|
(Editors note. John W. Dashler, a retired businessman and
resident of Dalton, recently failed to qualify as an
independent candidate for governor. The following speech has
been delivered to a variety of audiences.)
Ballot Access.
Because of the sense of
oppression and having grown weary of being ruled by a
tyrannical power, our founding fathers, a very small activist
group, led a rebellion against the Crown of England. The
result of their activism was the Declaration of Independence
and the American Revolutionary War.
Their course of action
exposed them to great personal risk. This risk was not
rhetorical. It was very real. They risked their wealth,
their property, their lives, the lives of their families and
their good names. They endured great hardship and personal
sacrifice. They did not do so for personal gain, greed or a
thirst for power. They did it for posterity- for their
children, grandchildren and future generations to come.
We are the beneficiaries of
their activism and their courage.
After winning the war and
gaining independence, this new nation had to resolve the form
of governance under which it would exist. The Democratic
Republican form of government was born. It is set forth in
the Great Document, the Constitution of the United States of
America. The great experiment had begun.
Our form of government is
founded on a few simple principles:
·
The right of
self-determination.
·
The right of
self-government.
·
And, the right of
equal representation.
Combined with the rights of
the individual, set forth in the Bill of Rights, we refer to
all of these as liberty and freedom.
For 230 years the citizens
of this country have been called upon to risk the ultimate
sacrifice in defense of freedom and liberty at home and
abroad.
As you all know, the
ultimate sacrifice paid is not measured in dollars. It is
measured in blood and lives.
Today, we maintain a
significant military presence in Korea, Japan, Europe and
other locations around the globe as deterrent force against
any foreign aggressor that would deprive people of these
nations of their freedom.
Today, we are engaged
in a war on worldwide terrorism. Our sons and daughters are
in harms way in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many have already paid
the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. And before this war is
won, many more lives will be lost.
Fighting, dying and waging
wars against tyranny for the principles of freedom are what
makes the United States of America a great country.
It is our nation’s proud
legacy.
But you don’t have to go to
Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East or any other part of the
world to experience tyranny, that is, the sense of being
ruled, not governed.
You don’t have to go any
further than right here in Georgia!
Think not? Equal
representation and equal access do not exist in Georgia.
Georgia has the most restrictive ballot access laws in the
country. No independent has ever made the ballot for a
constitutional statewide office in Georgia and only one third
party, the Libertarian Party, has access to the ballot and
that access is limited to statewide offices.
Politically speaking,
Georgia is a third world country!
It isn’t that many have not
tried, they have. But those that tried failed. A
combination of factors was the cause of their failure. The
law, the spirit of the law and threats, intimidation and fear
employed by the two major political parties keep independents
and third parties from becoming formal opponents. So
thoroughly intimidating is this combination of factors that
most who contemplate running as an independent quit before
they even begin. Or, they simply give in and run as a major
party candidate.
What is it about the law
that denies well-qualified and well- intentioned citizens from
entering the fray and achieving access to the ballot?
Perhaps I can best explain
by example.
Had I decided to run for a
statewide office as either a Republican or a Democrat, the
process is rather simple and easy.
Had I submitted a few forms,
paid a qualifying fee, and sworn allegiance to one of the
parties during qualifying week, which is the last week in
April, I would have been on the ballot for the primary
election in July.
However, as an independent,
it is quite different.
An independent must submit
the same forms and pay the same fees. However, that is where
the similarity ends. There is no oath of allegiance because
the mere fact that I chose to run as an independent pledges my
allegiance to Georgia and the citizens of Georgia - not a
political party!
As an independent I suffered
the onerous exercise called petitioning. To qualify as
an independent for a statewide office, signatures of 1% of the
number of registered voters in the previous election for the
office sought must be collected. This election cycle that
number was just under 40,000 signatures. The next election
cycle that number will rise to 43,000 signatures! That’s the
law.
As if the law weren’t
sufficient to deny access to the ballot for an independent, a
third party or political body candidate, the spirit of the law
is what makes it truly onerous.
I should know. I dedicated
2 ½ years of my life preparing and pursuing access to the
ballot as an independent candidate for governor. During that
time I crafted 190 pages of research, my vision for Georgia,
an extensive self-vetting biography, and position statements
on every issue of concern to Georgians known to me at the
time. All is posted on my website,
www.dashlerforgov.com, for all to see and scrutinize.
I spent over $30,000 dollars
of my own money, traveled over 10,000 miles, visited nearly
100 communities in Georgia, worked numerous festivals and
special events, personally responded to hundreds of emails and
personally spoke with over 3,000 Georgians.
Despite the effort, I
collected fewer than 10,000 signatures. I failed miserably.
I believe my experience
fully qualifies me to report to you in one word- a word that
has never been in my vocabulary- one word that most
appropriately describes gaining ballot access as an
independent: IMPOSSIBLE!
The bottom line is this. If
you aren’t a Republican or a Democrat, and I should add a
candidate within those parties endorsed by a few party
leaders, your name is not going to be on the ballot for any
statewide office for the general election.
In other words, party elite
will give you two choices! Party elite will decide the
leaders, not the citizenry. Party elite will deprive voters
of choices that insure the opportunity to have a
representative form of government.
Well that’s the way it is in
Georgia. Obtain 40,000 verifiable signatures and comply with
an onerous maize of administrative requirements, or sit on the
sidelines.
Yes, that’s the law. But
how do Georgia’s ballot access laws compare with those of our
Southern neighbors?
·
Signature
requirements in Texas and Alabama are similar to Georgia, but
the spirit of the law is much less onerous.
·
North Carolina
requires 17,000 signatures.
·
Virginia and
South Carolina require 10,000 signatures.
·
Kentucky requires
5,000 signatures.
·
Mississippi
requires 1,000 signatures.
·
Tennessee
requires 25 signatures.
·
Florida and
Louisiana require no signatures!
In other words, at 10,000
signatures I would have qualified in 7 of 11 Southern States!
I would have been on the
ballot.
My vision for Georgia would
have been part of the debate.
Georgians would have had a
viable choice.
And my fate would have been
decided where our constitution says it should have been
decided- by voters, not by laws that give a monopoly to two
political parties!
At the beginning of my
remarks I spoke to the legacy of our country.
Let me share a little
history of my family.
·
One of my
ancestors, David Dashler, signed the ratification of the
Constitution of the United States of America for the State of
Pennsylvania.
·
One of my
great-great grandfathers fought for the South in the Southern
War of Independence.
·
His wife was a
full-blooded Cherokee Indian.
·
My grandfather
was blinded in World War I.
·
My father landed
on the beaches of Normandy and was wounded again at Aachen,
Germany in the Battle of the Bulge.
·
At the age of 19
while climbing telephone poles and saving money to attend
college, I was drafted into the army in 1966. After serving
as a combat infantryman, three years later and at the age of
22 I was a captain commanding a combat construction company in
Viet Nam.
My family legacy differs
little from the legacy of our country!
After serving on active duty
for more than ten years I made the decision to leave the
military for the life as an entrepreneur. I sacrificed
greatly, endured great hardship, risked everything and assumed
millions of dollars of debt to transform a small business into
an industry leader that created hundreds of jobs and was a
model corporate citizen. Until I could afford a second car, I
rode a motorcycle to work seven days a week for two years.
I founded a stay in school
and adult literacy program that became a national model and
was featured on ABC and PBS. I served on countless community,
civic, business and education boards. I taught Project
Business for 5 years. Like all parents of four school-aged
children, I was involved in every parent support group
imaginable, to include the water boy for the 8th
grade football team!
Post 9/11, I accumulated
22,000 miles as a volunteer driver transporting disabled vets
between Chattanooga and Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
The swan’s song of my career
ended 9 years ago after I engineered and led the turn-around
of a major manufacturer, which saved 650 jobs.
A combat veteran, an
experienced CEO, a risk taker who created hundreds of jobs, a
community activist in schools, business and industry and a man
with a lifelong track record of achieving outstanding results
in many challenging situations!
Many politicians suggest I
have not earned my stripes or paid my dues.
Who can look me in the eye
and tell me I haven’t earned my stripes or paid my dues? Who
can look me in the eye and tell me I have not earned the right
to be on the ballot for any elected office I choose to
pursue? Who? What elected office holder? What party
leader?
Who? No one! That is who!
But forget all of that.
Forget about me. Forget what I have done.
Ask yourselves this.
Who can look you in the
eye and tell you because they are party faithful Republicans
or Democrats, they are citizens in better standing than
you or I?
Who can look you in the
eye and tell you THEY ARE your representative form of
government guaranteed you by the Constitution?
But……….. no one has to look
you in the eye. They have the law on their side. They
crafted the law and they crafted it to block you and me from
the process. They crafted it to force you and I to join them,
or forget our ambition to serve in elected office!
Unless you are one of them
and unless you have worked years as a party loyalist to
position yourself to be one of the chosen few and unless you
have earned your stripes and paid your dues to their party,
you and I are totally blocked-out!
All the while they will sing
your praises as they impart the truth to your supporters as
they very effectively did to me. “John’s a great guy. You
have to admire him. But, what he’s attempting is impossible.
He can’t win. Why would you dilute the power of our side by
throwing your support to an effort that is doomed to fail?”
It’s the truth and they know
it. The Democrats crafted the laws to block out the
Republicans. Now the Republicans are in power and use the law
to block out third parties, political bodies and independents,
who collectively represent more than one third of Georgia’s
voters!
But, why? What do they
fear? Do they fear the John Dashler’s of the world? No, they
don’t fear me or those that are like me.
They fear you. They fear
informed Georgians. They fear the masses of Georgians who
want good governance. They fear Georgians that have grown
weary of politics as usual, the influence of money and those
that recognize abuse of power. They fear Georgians who are
denied access. They fear Georgians who will no longer
tolerate begging in the halls of the Capitol and want
their concerns debated on the floors of the
legislature.
But in reality, party
leaders have little to fear and they know that, too. They
have the laws on their side. The laws protect their grip on
power. They make the laws. And they have no intention of
changing them!
But laws that do not serve
the public good are not good laws. They are bad laws.
Georgia’s ballot access laws are bad laws.
- Georgia’s ballot access
laws deny Georgians equal access.
- They deny Georgians equal
representation.
- They deny Georgians voter
choice.
- They deny Georgians good
governance!
- They deny Georgians of
the principles our founding fathers and generations of
America’s citizens fought for and paid for with their blood
and their lives!!!
- They deny Georgians the
Democratic process!
These laws must be changed.
But they will not be changed by either party simply because it
is the right thing to do. They will not be changed through
the normal process of lobbying lawmakers in the hallways of
the legislature.
They will only be changed
through a well-organized, broad-based groundswell of hundreds
of thousands of Georgians who demand that they be changed!
Folks, I’ve had my fill of
“good” politics that result in bad government.
I want good governance.
Good governance is a product of competition! I want
competition to return to the political process. I want access
to the process. I want a level playing field. I want it for
me and every Georgian who desires to serve and who can
convince voters they are the best person for the job.
To make it happen, I am
willing to commit the rest of my life to tear down these
political barriers that permit government of the few, by the
few and for the few.
If you share my belief;
- And if you think it is
time for Georgia to be governed by We the People;
- And if you think it is
time to change Georgia’s ballot access laws!
- And if you want to be one
of those that are “in” the game making it happen, I urge you
to join me in the effort.
“Georgians, make it about
you, not the few!”
Thank You.
John Dashler, 2006 Former
Independent Candidate for Governor.
(To become an activist in
the ballot access initiative, or if you would like a personal
presentation of this speech to your civic, fraternal,
community, or professional organization, or citizen activist
group, please correspond directly with John at
dashler@optilink.us.)
Editors Note. John has
begun contacting every third party, political body,
independent organization, former independent candidates, voter
organization, and citizen’s activist group known to him to
enlist their support and participation in a broad-based
coalition to change Georgia’s ballot access laws. If you are
a member of such a group or organization and want to join the
effort, don’t wait for John to discover you. Contact him at
the above email address, or by mail at 1915 Sourwood Drive,
Dalton, Ga. 30720.
|
