A Letter To My Friend Morgan Griffith

Dear Morgan,
Last Spring, you and I were candidates for the Republican nomination to run against the Democrat incumbent for the Ninth District congressional seat. I campaigned against you in that primary campaign, and during the course of that campaign, you and I went to many meetings throughout the Ninth District. I feel that I got to know you.

My friend Morgan, you won that Ninth District primary campaign and became the Republican nominee. Now you have also won the general election and are our new Congressman-elect. I give you my heartiest congratulations; you worked hard, stayed on the issues, and ran good campaigns.

You will be going to Washington soon. I am glad that you and many other newly elected Congressmen will be there on a mission to get our country headed back in the right direction.

Morgan, I hope you won’t think it presumptuous of me to humbly give you some suggestions to consider once you get to work in Washington.

First and foremost, make every decision as though you are planning to serve only one term. Do what is best for the country, even if it is not easy or popular. Follow your conscience, not the vagaries of the polls or political winds. In fact, never look at a poll or a newspaper. Don’t do anything for the purpose of getting re-elected.

Next, be available to us, not the Washington insiders and lobbyists. We want to be able to meet with you face-to-face if we have an issue or concern. This is a matter on which we have had strong feelings over the years.

Do not strive for acceptance by the Washington insiders and self-appointed elites. Shun them. Remain an outsider. If these self-appointed Washington elites ostracize you or worse, wear it as a badge of honor. Remain one of us, Morgan; do not let yourself become one of them.

Similarly, do not curry favor with party bosses. Remember that you work for us, not them. Think not of committee memberships or chairmanships or a better office or other such accouterments of career politicians. Don’t be concerned with getting onto the A-list for Washington social circle parties. Draw your strength from us, the people of the Ninth District.

Listen to Harry Truman’s advice: Walk softly and carry a big stick. That’s good advice for a newcomer to Washington with tough fights ahead; “give ‘em hell, Harry” knew something about that. When necessary, be ready, willing, and able to emphatically say “take a hike” to those who will try to pressure or intimidate you into doing their bidding. My friend, you were not elected because we want someone in DC to” go along to get along”. We’ve already had that, and in this last election we said loudly that we want a new approach. We want you to clean house in Washington. As we discussed at our breakfast meeting before the election, be the Morgan Earp of the posse that the people are sending to DC in January to clean up Dodge. Kick butt and take names.

Remember always the issues that got you elected and our desires on them: no cap and tax – no way, no how; total repeal of Obamacare; stop out of control government spending; reduce the deficit by spending less; reverse an ever expanding, ever more intrusive government; be strongly anti-abortion; win the war on terror; reduce unemployment by stimulating businesses large and small via reduced regulations and cuts in business taxes; extend all the Bush tax cuts permanently; adherence to the Constitution; promote American patriotism; promote traditional family values. We expect bold action on all of these, not nibbling around the edges. Fight hard, and never give up.

Finally, my friend, gird thyself mentally to do battle. It’s going to be a knock down, drag out fight when you and the other newcomers try to right the ship of state. But we have confidence that you are the right person for the job, and that you will prevail.

Now go. We will keep you and America in our prayers. Please let us know how we can help you.

Sincerely,
Jessee Ring