Mr. Misery Is Going to Washington

"Liberty's too precious a thing to be buried in books . . . Men should hold it up in front of them every single day of their lives and say: I'm free to think and to speak. My ancestors couldn't, I can, and my children will. Boys ought to grow up remembering that."

No. I am not an idealist in the vein of Mr. Smith.

In fact, I don't believe any "Mr. Smith"s actually exist. In 1994, perhaps, we had some. They marched to D.C. after an upset election and stood on the steps of the Capitol building . . .

And over 10 years developed a political leadership just as corrupt--if not more corrupt--than any that have come before.

. . . And yet I can retain some degree of innocence and awe.

While no one can change the attitude in Washington, neither does anyone have the ability to destroy what D.C. symbolizes.

This is why I have always wanted to see the capital.

No one will know me while I'm there. No one will miss me when I'm gone. But that's alright.

After all,

It is not what I bring with me when I arrive; it is what I take away when I leave.

Only in the movies can Mr. Smith destroy the "Taylor Machine" with a head-on, fists-clenched attack. And only when the cause is a liberal one.

The people like myself are painted as evil because--shhh--we're conser. . .

So I'll go work for the Washington Legal Foundation for 6 weeks, and I'll devote myself to legal research and writing. Maybe what I write will have an impact on someone.

Who knows! But I'll have fun.

"You think I'm licked. You all think I'm licked. Well, I'm not licked. And I'm going to stay right here and fight for this lost cause. Even if the room gets filled with lies like these, and the Taylors and all their armies come marching into this place."