Will McVay for 32nd District Representative

It came to my attention today that the Executive Committee of the Republican Party Kent County Region intended to interview the two candidates for the 32nd District Representative seat for the Delaware General Assembly.  Their intention is to perhaps endorse one of the candidates over the other.  Let's ignore, for the moment, whether the party elite has any business making an endorsement when the law provides for a state funded primary so the people can choose their own candidate without interference from party bosses.  I took the liberty of sending a letter to each of the members of that Executive Committee to express my support for one of those candidates.  I feel uniquely qualified to comment on the merits of my chosen candidate since he is my son, Will McVay.  I had written the letter several weeks ago in anticipation of presenting my thoughts in person to the next meeting of the entire Kent County Republican Committee.  You can read the letter for yourself in the following paragraphs.  I hope this letter convinces you, as I hope it will convince them, that the only sensible choice for 32nd District Representative is Will McVay.

Presentation to the Kent County Republicans in Support of Will McVay for 32^nd  District Representative

Many of you think you know all you need to know about Will McVay.  Well, I’m his father, and I know him better than anyone else in this room, except maybe his mother.

Let me tell you what I know about Will.  Will is the smartest person I know.  I know a lot of smart people, but none who are his intellectual superior and few who are his equal.  .  Any of you in this room who have ever debated him, know what I’m talking about.  He can hold his own in a debate with anybody.  ANYBODY.  Trust me.  I know this better than most.  Now I know that he’s not just smart, but sometimes, he’s a bit of a smartass as well.  Will’s got attitude.  He’s edgy.  As I’ve told many of my friends, he’s an acquired taste.  Will’s not the kind of politician who will charm you with his sense of humor and amiable personality.  We have plenty of those kinds of politicians.  Maybe too many.  He’s the kind of politician who will amaze you with how much he understands for someone of his tender age.  He’s 27. 

Most of you know that Will ran for this office, 32^nd District Representative, as a Libertarian in 2010.  He lost.  He got 6.1 % of the vote.  Pretty lousy showing ya think?.  Think again.  6.1 % of the vote for a Libertarian is remarkable.  Libertarian vote totals are like a dogs age.  You need to multiply by 7.   A 6.1% Libertarian vote is like 42% in dog years, or Republican votes.  And this was starting with a base of zero.  We had no campaign staff, no professional advice, no party infrastructure or corporate knowledge.  We learned as we went along, and the result we got was achieved by force of intellect and hard work.    We didn’t win, but our vote was the margin of victory for the Democrat.  You may not have liked that, but it demonstrates the power of this young man to influence people and bring them into the fold.  And since two years ago, we’ve only gotten better and stronger.  Can Mr. Parrott promise that kind of dedication and performance.  I’m gonna say no. 

Will hasn’t lost sight of his goal from two years ago.  He wanted to be 32^nd District Representative back then.  He wants it even more now.  For the last two years, Will has been in training both to win this job, and to do this job.  He’s spent the last two years talking to voters, learning about the issues that matter to Delawareans, and observing General Assembly sessions from the gallery.  He’s also been introducing himself to Delaware’s legislators and lobbying them on behalf of the people of Delaware.  He’s gotten to know some of those legislators pretty well.  He can tell you which ones of either major party are true public servants, and which ones aren’t worth a bucket of warm spit!  Will has spent the last two years training himself to do the job he has his heart set on.  Has Mr Parrott done any of that?  I’m gonna say no.

Will McVay is a bit of a troublemaker.  I don’t think I need to convince anybody here of that.  The Republican Party will not control Will McVay.  If you want somebody you can predict, and someone you can control, then, meaning no disrespect, Ellis Parrott is a better choice for that.  But I submit to you that maybe a trouble maker is just what this party needs.  When this election is over, no matter how well the Republican Party fares, we’re still going to be a minority party.  Are you willing to settle for a meek, quiet and well behaved legislator who will be satisfied to vote no on the Democratic budget, and then blend into the woodwork?  Or would you like to see someone like Will who will be in their face, or to be a little more blunt about it, someone who will be in their shit twenty four hours a day.  Some one who will argue, bargain, amend and fight against one party rule in the legislature.  Someone who will win every fight he engages in, even the ones he loses, because he went down fighting.  You know I’m not making this stuff up.  You’ve all seen him in action.  Wouldn’t you rather unleash him on the Democrats instead of having him on your case all the time?.  I almost feel sorry for those poor sons of bitches.  Will McVay can offer you that.  Can Mr. Parrott offer you that?  I’m gonna say no.

Now there are those of you who will argue that Will is too young.  He hasn’t paid his dues.  It’s not his turn.  He should defer to his elders.  Well I’m one of his elders, and I think that’s a load of crap.  I don’t do this very often, but I’d like to quote a verse from the Old Testament.  It’s from Job.  As coincidence would have it, Job 32.

Job 32

Elihu

 ¹ So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. ² But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. ³ He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.^{[a] 4} Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than he. ⁵ But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused.

 ⁶ So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said:
   “I am young in years,
   and you are old;
that is why I was fearful,
   not daring to tell you what I know.
⁷ I thought, ‘Age should speak;
   advanced years should teach wisdom.’
⁸ But it is the spirit^[b] in a person,
   the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.
⁹ It is not only the old^[c] who are wise,
   not only the aged who understand what is right.
 ¹⁰ “Therefore I say: Listen to me;
   I too will tell you what I know.
¹¹ I waited while you spoke,
   I listened to your reasoning;
while you were searching for words,
 ¹² I gave you my full attention.
But not one of you has proved Job wrong;
   none of you has answered his arguments.
¹³ Do not say, ‘We have found wisdom;
   let God, not a man, refute him.’
¹⁴ But Job has not marshaled his words against me,
   and I will not answer him with your arguments.
 ¹⁵ “They are dismayed and have no more to say;
   words have failed them.
¹⁶ Must I wait, now that they are silent,
   now that they stand there with no reply?
¹⁷ I too will have my say;
   I too will tell what I know.
¹⁸ For I am full of words,
   and the spirit within me compels me;
¹⁹ inside I am like bottled-up wine,
   like new wineskins ready to burst.
²⁰ I must speak and find relief;
   I must open my lips and reply.
²¹ I will show no partiality,
   nor will I flatter anyone;
²² for if I were skilled in flattery,
   my Maker would soon take me away.

Even in the Bible there is a precedent for the perceived wisdom of the elders to yield to the enthusiasm and vigor of the young.  There is an old saying that progress happens one funeral at a time.  It might not be polite for Will to express that sentiment in this room.  Not that he’d shy away from it if it had occurred to him.  But I think I have the credentials to make that observation.  I’ve got almost as much gray hair as anybody else in this room.  I believe that the face of the Republican Party going forward, and starting with the face of the 32^nd District Representative should be the face of a young man.  A face full of enthusiasm, a face full of fight, and yes even a face with a good measure of irreverence.  Can Mr Parrott offer that face to the voters of the 32^nd district?  I’m gonna say no.

Thank you.

Jess McVay

PS

If you don’t already know where Ellis Parrott stands on a given issue, that’s his fault.  If you don’t already know where Will stands, that’s your fault. Will has a blog where he has been discussing issues since the 2010 campaign.   www.willmcvay.com   Will and I do a weekly one hour radio show where we discuss politics in Delaware and the nation.  www.blogtalkradio.com/citizenslave  Will has an active Facebook presence http://www.facebook.com/#!/mcvay.will  He’s got over 3500 Facebook friends.  They’re not all in the 32^nd district, but I can tell you that still translates into phenomenal positive name recognition , especially, but not exclusively, in a younger demographic. 

Will McVay is the only choice here if you want to win the 32^nd District.

Thanks again,

Jess