Guest blogger Sean Emerson - Swamp Creature Recognition Guide – How to spot them and how to avoid them.

One of our more prominent political voices in Clark County recently posted this gem:

The comments were comedy gold.  “. . .  it was a full back flip off the diving board! “  “Girl, you didn't dip your toe in the swamp. You Chunky-dumped into it years ago.”

You may not think you’re in the swamp, but look around you.  Examine the Creatures around you, who you seem to be aligning with.  If they’re swamp creatures, then you may be mistaken for one yourself. If you find this is so, then you are either a swamp creature, or you may have inadvertently stumbled into the swamp, unaware of your surroundings.  This is easy to do if you’re not paying attention. 

Swamp creatures come in many guises, but they can be easy to spot if you know what to look for.

Does party mean more than principle? The swamp creatures see the party as a club.  You’re either in the club, or you’re out.  Once in the club, the swamp dwellers protect their own.  Bad behavior, lack of ethics, ignoring campaign promises, even outright criminality is all forgivable, if you have the right letter after your name.  If you’re a member of the swamp, you can get away with damn near anything as long as you keep your fealty to the swamp.  You may hear something like, “you have to support your fellow Republicans, regardless.”  This is the rally cry of the swamp, by which they know one another.

If you’re willing to negotiate your principles for political gain, if you’re willing to compromise with your ideological opposite to “get something done,” then you’re a swamp dweller.  Some people do this and so earn the moniker of “RINO,” and they wear if proudly.  The thing these folks don’t understand is that the left is not interested in compromise, doesn’t acknowledge political favors, and lives in the moment.  The Democrat you make a deal with today will turn around and screw you over in a heartbeat, and will never compromise their principles to make a deal with you.  If a Democrat gives up something for a deal, you can bet it wasn’t anything they were too concerned about in the first place.

The swamp offers a shortcut to success, a siren song to the unwary.  Because of the Swamp’s slavish devotion to protecting its own, your political fortune is made if you just cross the swamp to get to your political destination.  Play their game, be flexible with your principles, give when they ask you to, and they will see you get the support, appointments, committee positions, etc., necessary to punch your ticket for the next rung on the political ladder.  If you stand your ground, dig in your heels and make life uncomfortable because you refuse to compromise your principles, the swamp will turn on you, and you’ll be sidelined and out of favor.  It’s a harder road to go.  The question is, can you tolerate the stench of swamp on yourself for the sake of your political career?

If you associate yourself with a party for political expediency, not because the core values of the party resonate with you, then you are swamp dweller.  If you’re in a red district and know that putting an (R) after you name is a guaranteed 15 points at the polls, regardless of what you really believe, check between your toes for the mud and algae you’re likely to find there.  Comes with living in the swamp.  And if you’re the kind of person that supports these fake conservatives who run as conservatives and then vote to raise your taxes, increase government spending and fund morally reprehensible bills, then you’re just as swampy as they are.

How do you avoid getting splashed with swamp water, or being sucked into the ecology of the swamp?

You stand on core principles.  Know what is right and what is wrong, and don’t allow yourself to be budged.  There’s plenty of room for political compromise, but some things aren’t negotiable.  No higher taxes.  No frivolous spending.  Government accountability.  Personal accountability.  Protect the unborn. These things are easy to find, they are written in the core principles of the Party, accepted by a supermajority of committee members.  These core principles represent a contract we have with the elected official whom we support, that they will live by and uphold these principles.  If they don’t, they are dishonest, and more interested in their political careers than they are in principles.  They are the swamp, and live there with all those who support them in spite of their faithlessness.

If you tolerate this sort of behavior in your party, then you are part of the swamp.  Your principles are negotiable.  “Moderate” is another word for “feckless.”  For you, the party is a vehicle for your use to ascend to power, not a place where you band with like-minded individuals to stand for what you believe is right and just.  If you value being liked more than being right, then you are in the swamp.  So don’t compromise your principles, and don’t tolerate those who do.  Stick to that rule, and you’ll be dry and free of that swamp smell.