Should Douglas V. Gibbs Run for Office?

By Douglas V. Gibbs

A number of people asked me to run for city council this year.  I even made a serious consideration of running for Congress against Ken Calvert, but we abandoned that effort around the first of the year once the money issue arose.  To run a successful congressional campaign, one needs to raise $500,000, but with donors fearing placing money against Congressman Calvert because of his power in the political game, we were looking at raising $50,000.

On Facebook, a thread about Calvert emerged, with the general feeling in the comment section that Ken has become a RINO over the last twenty years, and though he always votes with the Republican Party, voting with the GOP isn't exactly comforting when you consider where the establishment republicans are treading.  Calvert's history is dotted, as well.  He's had a couple scandals that nobody talks about (real estate profits as a result of his position and a prostitute in his car in a Corona park), but people keep voting for him because he has an (R) after his name, and because as bad as he may be, the competition is worse.

Then, I was alerted my name was mentioned in that thread about the shortcomings of Congressman Ken Calvert:

Diana Serafin (Diana on Facebook): 1) have to find a candidate who can run against him. It is very difficult and takes money (ugh) to defeat an incumbent. 2) In CA, we have the monkey primary so it eliminates candidates from other parties who may be qualified. 3) The time to start for 2016 is now.

Brad Heimbuck: Douglas V. Gibbs is a good candidate, he just needs more backing and support in every area.

Diana Serafin:  Doug is a great candidate but not running this year, maybe in two years. He is endorsing and helping me this year. I will definitely help him if he runs for any office.

It is nice to be talked about, but to be honest, I am the reluctant politician.  I am involved, I know people who are involved in politics locally (which is a large part of how I got involved in the Murrieta Border Patrol Appreciation Demonstrations in June and July of 2014), but I don't consider myself a politician.  If I did decide to run for office again (ran for city council in 2010) it will have to be from a position of greater name recognition, and a serious need for me to run (along with being able to raise the appropriate amount of money).  I suppose I need to get some local experience, time in a local office like city council, perhaps State experience, before trying to tackle Congress, though a congressional run is not completely out of the question in the next few elections.  The folks on Facebook are not the only ones bringing my name up as a potential candidate against Ken Calvert in the future.

Honestly, I feel like I do more good in the role I am in right now, teaching Constitution Classes, hosting a radio program, and as a public speaker.  Then again, that is all the reason I should consider running in the future.  After all, isn't the reluctant politician, who consider themselves servants, rather than politicians, what the Founding Fathers were looking for to lead this nation?

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary