I’m only famous in my own mind. Sure, I probably fantasize about fame and fortune as much as anyone else; but being somewhat shy, I am usually more comfortable flying under the radar. I’ve gotten into trouble too many times sticking my neck out. Thus, I hesitated to put my name in the above title, preferring the small by-line that only I will notice. But as a self-proclaimed Political Psychologist, I realize that name recognition is essential for anyone who runs for office.
So far, I have written over eighty diaries for Daily Kos. The first in July of 2017 proclaimed Donald Trump was a Mad Man. My initial post barely got any recognition. My most recommended and most commented post was Impeachment and Game Theory, where I proposed it was a good strategy for House Democrats to impeach Trump—even if conviction in the Senate is unlikely. Surprisingly my second most popular post was about Matzo Ball Soup.
I also wrote three articles promoting Lee Turner’s run for Congress. I had no qualms about putting her name in my headline. Monday night, Lee Turner, now the President of the Democratic Women of Greenville County, introduced me at their monthly meeting so I could announce my candidacy for the South Carolina House of Representatives. She wanted me to talk for only three minutes. My announcement, reprinted verbatim below, took almost eight:
Hello, my name is Stephen Dreyfus and I just want to let you know I decided to run for the South Carolina House Seat in District 20, here in Greenville.
As Lee Turner already told you, I am the son of Sylvia Dreyfus, who ran for the South Carolina House back when Jimmy Carter ran for President. My mom hadn’t studied as much Political Science as I had, so she didn’t appreciate that a liberal Jewish Yankee woman, from New York and Massachusetts, couldn’t win as a Democrat in the heavily Republican, ultra-conservative, Bob Jones district. She didn’t know that, so she ran anyway—and she won!
What you may not know is that I grew up in a mixed marriage. Although my mother was a liberal Democrat; my father was a loyal Republican. On their first date, he showed up wearing a Wendell Willkie for President Button. My mom told him she wouldn’t go out with him unless he first took the button off.
When I was young I thought the kitchen debates were held in our kitchen, where my parents argued whether Nixon or Kennedy would be the better president. Later I learned the kitchen debates were actually between Nixon and Khrushchev about whose country had the better kitchens.
Yet, when my mother decided to run as a Democrat, my father provided her with both encouragement and support. To his dying day, he proudly stated Sylvia Dreyfus was the only Democrat he ever voted for.
So why am I a Democrat and not a Republican? I am as much like my father as my mother. Yet although my dad was usually right about domestic issues, my mom was usually right about political issues. I strived to think independently, but realized that if you want to be rich like a Republican, you’d better vote like a Democrat. If you care about your country, you belong in the Democratic Party.
Although a two-party system is essential to democracy, what we have now is no longer my father’s Republican Party. Long gone are the true conservatives, who, although wrong, were at least principled. Gone are Republicans of integrity like Wendell Willkie and John McCain. Willkie believed Roosevelt was right in proposing a peace-time draft. When Willkie was told to oppose Roosevelt on this issue in order to get elected, Willkie replied, “I would rather not win the election than do that.”
And McCain didn’t just display courage as a prisoner of war; he displayed political courage standing up to Mitch McConnell and saving Obamacare. But today, all that is left of the Republican Party are those who sycophantically support every tyranny of Donald Trump. The Republican Party has been reduced to the party of money and power. The Democratic Party is the party of people and principles.
Rick Wilson, who wrote the book, Everything Trump Touches Dies, chastises Democrats who live in red states for not being savvy enough to be pro-life and pro-gun in order to get elected. So, what do I call a Democrat who supports the NRA and doesn’t support a woman’s right to choose? A Republican! I would rather lose than not fight for those issues I believe in.
In 2018 I prayed for the Blue Wave of Democrats to replace the rotting Republican Party— ruined even worse by the impeachable tyrant, Donald Trump. But when I went to vote, I became angry when I discovered there was no Democrat on the ballot for House District 20. My only choice was vote for the Republican, or vote for no one. I voted for no one.
This is so wrong! As Democrats, we can’t win if we don’t try. Given two chances for victory, slim or none, we need to go for slim every time. If there is no Democratic opposition, the Republicans who run will tilt further and further to the extremist right, knowing they can’t lose as long as they win in the primary. Nor are Democrats as likely to go to the polls if Republicans have no opposition.
Now, there are two kinds of political candidates. On the one hand, there are those who run for office for power and prestige, who crave the limelight and want to be in charge. On the other hand, there are those of us who run for office because things are terribly wrong and we believe we know how to make them better. We are more concerned with making needed changes than being in charge. We would rather change the rules, than be the ruler.
I am that second kind of candidate. When I heard that Kim Nelson was thinking about running for House District 20, I decided there was no good reason for me to oppose her in the primary. I only thought about running again when I found out she decided to run for Congress instead. As Democrats, we need to focus on defeating the Republicans, not our fellow Democrats.
For years I said I would never run for office because I feared I’d have to lie to get elected. I wouldn’t want to run for anything if it meant I couldn’t always say what I honestly believed. But that day at the polls, I vowed that at the very least I would pay a couple of hundred dollars to put my name on the ballot.
This is why I have decided to run. However, knowing my competitive nature, I will strive to win. Will I get elected? Stranger things have happened in South Carolina politics—and in my own political family.
When the great orator and presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan wrote his first political speech in 1876, he asked his mother her opinion of his speech.
“Well,” she replied, “There are a few good places in it—where you might have stopped!” It occurs to me this is a good place for me to stop. Thank you for your support.
I’m not rich, nor do I know a lot of rich people. I worry I might end up spending too much of my retirement savings running for office. But today the stakes are too high to sit on the sidelines—the future of our democracy is at stake. I need the support of my fellow Daily Kos readers.
If you would like to make a small contribution, especially if you live in South Carolina, please write a check payable to the order of “Dreyfus Election Fund” and mail it to the below address:
Dreyfus Election Fund
Arthur State Bank
1410 North Pleasantburg Drive
Greenville, South Carolina 29607
Thank you for your support.