Note: The following article was first published in the Harvey County Independent on August 20, 2020.
This is the sixth article in the series. If you haven’t read the previous articles and want to start with the first, click here.
For those who have followed my column, back in January of 2019 I announced my candidacy for the U.S. Senate in hopes of replacing the retiring Pat Roberts. I believe I was the first person to publicly announce his/her candidacy.
I wrote a few columns outlining my platform, my purpose, and my strategy to get my ideas implemented.
My plan was solid…everything except for getting my name on the ballot.
Earlier this year I inquired with the State of Kansas how to get my name on the ballot for the senate race. Since I’m independent and not affiliated with a political party, I needed the signatures of five thousand registered voters. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get five thousand signatures during a pandemic when everyone is locked away in their homes?
Let’s just say that my name will not be on the ballot.
My competitor, Dr. Roger Marshall, visited Halstead Sunday evening as part of his campaign for the U.S. Senate.
I had the opportunity to interview Marshall in mid-April, and I asked him about one of the planks on my platform—changing the country to a standardized, year-round daylight savings time.
His response, and I quote, “I’m okay with it.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement. But he wasn’t through. “It just never gets much traction…I pick my battles and I try not to fight unless it’s a fight I can win.”
Is that the type of leadership Kansans want to send to Washington? Someone unwilling to stand up and fight for what history will look back and say was the most important issue of our generation? We need someone representing us who’s willing to change minds and successfully stand up for this important issue.
That means, of course, that I cannot endorse Marshall for the senate.
I have not had the opportunity to visit with his Democratic challenger, Dr. Barbara Bollier. If I do, I will ask her thoughts on the ridiculous practice of changing our clocks forward and backward. I suspect her answer will be no different from Marshall’s. All the U.S. Senators are the same when it comes to this issue. When was the last time any of them spoke out about this injustice?
That leaves Kansas residents with only one option for real change—write in my name for United States Senator. Seriously, do you really want to send a Republican or Democrat to Washington D.C. just to participate in the increasingly divisive politics that pervades our capital, or do you want someone who will arrive with a focused purpose and do everything he can to make Fall Back and Spring Forward as obsolete phrases as carbon copy, dial tone, and be kind, rewind.
For one of my stories this week I asked area coaches how they would handle the uncertain times with their athletes. I received nearly two dozen responses and most of them had a similar message—focus on what we can control.
Isn’t that a good message for us all? I’m not saying that we shouldn’t have and express our opinions, but if more of us would focus on what we can control when we thought or spoke or posted on social media, I believe there would be a lot less anger and stress. Because frankly, most of us have enough of our own issues we need to work through without worrying about other people’s problems.
That being said, if you don’t support year-round daylight savings time you’re a communist nazi racist. I hope I can count on your vote.
I’m Bill Bush, and I approve this message.
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