How to start a career in politics

[Sho'Nuff]

Originally posted by: Rockinacoustic

Originally posted by: Greenman

Originally posted by: Rockinacoustic
Serious question: Why do you want to get into politics?

Because it pays pretty good, the hours are a dream, you don't actually do anything, and if you should do something and fuck it up (almost a given) no one really cares.

No, I'm more interested if the OP wants to be the leader of his community for their beneficence or simply his own interests.

For the benefit of my community. All you would have to do is compare what I make now as a patent attorney to what the mayor of my town makes, and you would realize that I am not doing this for the money. The only thing remaining would be power, and I honestly don't see myself turning into an egomaniac if I somehow managed to be elected the leader of a town of 50,000 residents.

I guess my ultimate goal down the road would be to run for a state level elected office, e.g., for a position on the state senate, or even on the national level. I am generally fed up with most of the officials in my state, and think I might provide a refreshing alternative to state residents.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Stand around outside daycare centers and insist on kissing the little ones.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Originally posted by: George P Burdell

Originally posted by: nkgreen
Sell your soul.

He's a lawyer, he has no soul to sell.

** rimshot **

Nice. But not quite as good as my favorite lawyer jokes, which are below:

Q: How can you tell if a lawyer is well hung?
A: You can't get a finger between the rope and his neck!

Q: If you are stranded on a desert island with Adolph Hitler, Atilla the Hun, and a lawyer, and you have a gun with only two bullets, what do you do?
A: Shoot the lawyer twice.

Seriously though, I am not an ambulance chaser, I don't work in criminal defense, and in general I think my current job furthers the public good. Without patents, many of the world's best products would never have been developed.

 

[IronWing]

Taking acting lessons.

 

[Greenman]

Originally posted by: soxfan

Originally posted by: Greenman

Originally posted by: Rockinacoustic
Serious question: Why do you want to get into politics?

Because it pays pretty good, the hours are a dream, you don't actually do anything, and if you should do something and fuck it up (almost a given) no one really cares.

Actually the pay for local leadership in my town is pretty pathetic, at least compared to what I currently make (I am a patent attorney).

Lately I have become a bit disenchanted with my job (though I am grateful I still have one), and I am looking for a way to work with my community and actually make a difference. When I still lived near my hometown in Virginia, I volunteered in a variety of community organizations and gained a lot of satisfaction from that. Now that I am in a new area, I feel like I could gain some of that same satisfaction by again working for the public good in some fashion. I also think that because I only recently moved into the area that I can make an more objective assessment of my town's issues and work to correct them.

For example, I think that my town would be very well served by making an investment in revamping and retiming the 30 or so traffic lights in and around the main street area. Currently they are untimed, which means that it takes an average of 20-30 minutes to make it from one end of town to the other on main street (a distance of ~2-3 miles). Reworking this traffic system would improve overall resisdent happiness, business productivity, and ease of traffic to and from the city center.

Further, my town is now best known for the high quality food establishments that line one of its streets. This area is a haven for foodies, but generally still has the pre-WWII factory facades that once were an (unattractive) hallmark of the town. The area also suffers from a horrendous lack of parking. I would revamp this area to make it a true attraction for citizens far and wide by funding visual improvements to the buildings in this area, adding safety lighting, improving landscaping, and funding a public parking garage that, through parking fees, will eventually pay for itself.

These are but a few of the suggestions and projects that I think would greatly improve the quality of life for town residents, improve the attractiveness of the town for future residents and businesses, and bolster the town's economic stability in these tough times.

Give up the idea of trying to help, it doesn't work. The goal of Government should be to do no evil.
Everything done for the public good always turns into a clusterfuck. On the rare occasion that something positive does come out of government intervention, the cost will be mind boggling.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Originally posted by: Greenman
Give up the idea of trying to help, it doesn't work. The goal of Government should be to do no evil.
Everything done for the public good always turns into a clusterfuck. On the rare occasion that something positive does come out of government intervention, the cost will be mind boggling.

I respectfully disagree. I firmly believe that government can have a positive influence without extravagant cost. The very history of our nation is proof positive of that fact. And while I certainly understand how jaded some have become with respect to our government, it is certainly possible to restructure any government organization to achieve the public good at lower cost.

And finally, I think it is inapposite to analogize the snafus routinely produced in state and federal government to the ability of a local government to run in an efficient and beneficial manner.