Power Corrupts

Dear Boo and Bubble,

Captain and I have been following the developments surrounding the NC House District 9 race between Republican Mark Harris and Democrat Dan McCready.  Even though the election was held back in November…and Harris won by a little over 900 votes…a winner was never certified due to the disclosure of irregularities found regarding absentee ballots. Yesterday, the state Board of Elections determined that there was so much fraud and tampering with the ballots, a new election must be held. 

From what I understand, Harris’ campaign hired a man named McCrae Dowless to coordinate the collection of absentee ballots and see to it that they were turned into the local election offices in several counties in the district. At issue was the fact that, in North Carolina, it is illegal for anyone other than the actual voter to turn in the ballot…except on rare occasions when someone related to the voter is allowed to do so after certification of the relationship. Not only did Dowless’ henchmen harvest the ballots, on many occasions they completed them as well…and were paid to do so. Suspicion arose quickly by those overseeing the election and, after several days of hearings, the extent of the fraud was brought to light. The number of ballots affected was deemed to be so sufficient that the results of Harris’ win could not be certified.

In very dramatic fashion, Harris’ own son…who works in the US Attorney’s office for the district…testified that he had warned his father about Dowless and implored him not to use Dowless for the campaign. Apparently, this advice went unheeded, and a mindset of “winning at any cost” prevailed.

Boys…the desire to win pervades pretty much every facet of our society. Although it’s the goal in any game, contest or sport, sometimes the very nature of it can destroy any other aspect of the endeavor—like just having fun or participating. Nowhere is this attitude more ubiquitous than in the arena of politics…and it is so much more dangerous because of the high stakes involved…that of power—over policy, the purse and people.

In 1887, a British politician named Lord John Dalberg-Acton wrote that “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” These words convey his opinion that as a person’s power increases, their moral sense diminishes. I would add my own caveat—that even in the attempt to gain power, moral sense can be diminished. It takes a very strong person…one with a true moral compass…to resist the temptation to “win at any cost.” Captain is one such person and, even though I have told you this story before (see the blog dated Thursday, July 9, 2015, entitled “A Real Squeaker”), I want to reiterate it now because it is so apropos to the context of this moment.

Years ago, in 1982, he ran for office, hoping to become the representative for House District #30 in the SC House. The district included the city of Gaffney and surrounding areas of Cherokee County. At the time, there was entrenched in the local politics a system known as “drivers”—people who kept in their possession the voter registration cards of others and who, for a price, would deliver those voters to the polls and make sure they voted correctly (for the candidate who had paid the price). Although most everyone accepted the practice, Captain did not. He thought it unsavory at best and, more aptly, fraudulent. When we met with our supporters at the beginning of the campaign, he explained that he planned to run for office without buying the drivers. His conscience wouldn’t allow it. Instead, he was going to go “door to door” and put himself in front of as many voters as he could, hoping to gain their confidence the old-fashioned way—personally.

He procured the voter registration roles for the district and mapped out routes all over the county, I joined him on many afternoons as we walked the neighborhoods of the city limits and drove all over the countryside—knocking on doors and leaving flyers stuck behind screens when folks weren’t home. Meanwhile, others in the race purchased the services of the drivers.

When the day came for the primary vote, Captain came out ahead in the field, but not with enough votes to be declared the winner without a runoff. We had two weeks to regroup and begin the last leg of the campaign. Some supporters urged him to buy the drivers before the other candidate could. They insisted that this was the only way to insure his victory. He refused to do so. We went back out into the field and started over again.

Election day came. We gathered at his law office with friends and family to listen to the returns on the radio. Precinct after precinct reported their vote totals and his margin of victory began to dissipate. At the end of the evening, he led by only 6 votes out of over 6,000 cast. This caused an automatic recount and we were in limbo for almost a week before the final results could be certified. It was a most anxious time.

Captain prevailed…by the skin of his teeth…and the win was satisfying…but not nearly as much as the moral victory of having won it without paying to do so. Even though he served with distinction for the next two years, he was defeated for re-election. (I think maybe the drivers had it in for him!) Fortunately, it was never about power for him…it was about service. That made the loss easier to take. He could walk away from it without bitterness or complaint. Honestly, though, it took me a lot longer to get over it!

Perhaps if I can wrap some sort of a moral around this epistle, it would have to be the directive to be sincere in what you strive to do with your life. Stay true to yourself…don’t let the sirens of winning and power ring so loudly in your head that they drown out all that you know to be right. And…if you have to pay someone for their support, they probably aren’t worth the price.