Who Are People First Candidates, and How Do We Find Them?

We need candidates of proven ability, integrity, and character to lead us…candidates who are free of political parties, free of obligations to big money, and free of any reason to serve that does not focus on the people and the national well-being.

The characteristics we look for in a candidate for political office include the following:

High intelligence, integrity, empathy (not sympathy), honesty, candor, and most especially independent thinking…these are fundamental prerequisites for any candidate.
Gender and gender preference, race, ethnicity, physical appearance (except basic grooming and cleanliness), physical disabilities, and other characteristics not related to ability to perform in office, are irrelevant.
Demonstrated competence, in any field. Successful people, including those with significant failures in their backgrounds, but who have demonstrated ability to surmount failures.
People who are free of political obligations, or who are willing to publicly renounce former political allegiances. People First candidates must be of independent mind.
Rational decision-makers. They are not people “dedicated to a cause” other than the cause of serving the best interests of the American people. “Rational” means that they are open to all facts and opinions, including those coming from opponents and critics, and that they will evaluate all the facts, make reasonable, defensible assumptions when necessary, and will balance carefully all pros and cons of a decision, ultimately deciding with an independent mind, the only permissible bias being a bias in favor of our nation and its people, even in those instances when their own interests may be at risk.
Background free of crime or significant ethical breaches, except that youthful indiscretions will be tolerated if not indicative of mental or moral dysfunction.
Willing to publicly endorse and support People First principles.
Powerful persuaders. We’re looking for people who avoid lying (including lies-by-omission), name-calling, wild exaggerations, one-sided arguments, misrepresentation, character assassination, oversimplification, politically correct wording, and pandering to “lowest common denominators.” We’re looking for people who are candid, straightforward, deeply thoughtful, and who only simplify ideas for public consumption without distorting or misrepresenting the underlying complexities.

When possible, People First candidates will also have that undefinable “something” that generates trust and credibility…we can’t define it, but we all know it when we see it. It’s more than charisma, more than showmanship…it’s deep character.

It’s a tall order, isn’t it? There must be only a few of these “perfect” human beings in the world, right?

No. There are many thousands, probably millions of them. We don’t see them in the political arena because the political arena is poisonous to them. The party system and big money interests corrupt the system so badly that the people we want to lead us have chosen to stay away, revolted by today’s process and the lack of integrity necessary for success in that process.

When these people see that there is a way not only to win elections, but also to govern with integrity, from a higher purpose, and without corruption, they’ll show up, run for office, and then we’ll have the leaders we need to fix the enormous problems facing our nation.

Initially, we’ll have to find them. We’ll have to recruit the kinds of people our nation needs, and persuade them to run for office. When a few of them have actually won elections and demonstrated that political integrity is possible, others will come to us in droves. And when integrity takes over as the driving characteristic of our leaders, they’ll no longer even need our support, because the “content of their character” (as Martin Luther King Jr. told us) combined with the newfound confidence of the American voter, will sweep them into office.