll their eyes and wait for the inevitable.  The big dog arrives.  He looks at the mess with a sneer of disgust.  The crew steels themselves for what is coming next.  The leader growls, spats and snipes at them all for being a bunch of idiots and making such mess for him to clean up.  The leader then reminds them all that this screw-up is costing the company time and money.  After the big dog is satisfied that the crew has had a sufficient earful of his wrath, he presents the solution, gives them all their marching orders, tells them to get their butts in gear or he will fire the whole lot of them and then marches off without so much as a pat on the his back for saving the day, barking over his shoulder that work better be accomplished by the time he gets back or somebody’s hindquarters is going to get kicked.  And the work gets done.

That is leadership.  We don’t like it, usually, but leaders get things done.  All leaders have different methods, but once goals are set, leaders will strive to reach those goals without compromise.  They will not be deterred to the right or the left but move forward with a singular purpose.

There are those within the Republican Party who want us to moderate our charge for excellence.  They want us to be moderate in our belief that people are the answer to Maine’s troubles not government.  They want us to be moderate in our belief that the land belongs to the residents of Maine and not LURC.  They want us to be moderate in our desire for change.  It would seem the best thing for Maine is a lot less moderation in the Republican Party.  Let us press on toward the goal to Set Maine Free without moderation…And Never Look Back!