A Trip Down Memory Lane (Bonus Edition) The Randal Wallace for Congress 2012 campaign, various speeches and interviews a decade later....

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It was 10 years ago that we ran for Congress in South Carolina.  At that time we campaigned on three crisis's we felt the nation needed to address.  A Jobs crisis,  a debt crisis, and a crisis of spirit in the nation. For a little while our campaign shocked the South Carolina establishment and we were doing well despite money issues, and a lack of establishment support from either the business community nor the Republican Party hierarchy in the District.  But the race was not to be and as the money poured in for my opponents our "little engine that could" campaign fell by the waist side. 

But when I look back at the issues we attempted to address at least two big ones still resonate today. Our nation was around 16 Trillion in debt a decade ago, today it is a staggering 30 Trillion in debt, with no end in sight,  and no politicians in either party even seriously trying to get it under control.  Today we are on the verge of inflation rising at a rate unseen since the administration of Jimmy Carter in the 1970's. I still believe we must address the debt before it takes our country over a fiscal cliff. 

The other crisis that I still feel is relevant is the crisis of spirit in our country. A decade ago I felt like the Doctor trying to tell people you need to address your health issues now before it gets out of control,  If I were running today I would be the cancer specialist trying to figure out how to save you from full blown stage 4 cancer. I have never been more discouraged in all my life as I am today by the quality of our leadership on the national level. They are simply a collective national embarrassment and it is largely an issue of both political parties. It is not just in the leadership but in the trenches and in the media too. The mentality is fight to the death, we want it all or nothing, while the media fans the flames of division nonstop. 

As best I can tell, only one politician in Congress has been willing to admit that they are even a part of the problem, Senator Chris Coons of Delaware (who while I disagree with him tremendously on policy impresses me every time I hear him talk about divisions in America)  

I still believe as I did in 2012, that our country desperately needs to sit down and figure out ways to address the crisis of spirit that is destroying our country. It may also mean going after the social media giants who have allowed their platforms to be the playground of the extremes so determined to undermine every institution from Government, to the police, to the Church. All of which has happened while our nations authority figures refuse to make decisions and say no when necessary, the way a generation of leaders did in the last half of the 20th century. A generation of leadership and authority figures that made America the greatest country in the world, and the beacon of freedom all the world looks to in times of crisis. 

We need leadership desperately, and it needs to be real leadership, not people  masquerading as leaders but in reality pushing  extremist, mean spirited zealotry.  In my final interview on this show, it is from 2013, when I am running for reelection for the Myrtle Beach City Council and in that race we talk about a city where leadership worked well together and resolved issues, not every issue, but many in ways that found real, creative solutions for the problems we faced. 

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