The political operative

My lovely wife and I were invited to dinner with a political organizer and the local volunteers. I didn't directly help the campaign, but my lovely wife felt it her civic duty to get involved. It was a bit of a victory dinner, as their candidates did quite well.

The political worker came into town to run the local office. The guy obviously loves the political game. He admires the tricks, techniques, and strategies of the competition, no matter which side is practicing them. They guy's young and ambitious. In a few days he'll be off to the other side of the country to do his stuff.

The funny thing is, he was probably the only true believer at the dinner. The locals were a mixed bag. Of course, we all know each other as it's a sparsely populated area. Out of the group, at least two were registered Independents and one was actually registered with the other party.

So what there they doing working on the same political campaign? They weren't there for any political party so much as they were there for the individuals running. New Hampshire is a small state and it's not all that hard to have personal relationships with people.

In some ways it's more like a Feudal system than a Republic. Relationships count a heck of a lot more than ideology. People trump “isms” of all stripes.

I don't think the political operative really caught on to that. At the next election half the volunteers could be working for the other side. It all depends on who's running, not what party they belong to.

-Sixbears