This weekend, my friends at WMD and I watched the classic film "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," starred James Stewart as Jefferson Smith, an outsider to politics who finds himself in the middle of political corruption and the US Senate.
This movie has been a favorite of mine. As both a lover of our country and as a Social Studies teacher, I love the patriotic verve Frank Capra brings to the film, and the character of the young patriot Smith in believing in those words written on those monuments in Washington, rather than paying them lip service. In the film, Mr. Smith is a citizen legislator, who was called to serve, rather than a politician craving fame and access to lobbyists.
Bill Pierce, to me, is Jefferson Smith. He is a citizen legislator, and has seen the unseemly side of politics and government. However, he still truly believes in the system, and in justice. To me, Bill Pierce rekindles that faith and pride in our government one gets while watching this film. He rekindles hope in me that there really are Jefferson Smiths out there, people who will bring common sense to a "brutal world" of Washington politics. People who won't check their ideals at the door like their rain rubbers, as one fellow senator (played by Claude Rains) encouraged Mr. Smith to do. Someone who believes in ideals, that is what we need. We do not need the business as usual of the big machine of the corrupt Ohio GOP establishencia.
However, as in the movie, there are forces aligning against this "feel good" story. The Ohio GOP establishencia and its Boss, Bennett, have become like the political boss/hack Taylor in the film. They are making false accusations, making light of the candidate, and doing dirty tricks to try to get Bill out of the race. They even are snuffing publicity of his campaign, through their associations with media, by allowing very little coverage of his candidacy. They aren't even publicizing there is a race, or that Mr. Pierce actually has endorsements. They are trying to pretend and make people believe he doesn't exist. You see, machines and corruption hate the light of truth, they hate people who go against the grain. Jeff Smith was one of those. I believe Mr. Pierce, with all my heart, is one of those. He has been experienced in dealing with powerful forces that use subterfuge to fight, in his struggles with the Labor Dept., and he still has that bright idealism and belief in the American people, the country, and our system of government. In some ways, then, I guess the "people in the know" are right. Bill Pierce is a fool.
However, all good in the world came from "fools." Fools with faith, faith in plain decent common rightness. At this time in our state of Ohio, with the crooked things that have happened in Columbus, we could use more of that. With the pork in the US government, we could use more of that. Bill Pierce will provide that, I believe. Where his predecessor has given us more of the same--following, not leading; pride and arrogance over listening to the people--I believe Bill Pierce will give us more of the blood and bone and sinew of this great democracy: kindness and looking out for the other guy,of basic human understanding. We need more "Fools" like this in office, instead of the fools who throw money away and sow the seeds of discontent and apathy.
This country and this state is bigger than the corruption and malice and apathy of the Ohio GOP establishencia, the laziness and ineptness of a Hamilton County GOP that just goes with the flow; the machinations of Mr. Bennett. This state and country are bigger and better than Mike DeWine, quite frankly, and politics as usual.
The media won't help us. They get their info from the establishment, they too, are lazy and apathetic. If you still believe in this system, in the goodness and judgement of the American people, won't you join us bloggers out there spreading the truth and the news of this race. Won't you join us in supporting a man, who, I believe, Washington is waiting for.
In the film, Mr. Smith cannot get his story out via the press. They are subjugated and fed stories by the Boss Taylor. Sound familiar? Well, Mr. Smith had the aid of his boy rangers, and their newspaper, Boys Stuff. These young men were willing to stand for truth in the face of corruption and intimidation. WMD, Bizzyblog, and others are the Boy Rangers of today. WE need to stand up to the intimidation, corruption, and apathy within the Ohio GOP establishencia and get Bill's Story out. With your help, we may yet win the day and send a true citizen legislator to Washington.
I truly believe that Mr. Pierce can be a great senator, and I believe in his cause. As I watched Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, I became more galvanized and more passionate in my belief of that. I believe he is what the GOP, the state, and the nation need right now, a "fool" with an ax to grind, and someone who believes those words are more than just decoration on marble--someone who still believes in decent common rightness. He may be David fighting Goliath without even a slingshot, but I believe that Bill Pierce can win. I believe that this "fool" of faith can win, and I believe he will be someone who does not consider visitors in the Senate gallery guests of the Senators, but rather, that the Senators are guests of the American people in THE CITIZENS' house of governance. I believe in those principles, and I believe in Mr. Smith. And, yes, I believe in Bill Pierce. We face an uphill battle, but if more of us stand up for princple and right, and believe, we can win the day for the little guy, instead of the bosses like Taylor in the film, or Bennett in reality. Stand up and be counted, stand for Mr. Pierce going to Washington.
