My Big Mistake
This is a post that I have needed to make for some time now but for reasons that I think most people can understand (read: nobody likes to admit their own mistakes) I have not. About a month ago, I well, I made a mistake. You see when one (read: my Mom) runs for public office there are numerous rules that the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) puts in place to increase transparency, fight fraud and just generally make such that everything that politicians do is on the up and up. This is, of course, a hugely important task to prevent the shady dealings in which politicians all too frequently engage (read: New York Governor Spitzer this week).
About a month ago I was working on a brochure and some letterhead for the campaign. Everybody working for the campaign had changes, corrections, ideas, and opinions so the process was very slow going. On the flip side, everyone was in a rush to get the campaign literature developed and out the door.
Finally, the first or second week in February, the brochures were printed and ready to roll. The first event at which we unveiled these top-notch brochures was the Laramie County Lincoln Day dinner. Within 5 minutes of the brochures hitting the table tops people were coming up to me, my mom, and the other staffers talking about the fact that, gasp, they did not have a disclaimer that said Paid for by Lummis for Congress, a FEC regulation. I thought I was gonna throw-up. I thought, “That’s it I blew it. Mom’s opponents are gonna get ahold of this and tear her apart over it.” (Yes, I am a little meladramatic in my internal monologue.)
Over the weekend I learned that the Paid for by, which was on the letterhead (phew), had to have a box around the text and it should be readible size font (meaning so my grandmother can read it without bifocals size font). Here I am with 10,000 brochures and letterhead, a little (about 50) of both had gone out without the box (and in the case of the brochure at the Lincoln Day dinner without the proper disclaimer at all.)
I felt aweful about the mistake and that I had gotten my mom into this big mess basically over a box and 6 words that most people would assume anyway. I asked several political “gurus” (I don’t mean my mom) what to do and they said let it go, it’s not a big deal, it will blow over. Still, I couldn’t get that sinking feeling out of my stomach so I asked my Mom if we should report the mistake to the FEC and get it over with “mia culpa” style. She agreed that self-reporting was the best thing to do. So that’s what we did. We told on ourselves. Actually, she told on me on behalf of herself, or something.
Honesty, what a concept. The day the letter went out to the FEC I felt so much better about the whole stupid-thing (I am now becoming an expert on FEC disclaimers and box placement), she feels so much better and looking back on the whole ordeal I know that transparency and honesty don’t happen as easily as they roll off the tongue. They are difficult to ensure but they ultimately make things much better. My mom said she wants her campaign to have a culture of transparency and honesty. The culture of the campaign and the way in which a campaign is run are indicative of how a candidate’s time in office will go.
I was proud of her for telling on herself. I think it took a lot of integrity to bring to the surface something minor that she probably could have just “gotten away with.” She proved that she meant what she said to me and that she was going to lead by example and practice the doctrine of transparency and honest from the little things to the big ones. It’s that kind of think that I think will win her votes in the end (at least I hope).
Final Thought: None of this would have happened if I had only taken the good advice of Mark Cuban and read the manual (FEC regulations) and checked it twice. Lession learned, sorry Mark I seem to be one of those people that learn by experience and then are open to good advice.