By Noah Dawson
Mayor Nelson recently spoke at an event held by High Plains Republican Women. She’s been photographed with senator Ted Cruz. She’s described herself as fiscally conservative. Here in the panhandle, being conservative is a generally good look, as we are typically the reddest area of the nation during elections. But, the question of the authenticity of a politician’s stated views must be asked. Has our mayor really governed the way she said she would, or has it all just been rhetoric?
First, let’s take a look at how a conservative would run Amarillo. They would keep taxes low. They would keep fees low. They would keep government from interfering in local businesses. They would keep spending low. They would keep government small.
Has that been the case over the past few years?
No. No. Nope. No. And no.
Maybe Mayor Nelson sincerely believes she is a conservative. Maybe she doesn’t. What does matter are her actions.
What does this mean in the bigger picture? What it means is, when election time comes, don’t just focus on the vague rhetoric. Any politician can say they will make things better. Anybody can call themselves a conservative, or even a liberal for that matter. Instead, look deeper than rhetoric and look for what they want to accomplish. When it comes to incumbents, see if those promises align with their actual actions. When it comes to challengers, look at what actions they've done for the community.
Rhetoric about political philosophy can be helpful, but what it comes to anything a politician says, take it with a few pounds of salt.
Nelson/Photo by Campaign