Y’all will enjoy this — so I’m driving home this afternoon, having run some family errands after Rotary, and my Blackberry buzzes. And it’s Corey Hutchins from the Free Times.
He says there are rumors flying that someone is about to announce a candidacy for governor. Then he mentions something about it being someone whom Dick Harpootlian and Jim Hodges are backing (which makes the next part really wild).
Then he asks whether I’m the one. I had to get him to repeat it. He was asking me whether I’m running for governor.
I got a good laugh out of that — not at Corey’s expense, though. On the contrary; I respect him for being so conscientious as to take the trouble to run down a wild rumor before dismissing it. And he knew it was wild. In his defense, he said, “You should hear some of the names being mentioned.” Presumably, some are even wilder than mine. I hesitated to use Corey’s name here (and if he asks me to, I’ll take it down) because I didn’t want to embarrass him. But I thought that detail lent credence to a post that you might otherwise think was a hoax.
What I’m laughing about was that for him even to have heard it means that there’s at least one person, and possibly two or more, who found it credible enough to pass on…
But anyway, just for the record:
- I am not currently running for governor. Nor do I have actual plans to do so.
- I’m not aware of anyone out there who is working in behalf of a Warthen candidacy. And I’d know about that. Wouldn’t I?
- Jim Hodges would not be putting my name forward. I mean, he and I get along fine these days, but still. Nor would Dick, far as I know.
- I am the founder of the UnParty, and my party has yet even to come up with a nominating process.
Of course, on the other hand, there are the following items arguing the other way:
- I’m not gainfully employed at the moment. (When Corey called, I was thinking about my job search.)
- I’ve certainly thought a lot about what it takes to be a good governor. For a platform, I could start with my last column at The State, and build from there.
- I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I could be a better governor than the current one (not a high standard, but it’s something).
But no, I’m neither a candidate nor plotting with anyone to become a candidate. What I am doing is hunting for a job.
It’s interesting how susceptible the rumor mill is, though. Remember my thinking out loud, very briefly, about running for Ted Pitts’ House seat, since he’s running for Gov Lite? Well, that had legs. A couple of weeks back, when I dropped by the Lexington County GOP event at Hudson’s BBQ place (I was there to talk to Jake Knotts for this post, when we were all still wondering where the governor was), several people in the crowd asked me about it. And I think some of them were serious.
So it doesn’t take much to get this kind of thing going.
Anyway, to iterate once again — right now, my goal is full-time, paying employment. If I found a job that met my family’s financial needs and allowed me to run for office, too, I might think about it. Someday. But that’s a really huge “if.” Most employers would probably frown on that sort of thing.
Bottom line: I got a good chuckle out of this, and I needed one. So, to whoever started this ball rolling — thanks…
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Corey just added this twist to the plot, over on Facebook:
Now you see, comparatively, that’s not such a crazy idea…
Let me just say that some of our finest legislators here are former journalists. It probably comes from knowing how the process works, as well as an interest in actually listening to citizens.
That said, Brad needs to work on his grillin’ skills before he can be a proper southern politician.
Barbeque, Burl, barbeque.
Without his own secret recipe, Brad’ll never go anywhere in Southern politics.
Hmmm… barbeque
Actually, according to the dictionary it’s barbecue. However, in SC it will always be barbeque. Ask any northerner what a barbecue is and they will incorrectly describe what we know to be an outdoor cookout. Funny how Yankees get that so wrong.
When I was a kid living in South America, some fellow Americans invited me to eat barbecue. I was so disappointed when it turned out to be hot dogs and burgers. They were not from the South…
Here, it’s BBQ, and it’s mostly Korean.
Barbeque brings people together in a way politics never could.
Run for any office. I dare you.
You would soon be told how far out of the mainstream your socialist notions are.
You would learn why politicians like Clinton and Obama lie about everything, because the public would be so revolted to see the naked truth about them.
You realize, this was y’all’s chance to DEMAND that I run, and draft me kicking and screaming into the ring…
Well, y’all missed it…
If you did seriously run, would you still stick to your philosophy about picking between the two candidates — no matter how awful — who have the best chance at winning? Would you endorse an opponent?