The Caucus Tradition Continues

When I started this blog, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to cover the Election better than the Media. I also knew that I wasn’t going to have the reach of the bigger Iowa blogs. What I did know was that I could tell a side of the story of the Caucus that was unique and show a side that people might not know. 

In the past, I have had my friend Mike share some of his Caucus experiences. This is my favorite because it’s about more than policy or polling numbers. I recognize some of myself here (I still have my scrapbook I made of the 1984 Election when I was 10). Yes, it is an important part of the process that Iowans get to vet candidates, but let’s not forget the next generation getting a hands-on lesson in Civics. 

Many dads would like to think that their son's see them as a hero. Most of the time they do start out as the hero, and that ultimately comes full circle as their child becomes an adult and comes to respect all their father had done for them growing up. There's that time in between though that's filled with cartoons, movies, sports, and rockstars where the dad takes a backseat to heroes much further from home. 

Growing up, I had He-Man, Michaelangelo, Roadblock, and Bumblebee invading my Saturday Morning airwaves that were my fictional heroes; super powered humans, halfshells, and humanoid hot rods that served up hot justice with a side of hard learned advice that every 7 year old should heed. When I was 9, my dad bought me my first pack of baseball cards. As I was flipping through the cards, my dad suddenly stopped me on a red, white, and blue clad pitcher. "Whoa!" He proclaimed, "you need to be careful. That's the best pitcher to ever play the game!" I was starstruck. There in that pack of 1990 Topps ball cards I discovered my first celebrity hero; a lanky, fireball throwing ace for the Texas Rangers known as the Express, Nolan Ryan. I had a lot of other celebrity heroes growing up, but Nolan was my first. 

Fast forward 30 years, and I'm the father of my own 8 year old child. Just like me, he has his idols, only his have come in the form of big screen superheroes like Iron Man, Captain America, Poe Dameron, and a very different looking Bumblebee. Little did I know that, like me, his first "celebrity" hero would also arrive printed on a thin piece of cardboard. Much to my card-carrying-Libertarian chagrin, it came in the form of a paid political advertisement in a plaid tie; Tom Steyer. 

My son is obsessed with him. He saves every piece of Tom Steyer literature we get (which, as I'm sure you know is A LOT), he has us turn up the TV when a Steyer commercial comes on, he even proudly brags about how he "voted" for Tom in one of the annoying YouTube surveys that popped up while at school. Yes, if there was a group of Yang Gang-like Steyer supporters, my son would be a charter member. So when it was announced that the Steyer campaign was making a stop in our hometown of Knoxville, I decided I would send him to school a little late that day and let him tag along to meet Tom in person. 

This certainly wasn't my son's first campaign stop... he's begrudgingly tagged along as I have questioned candidates in the past… but this day was different. He woke up early like a child on Christmas morning; the excitement of the day to much to bear. He ran into the restaurant that was hosting the event proclaiming to be Steyer's biggest fan. The staffers loaded him up with Tom 2020 emblazoned swag; from t-shirts to buttons to stickers, he had hit the political motherlode. He sat down with his phone out, just like he had done at past political events, only this time his camera replaced the usual game he would be playing. Finally a bus pulled up, Tom took the stage, and my son was hanging on every word. 

As I'm sure you can imagine, as a libertarian there are a number of issues that Steyer and I don't see eye to eye on. The big focus of his speech was about finding big government solutions for issues like climate change. When it came time for Q&A, I got to bring up the recent CBO projection that the deficit would reach $13 Trillion in the next decade, and asked him how he plans on reigning in the out of control spending. He deftly dodged the question with ninja-like precision, bringing up his plans on raising taxes on corporations rather than addressing the topic of spending in Washington. On a positive note, he did mention his goal of actually balancing the budget, although I shudder to think about how much that budget would be with his proposals. I was also very encouraged to hear him talk about wanting to build a coalition of Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and third parties to try and end the partisan fighting that has been tearing our country apart. 

In the end, this wasn't about pressing issues or political questioning though. For me this stop was all about my son getting to shake hands and get his picture taken with his first celebrity hero. Who knows where he'll be politically in 10 years… lord knows I've come a long ways from my days of stumping for Ross Perot in my grade school elections (or have I?) I'm proud to think my political activism may be influencing my son, regardless of where he ends up on the political spectrum. If that makes a long term impact on him as he grows up, I can rest easy knowing that, if nothing else, I got to play the hero in this little corner of his life.