Charles was speaking to a standing room only crowd at the Sheraton convention center in downtown San Francisco. Over 600 people were in attendance. Charles took to the stage amid a standing ovation. He spoke simply, with quiet authority about Liberty, his over arching theme for the week. He had chosen this track to counter the other party’s crass emotionalism. In the early days of the campaign, Charles had debated a few of those of the liberal persuasion. He won them handily, but noticed when they couldn’t win by facts and clear argument, they would resort to some kind of emotional appeal or character assassination. Operatives from the other side were constantly on the prowl to interview his former employees and find some dirt on him, but they, to the last man declined to give any damaging information. Eventually he stopped the debates because he realized they were more of a distraction than anything else.
“Let’s do a quick comparison between our founding fathers, and their ideas of Liberty and government, versus those of politicians today. They had to deal with the tyranny of George III, who ignored their concerns and instead increased his repressive actions, leading to our founding Document, The Declaration of Independence, and war. The word that is most descriptive of their actions to me, is, sacrifice. They risked everything, impoverishment and even death for an idea that man could govern himself. Many of them did wind up penniless. But they looked to the future, and the future rewards of a free people. We all agree their sacrifice succeeded wildly.
Let’s contrast that with today. The great success our system allowed has faltered in recent years. The reason? We are again under tyranny. Not by any foreign power, but by government itself. We are now egregiously taxed and regulated. Our every move is scrutinized, and we have been suffering because of it. The present crop of politicians think of themselves and not you. They want the perks of the job right now and are destroying your future for their present. The result is, today our national debt is in the trillions, and our politicians regularly meet in secret and lie to you about important matters." He was speaking specifically of the national health care plan, pushed through by the other party and the promises made about it. Which not only were lies, but known and calculated ones. This was most distasteful to Charles, who believed if anyone should be telling the truth, it should be elected officials. It was their sacred duty to those who trusted them enough to put them in office.
"What can we do about this? We can join the Revolution. I believe this time around lots of people will be coming over to our side because they see what’s going on and are fed up by it. Join the battle! Vote!"
After his speech he grabbed a mike and took questions from the crowd. He, his assistant and cameraman wandered back and forth around the room. Afterward he took his leave of them and left for the airport.
The next week an open letter appeared in the San Francisco Free Press.
“I was there at the event. Well, I had to be there, for I am an employee of the hotel. It so happens that his opponent had a rally here last week. The difference between the two events were stunning. For the other party, everything was determined before hand, in the form of demands, from the attire of the attendants to the type of water on the podium, and no less than sixteen back up bottles on the table behind. There were no real guests, besides security, all were party favorites and even though the other candidate had a question and answer time, the inquiries were vetted by his people and answered by teleprompter. The candidate never left the stage, never stopped to meet the people behind the scenes, and never thanked our staff for their efforts.
By comparison Charles’ event was a breath of fresh air. He and his staff were professional, non-demanding and always grateful for our work. They asked for nothing. When I approached his campaign manager about Charles’ on stage needs he looked puzzled for a moment, then asked tentatively, ”Would it be ok for a glass of ice water?” “Any particular kind?” Again, puzzlement. “Whatever you have would be fine.”
When Charles took the stage he was greeted by enthusiastic and genuine cheers, the other guys had a sign for when the people were to clap. While he spoke I was able to listen quietly in the doorway to the kitchen. I wondered what all the controversy was about. This guy is some kind of radical? I couldn’t see it. He came across to me as being entirely sincere . His question and answer period was completely off the cuff. No pat answers, no edits or previews. His answers showed a very knowledgeable man with real concern and practical answers to the problems our nation faces.
After he finished, Charles insisted on thanking the staff, and we quickly called them together. They were excited to meet him, but he seemed to be thrilled too. He shook hands with each one, looked them in the eye and listened. He had barely met half of our people when his campaign advisor hinted rather urgently they were running late and the plane was waiting.
The candidate turned and said, “Do you think they are going to leave without me?” “No,” his manager replied. “A few minutes won’t hurt very much, this is important.”
And so he continued. All the while he was relaxed and personable.
For many years I have been a member of the other party, but I’m voting for Charles this time around. This man is the genuine article."
