what’s on my bookshelf?

I am trying very hard to read all books I ought, but for every book I read, I add 2 more to the unread stack. Currently, these are unread on my bookshelf:

How to Win Arguments (William A Rusher)
Speaking in Public (Reid Buckley)
Environmental Overkill (Dixy Lee Ray)
Trashing the Planet (Dixy Lee Ray)
The Marx-Engels Reader
Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 (James Madison)
Liberty and Tyranny (Mark Levin)
Conservative Victory (Sean Hannity)
Climategate (Brian Sussman)
Return to Prosperity (Arthur Laffer)
2010: Take Back America: a Battle Plan (Dick Morris)

why am I running?

People who are running for office or contemplating running often have no answer to this potentially heart-stopping question. When you get an answer, it is often vague like ‘to help my country’. No, you must have a solid, concrete, powerful reason if you are to have a chance of winning.

In my case, I had a Network moment (this cultural reference usually means nothing to people who are under 40; it has nothing to do with Cisco. It was a defining movie of my generation. It starred Faye Dunaway and Peter Finch. He plays a TV news anchor who gets fed up with the lying and hypocrisy, and has a nervous breakdown while on the air. He advises: get up out of your chair, go to the window, stick your head out and shout: I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore).

The federal deficit is now $1.5 TRILLION. Wha? To me, a budget deficit of $200 billion is being spendthrift. But: trillion?? C’mon: the federal gov’t receives $2 trillion in taxes every year; surely this is enough to run the machinery, and still have a little leftover to pay off a bit of the national debt?

I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!

where do I get my ideas?

At this point, I am doing things a little differently from what I was anticipating in the beginning. These are just a couple of examples I thought of.

Mitt Romney
No, I am not a fan, nor do I plan to read his book. However, he was on those Sunday morning political shows, and he said something that I took to heart. The host asked what happened to his campaign, which started out so promisingly, then faded. Romney said that his campaign did not have focus; things were diffuse and spread out. So, now, when asked to give some brief comments, I say: the focus of my campaign? Big, fat, juicy tax cuts = more jobs. That’s it. I plug my website, say thank you, then sit down.

marketing guy
I would give credit for this, but I do not recall where I heard this, other than it was a marketing person who successfully used a blog to promote his company’s products. He said that most companies simply use a blog to tell people how wonderful their product is, and that they should buy it; these things also uniformly fail miserably. He said to make the blog of general interest, and those interested will go to your product or service or website. So, I put up my Facebook page and this blog up first (plus, these are free) right away (even before my website and donation functions), and am trying to make them of general interest to all people interested in politics, and perhaps a few are in my district and will become interested enough to vote for me. I figured that a personal blog about what it is like for a total rookie to run for congress would be interesting. Hence, this blog.

how is the fundraising going?
I heard from some other political rookies and some old hands about fundraising. Plus, the stories about how Obama and Scott Brown used the new social networking media to their advantage on the way to victory. I suddenly realized that old-fashioned fundraising and media buys were not going to get the job done, certainly not in my district that elected the D last time around 86%-9%. That is why fundraising is not going to be a big part of my campaign, and why the ‘donate’ function still does not yet work on my website. Besides, I do not wish to mislead people who wish to contribute to my campaign about what my campaign is all about.

Me, Myself, and I

Being a Republican in California CD9 is not easy. We are scarce as hen’s teeth. Right now, I wear all hats: candidate, campaign manager, treasurer, web master, speech writer, researcher, book reader, official government form filler-iner, coffee-bringer-iner, and I am running my campaign from my studio apartment.

My website is now up (www.geraldforcongress.com), as is my facebook page (Gerald for Congress). Getting these up to speed will take a bit of time, so forgive me if they are bare bones right now. I promise more, richer content in the weeks to come.

Cold Feet

It was late February. I had taken out papers to run for Congress a week ago, and gotten about half the signatures I needed. I was tired and it was Sunday, so decided to rest that day: bad mistake. I got a bad case of cold feet that day.

It was a cold, windy, rainy day with nothing but depressing, dark skies. I wore several layers of clothes, but was still shivering. The weather was not helping.

What was I doing? Not qualified to be a Congressman. No previous political experience; at least I should try something easier first, like running for city council? Not a community activist or active member in the county Republican Party. Do not have a built-in, political following. This was a foolish thing to do. I questioned my very existence. I had an upset stomach and ate nothing. I spent most of the day sitting gloomily in a chair, staring at gray, gloomy skies. I almost quit.

Then, I had an early dinner, since I was unable to eat lunch, and began to feel a little better. I thought: if I quit now, I will disappoint all the people who had supported me so far, not to mention the entire Republican party. Besides: I would be unopposed. I would win the primary, even if I were one of those disgusting, slimy things that you find under rocks at the beach at low tide.

It was Sunday, so I enjoyed watching 60 Minutes and Nature. That night, I went to bed confident, and looking forward to what the next week would bring.

WFB, where have you gone?

Being a long-time subscriber to National Review, I received WFB The Tribute; it is a paean to WFB, the father of modern conservative Republicans. Running as a Republican in a very safe Democratic district, I was thinking: well, it is either glory or ignominious defeat. After reading this book, I now feel puny and insignificant. Now that I am in the battle of my life, WFB, I need you now more than ever. Where have you gone?

I am Running for Congress

I am Gerald Hashimoto. I am a consevative Republican in District 9 in California, which includes Berkeley, Oakland, Albany, Emeryville, and Castro Valley. All told, this is about 1 million people. This is my personal blog. My original plan was to keep 2 diaries: one destined for public publication, and another one only for internal, Republican consumption. I have changed my mind. Herein, I will record all of my personal thoughts and observations and information. I will display all of my thoughts, for better or for worst.

I realize that this is not the norm for politicians. However, I am a Buddhist, and ultimate truth and ultimate honesty is the center of my universe. If I cannot run for public office with these truths, then I will resign. However, I have found the Republican party agreeable to my beliefs.