In the past two weeks, I’ve shared with you two major strategic initiatives we’re taking. First was My Proposal to the Newspapers of the 6th District and then last week was Making the Rounds: Meaningful Conversations with Voters
Now here’s a third, what we’re calling “The Transparent Campaign.” To introduce it to you, here’s a message from my friend, M. Hirsh Goldberg, who will be the editor for a series of pieces that let the public into the heart of the “Andy Schmookler for Congress” campaign– openness like no other candidate has ever shown. These pieces will be appearing on our campaign website, and other places, between now and Election Day:
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Hirsh writes:
Americans are always looking for an honest politician. In Andy Schmookler, they have found one. (If one can call a man who never ran for public office until now a “politician.”)
Andy Schmookler is running for the congressional seat in Virginia’s 6th District on a message of “Truth. For a change.” That’s because a commitment to truth and honesty is part of who he is. It is also because our democracy cannot survive the current pattern of lies regularly defeating the truth.
The Declaration of Independence says that government derives its just powers from “the consent of the governed.” But that consent has to be “informed consent.” That means Democracy depends on people being told the truth.
Truth, Andy believes, also means transparency. In the coming weeks, Andy will be providing the public a behind-the-scenes look into the meetings and discussions that help shape his campaign. People will get to see just how Andy and his campaign team make their decisions about policy and politics. Has any other campaign in history been so boldly honest, even while the campaign was still in full swing?
A victory here in VA-06 against an entrenched, dishonest incumbent, would be extraordinary. Accomplishing this will require not only Andy’s powerful message, but also the kind of creative strategy that can tap into what Andy calls “the power of the spirit.”
Andy has convened a group of more than a dozen people to help him think through such creative strategies. These are people whom Andy has known and worked with in different ways – some family and friends, some political allies and colleagues – whose opinions he especially respects. Using email, and the “Reply to All” function, this group is able to conduct virtual discussions of the questions that Andy brings to them.
We will be making public here a series of reports gleaned from Andy’s strategy discussions with his advisors. I will be editing them—mostly for clarity and for capturing what will be most of interest to the people of Andy’s District, and to others interested in his campaign.
As Andy has said about basing his campaign on openness, “In more than a year of campaigning, there’s hardly been anything that I’ve said or done, even in private, that I wouldn’t be glad for the public to see. In fact, as far as I’m concerned, the more that people know about who I am and where I’m coming from, the better—the better for the voters, the better for my campaign, and the more likely we’ll be able to achieve something good for our country.”
So check in here periodically and see truth in politics on display.
M. Hirsh Goldberg
Andy Schmookler for Congress
