Wise Words on Political Involvement

After more than a decade of writing for Campaigns and Elections Ron Faucheux is leaving the magazine to join U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu (D) from Louisiana as her Chief of Staff. In his final commentary he offered some words of wisom to all involved in politics.

"I am compelled to make the case that for political involvement to be worthwhile - for it to merit the sleepless nights, the begging for money, the blood-thirsty antagonism and the endless hours of back-breaking exertion - it must be about something more than just winning and personal ambition."

""But for democracy to work as a system, and for the people it is meant to serve, winning is only the start of it. After you win, you then have to govern, and the governing part - the part that matters most to voters - is something that's far too easy for political practitioners to lose sight of in our attempts simply to win elections."
Campaigns and Elections, February 2006

These are words of advice all of us in politics need to adhere to.