If you’re new to my blog because of the campaign, welcome to First Principles! Ever since my website was repurposed for the campaign, I’ve been missing the blog. But thanks to many good friends, volunteers, and a great staff (who have and continue to do brilliant work getting a campaign from Full Stop to Flank III in no time flat), I’ve got my bullhorn and soapbox back! And now there is a more substantive purpose to it.
Our nation was founded by writers who understood the power of ideas – and took advantage of new ways of getting them out. Blogging is merely one of the latest manifestations of this spirit.
Putting ideas and principles down and then publishing them to the world makes you own them, consider them, have them be subject to debate and argument, and to sometimes refine them. It’s a sort of backstop against the politician trap of trying to be all things to all people.
One of the best examples I’ve seen of this comes from a book I recently read called “Reagan, In His Own Hand“. It’s a collection of his hand-written drafts of his radio spots in the ’70s, and if you didn’t know any better, you’d swear you were reading a blog about how badly President Carter was screwing up the economy and the Cold War. You could see how his thoughts evolved and solidified as he applied principle to unfolding history.
The medium is different here, but the purpose remains the same. In the coming months, I’m looking forward to posting answers to your questions, sharing stories from the campaign trail, and honing and refining the application of my philosophy to specific policies and issues.
Take a look around. If you have any questions, leave a comment, shoot me an E-mail, or give me a call!
