It has been more than a week since the Republican Primary Election. The first call I made the morning after the election was to Tom Watson to congratulate him on his victory and to wish him the best as he now moves into the general election.
While Election Night did not go as we hoped, I’m proud of the campaign we ran and all that we accomplished. I was especially touched by the many volunteers who gave their time, talents and treasure to the campaign. My message to all of you is “thank you.” Those two simple words do not begin to express the gratitude I feel toward you. I’m humbled by the confidence you placed in me and would only remind you that while I was the candidate, we were full partners in our shared mission to get America moving again.
I told a crowd gathered on Election Night as results came in that, win or lose on Tuesday, my message that night was the same: “We’re just getting started.”
I’m not going away. The business-as-usual establishment is going to have to get used to my presence. I’m not going to sit idly by and watch my country destroyed by bad ideas, promoted by reckless politicians, who are totally out of touch with reality.
If there was one recurring theme I picked up on the campaign trail it was frustration. People are frustrated that the politicians have forgotten that their policies affect the lives of real people. Public policy is not theory. Public policy is people.
The decisions that are made in Washington affect your ability to pay the mortgage or the rent, to put food on the table or gas in the car, to save a few bucks for your kids’ education, or to take that longed-for family vacation. The business-as-usual politicians have forgotten that. I haven’t, and the fight didn’t end on Tuesday. “We’re just getting started.”
Clark Vandeventer, former congressional candidate
Goleta