Dear Boo and Bubble,
It’s been almost three weeks since I last wrote to you. The main reason is the fact that I’ve
actually been with you for most of that time.
As always, we had great fun, creating more wonderful memories together!
But, I want to get back to my stories about Captain and his
foray into politics, and ultimately Governor Dick Riley’s influence on him. As you know, Captain was a lawyer by
profession. (Since his retirement, he likes to tell people now that he’s a
“recovering lawyer” and attends AA - Attorneys
Anonymous - meetings regularly to try to get over it.) When he went out on his own in 1975 (See “Be
the Turtle” – January 4, 2015), he determined that a portion of his time should
be spent in community involvement. This would serve two purposes – the first, to
fulfill his belief that people should always give back; and second, to provide
the opportunity to meet people and grow his business.
He joined the local chapter of Sertoma and, in our country’s
bicentennial celebration in 1976, chaired the committee that produced the
reenactment of the Battle of Cowpens which was one of the turning points in
America’s Revolutionary War. The
reenactment drew thousands of participants and viewers from all over the
country. For his efforts, Captain
received a lifetime membership in Sertoma.
At the same time, he served as President of the local Red Cross board
and, in 1979, chaired the annual United Way drive in Cherokee County.
As a lawyer, he spent many hours in the local courthouse and
knew all of the elected officials. In
Cherokee County, three women held significant positions – Ruth Clary, Clerk of
Court; Gayle Phillips, Auditor; and Catherine Gibson, Treasurer – and Captain
became good friends with all of them. At
the time, all levels of statewide politics were dominated by the Democratic
Party and our county was no exception.
In early 1980, there was a vacancy for Chairman of the local
Democratic Party. Gayle and Catherine knew
of Captain’s interest in politics, no doubt from his conversations with them about
your great, great grandmother Lucille Tally (November 24, 2012 – “A Steel
Magnolia In The Family”). Thinking that this interest, coupled with his
fledgling community stature, would make him a good choice for the position, they
approached Captain about offering himself as a candidate.
It was going to be a critical time for the party in that
Democrat Jimmy Carter would be seeking a second term as President of the United
States. Dick Riley had just assumed the
governorship for South Carolina and he would spearhead Carter’s efforts in the
state. After weighing all of the
responsibilities of the position against his other professional and personal
obligations, Captain decided he would run.
Not only would it be exciting, it would give him the opportunity to get
to know people from all over South Carolina.
The process for choosing a chairman, as well as support for
Presidential candidates, started at the grass roots. On a given Saturday, precinct meetings were
held all over the county. Each precinct
elected officers and, according to the number of voters assigned to the
precinct, determined the number of delegates eligible to attend the county
convention. Those present also declared
their preferences for President and caucused together based upon them. Delegates to the convention were then
apportioned according to the percentage of support for each candidate. (This time around, the overwhelming majority
of delegates declared for Jimmy Carter.)
You might think that the task to get Captain elected
Chairman of the county party would be daunting.
But, I must tell you, it was the same in 1980 as it is today……..very few
people take part in their precinct meetings…….so few that in many cases there
are less people actually present than there are required officer and delegate
slots to be filled. In many cases,
precincts historically were controlled by one person who merely wrote in names
of friends and family members on the required forms and turned them in as if a
meeting had been held.
Understanding this, Captain obtained a copy of the voter
registration rolls for all of the precincts in the county. He convened a meeting of our friends and
acquaintances who agreed to comb through the rolls and identify potential supporters
in each precinct. We then followed up
with a call and asked those people to please attend their meetings to secure a
slot as a delegate to the county convention.
The strategy was to take over as many precincts as possible through the
basic act of participation. If it
worked, Captain would have a majority of delegates at the county convention to
elect him chairman.
The designated Saturday morning came. For the very first
time, Captain and I (along with many others working on his behalf) found
ourselves at a party precinct meeting. It
took no more than an hour. When it was
over, his supporters dominated the delegate slates from precincts all over the
county. His election as county chairman
was assured at the upcoming convention.
In hindsight, I have come to realize that this is truly one
of those good news/bad news stories. The
good news is that, because not many people involve themselves in the political
process, Captain was able to mobilize his supporters to guarantee a successful
outcome. The bad news is that, because
not many people involve themselves in the political process, others can do the
same thing. Many states have now gone to
primary elections to determine who the actual candidates will be for the major
parties. But, precincts are still the
grass roots from which an organizational structure grows, and lack of
participation by the vast majority leaves the system vulnerable to control by
the extremes.
This was the lesson we learned in 1980……and we’ve tried to
remember it ever since…..and we still participate.
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