On a regular basis, a number of individuals have responded negatively to my guest commentaries on politics and public affairs. They have included assumptions about my background and motivations. As a result, they have a perception that I am using the commentaries to promote the Republican Party in general, and Donald Trump in particular.
Such assumptions and perceptions are simply not true.
I am not an avid supporter of Donald Trump in his comeback bid for another term as President and have not been an avid supporter of him since he launched his first presidential campaign.
In one guest commentary last fall, I even predicted he would not be nominated as the 2024 Republican presidential candidate.
I am not an avid supporter of the Republican Party and have never been a blindly loyal voter for Republican candidates.
Beginning with the first election when I was eligible to vote and continuing to today, I have NEVER voted a straight Republican ticket in any local, state, or national election.
Candidate quality has always been and will always be my guiding principle when deciding who to support and for whom to cast my vote.
At one time I was active in the Republican Party. I served as chair of the Republican Central Committee of Talbot County (RCCTC) and as a member of the executive committee at the Maryland Republican Party (MDGOP).
I voluntarily stepped down as RCCTC chair in February 2022. That resulted in my relinquishing my seat on the MD GOP’s executive committee.
My past service with the local and state Republican Party is old history and irrelevant to today.
Since February 2022, I have not had any conversations or dealings with either organization.
With regard to the upcoming presidential election, I acknowledge that Donald Trump has flaws. So does Kamala Harris.
That said, I embrace the observation of Don Nielson, the author of Presidential Leadership: Learning from United States Presidential Libraries & Museums.
Nielson writes, “… leaders are not perfect. Try as they might, every leader still has flaws. They still make mistakes. They still fall short. They still have regrets. They still yearn to do better. Every leader is imperfect.”
On at least two occasions, I have written positive commentaries about a Democratic leader.
In one I praised Democratic President John F. Kennedy for his masterful leadership during the Cuban Missile crisis. His leadership has led many historians to conclude his actions avoided World War III.
In another guest commentary on President Kennedy, I suggested voters everywhere should embrace his timeless admonition to always ask this question — “What am I not being told?”
In all my commentaries, I strive to engage independent thinking and to follow lessons learned about bipartisanship from two awesome political mentors.
One was a Republican State Senator in Pennsylvania whom I served as his administrative assistant. Our office received more constituent requests for assistance than any other Senator.
His ironclad rule was to help everyone regardless of their party affiliation, relative level of support or lack of support for him, or their views on the issues. We never researched or even considered that information before we worked diligently on every constituent contact on every matter regardless of how small or how big.
A second mentor is the CEO of a Pennsylvania based public affairs and public relations consulting firm where I serve as Maryland Director.
For almost 45 years, this mentor, a staunch Republican, was a close friend of a long-time equally staunch Democratic political operative in Pennsylvania.
His friend served as the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, as a communications director for two Democratic governors, and as a communications director for two Democratic Speakers of the House in the state House of Representatives.
For over 20 years, my mentor and his friend were verbal sparring partners on a weekly point-counterpoint television program. They also sparred in point-counterpoint columns for two publications and frequently shared the stage at conferences, seminars, and classrooms. Many times, they rode together to and from those events.
In a city mayoral election, my mentor provided campaign counsel to a Democratic candidate because he felt strongly that she was the best person for the job.
Last but not least, my mentor hosts a monthly policy briefing at our office in Pennsylvania.
On a regular basis, Democratic elected officials, Democratic candidates, and Democratic party operatives are featured as speakers and are welcomed as guests.
Going forward, I will continue to offer my thoughts based upon a lifetime of participating in and observing a wide range of events in the political arena.
I will continue to respect the right of those who choose to disagree, sometimes vehemently, with the central messages in my commentaries.
I will continue to read every comment, pro and con, on my commentaries with a willingness to think “You may be right.”
In return, I ask all who disagree with me to do this:
Refrain from attacking my opinions using unsubstantiated assumptions about my background and motives.
Focus more on my content, staying on topic and giving due thought and consideration to that content, rather than trying to attack the messenger.
Remember two former and greatly missed U.S. Supreme Court Justices – conservative icon Antonin Scalia and liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsberg. They were polar opposites on their opinions on almost every issue brought before the court. Still, they respected each other and never attacked each other. Justice Scalia said it best, “I attack ideas. I don’t attack people.”
David Reel is a public affairs and public relations consultant who lives in Easton.
Perhaps if you were to re-read some of your commentaries as if you were reading in preparation for a debate, taking the other side, you might understand how you have been “misunderstood” as taking a Republican position. In reading last week’s commentary and most of your previous commentaries, I definitely perceived a Republican slant. Please consider not commenting on candidates or politics until after the election.