WHO I AM AS A POLITICAL CANDIDATE

By Peter J. Mancus

As a political candidate, I aspire to be a "statesman", not a "politician". This document tells you a lot of relevant information about me. To learn more, and to read this document with perfect formatting, please go to my campaign Internet site at http://www.petermancus.com.

Let me start to explain who I am by telling you what I am not.

I am not a professional politician. I am not charming, in a humorous or entertaining manner. I am not delightful. I am not insincere. I am not a BS artist. I am not callous. I am not cunning. I am not mean. I am not shallow. I am not incompetent. I am not lazy. I am not stupid. I am not apathetic. I am not uninformed. I am not a flip-flopper. I am not a person who will tell you what I think you want to hear. I am not easily intimidated. I will not go along just to get along. I am not disingenuous.

I am the opposite of those qualities.

I will never present myself to you in disguise, suppressing what I believe, to try to trick you.

What Motivates Me

I am a concerned citizen. I give a damn. I care about our values, our way of life, our liberties, people, your children's future, solving problems, your ability to pay your bills, keeping government honest and making it accountable, protecting citizens' and taxpayers' legitimate interests, making government responsive to "We the people", fiscal responsibility, avoiding deficits, maintaining our infrastructure, and obeying our Constitutions' commands--the U.S. Constitution and California's.

I hate political corruption. I hate usurpations [abuses of power]. I hate violations of the real American Constitutional Rule of Law. I hate "political correctness".

My hate for those things is so intense that intensity gives me courage to enter the market place of ideas to speak my mind, in a candid, straightforward, manner, sternly rebuking those who deserve to be rebuked.

I love every right in the entire Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. I consider that Bill to be Mankind's greatest achievement. I fearlessly stand up for and champion every right in our Bill of Rights, including disfavored rights, even when it is unpopular to support a right that a local majority hates.

Credibility is Exceedingly Important to Me

I place an extremely high premium value on credibility. I will never knowingly risk squandering my credibility by being expedient.

Convictions and Courage

I have convictions. I also have the courage of my convictions.

I am the Leader in the Fight Against Corruption

I am the leader in the fight against corruption in California. [Please read my long, detailed op-ed about how bad corruption is in California.]

I am the Leader in the Fight to Restore Constitutionalism

I am also the leader to restore constitutionalism [obeying our Constitution's commands]. Please join me. Please help me achieve both goals.

I am Informed, Determined, Pragmatic, and Focused

I am a no nonsense, intense, pragmatic, resourceful, get 'er done, "lion hearted", determined, focused, personality, strong enough to stand up to, and against, any one who is corrupt, who abuses power, or who is flippant or unprincipled in their approach to governance.

In college and in law school, I did my homework. I was not a seat polisher.

I know where I stand on history's time line. I know what happened before I was born. I know the awesome price paid in the most precious of currency to advance the cause of civilization and constitutionalism: human courage, human blood, and human lives. I know the massive down-payments made for Freedom, and I know Freedom requires eternal vigilance.

I am a Constitutionalist

I am a constitutionalist. By that I mean this: 1) I want to restore constitutionalism [obeying our Constitution's commands]; 2) I do my utmost best to reason, competently, from and to the U.S. Constitution with absolute fidelity, to make all political-legal decisions with principled, rational, logical, coherent, conformity to that Constitution; 3) I am serious about continuing with this approach; 4) I have taken, numerous times, an oath to support, defend, and uphold the U.S. Constitution, against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I took that oath based on a high level of informed consent. I would gladly take that oath again. I had to take that oath to become eligible for the ballot; and 5) I am convinced that the best way to promote our security, liberty, prosperity, rights, freedom, and happiness is to stop deviating from our Constitution's commands, stop substituting different values for the Framers' values, and strictly obey our Constitution's commands.

I Will Obey the U.S. Constitution and California's Constitution

I am duty bound to support both Constitutions--the United States' and California's. If elected, I will do my best to do that. Occasionally, the odds are high, if not certain, that some in the district will disagree with me on certain issues; however, I hope everyone can, and will, take comfort in believing this: Candidate Peter J. Mancus is sincerely committed to doing his best to reason competently from and to the U.S. Constitution and California's, and he will also do his best to obey both, 100%.

I Aspire to be a Statesman

I aspire to be a statesman, not a politician. By statesman I mean this: An elected official who always does his/her best to reason competently from and to the U.S. Constitution, as the supreme law of the land, and who makes decisions with absolute fidelity to that Constitution, as a matter of duty, conscience, self-respect, and integrity, damn the consequences. I will do that, even when I fear that my insistence upon constitutionalism [obeying our Constitution] will be--or might be--extremely unpopular.

In this sense, I genuinely want to serve you. I have no desire to control you or to flim flam you with razzle dazzle rhetoric or sweet nothing promises.

I refuse to promise I will work hard to give you one "entitlement" after another, piled high and deep.

If elected, I will not irresponsibly raid California's treasury and further bankrupt California.

I want everyone, regardless of age, racial origin, gender, and sexual preference, etc. to enjoy, in earnest, true, absolute equality, before the law and equal opportunity for self-improvement, so they can move up the social-economic ladder; however, I believe that government has no duty to make anyone "happy", and I will never yield to pressure to ignore or stretch the constitutional rule of law beyond the breaking point.

I am Highly Opinionated

I am, on some subjects, highly opinionated, with excellent reasons to support my opinions.

I Operate "on the Merits"

My well honed mind is always open to new and better ideas. I operate on what I call "the merits". As such, the best way, and the only way, to get me to change my mind or my position is to convince me "on the merits", with facts and logic, that my current position is wrong. When convinced I am wrong, I will instantly change my position and adopt a new one if I perceive it to be better.

I am a Trained Problem Solver

I am a trained problem solver with good analytical skills. [As I write this, I recall what the first law school professor told me at the School of Law, University of California, at Davis, during my first law school class, in 1968. This professor told the students, look to your left, look to your right. Three years from now one out of three will not graduate. I graduated.]

I will now tell you something that I am uncomfortable with declaring, because it is self-laudatory. Nevertheless, I will state this anyway because it is true, it is relevant, and it is part of the foundation for something exceedingly important that I feel a compelling need to tell you.

When I was a UC student, University of California officials told me that they accepted to the UC system only those high school students who were in the top 12.5% of their class, and they accepted to their professional schools [medicine and law] only the top 3% from the UC system. Those are facts.

There is, however, no assured correlation among IQ, formal educational achievement, degrees awarded, integrity, and judgment. Many of this nation's worse mis-leaders, and this state's, worse mis-leaders, were awarded impressive degrees, but they use there smarts to advance themselves and/or a self-serving agenda, with "progressive values" inconsistent with genuine American constitutional values. Unlike them, I will use my formal education to function with fidelity to the real American Constitutional Rule of Law.

I Aspire to be a Representative, a Follower, and a Leader

My concept of how a good California Assemblyman should represent a district includes what follows. If elected, as your Assemblyman for this district, I promise you this: 1) You will have as much access to me as is reasonably humanly possible given constraints on my time, 2) I will do my best to learn about the needs, wants, desires, and problems of the district, 3) I will do my best to represent your views in the California Legislature, to make your views known and heard, and to solve problems in a cost-time effective manner, 4) I will do my absolute best to champion your views subject to one big condition: I must experience what you want me to do to be compatible with the commands of the U.S. Constitution and the entire "supreme law of the land", namely, only those laws faithful to that Constitution, and what you want me to do must also, in my judgment, be compatible with California's Constitution, and 5) While it would be my duty to represent you faithfully, and, in that sense to follow you, I also assume, when I deem it appropriate, to try to lead you, namely, to keep you on "the constitutional tracks", to keep "the train from jumping the tracks", to avoid "a constitutional train wreck". Thus, if elected, I will function as a combination of 1) representative, 2) follower, and 3) leader.

At the risk of being misconstrued by you as me being egotistical, I will tell you what I think you need to know, and why, even when I fear you will hate what I will tell you and you will hate me. To me, I am not ego-maniacal by having this attitude. I am positive that many people in the 10th Assembly District know many important things that I don't. Simultaneously, I am also convinced that I know important things about law, justice, and "principles of governance", that some of you don't or have forgotten or ignore and need to be reminded about. As such, since I want to serve, and serve you well, to do that, I must have the strength to be genuine and candid. Thus, at times, I might have to stand up to you, and to tell you what I believe you need to know.

For better or worse, I have already started that process--of telling you what I think you need to know, even when I think you will hate me for telling you what I think. For example, this political campaign Internet site now has many pages, written by me, on various "hot bottom" issues, such as "same sex marriage" and "firearms" where I have discussed my orientation on these issues and why I believe what I believe. Since the people in the district do not agree on these subjects, it is impossible for me to please all of you. What is possible for me, however, is for me to be me, for me to tell you--truthfully--what I believe and why. I have done that. I will continue to do that. You either respect me for that or not. So be it.

I am a Pragmatist

As a problem solver who is also a constitutionalist, I am also a pragmatist. I want to work with others to solve big, complex problems that plague California. Thus, I pledge a sincere strong willingness to do my best to reason with anyone in the California Legislature, and the Governor, to work to solve problems. I am willing to embrace anyone's good idea(s) and let them enjoy full credit as long as I am convinced, on the merits, that their idea is consistent with obeying the U.S. Constitution and California's Constitution and helps to solve problems.

I Champion the "3 R's"

I also champion the "3 R's": Respect, Responsibility, and Reason, fair competition and small businesses.

My Campaign Theme is "a Rebirth of Liberty and Accountability"

My campaign theme is a "Rebirth of Liberty and Accountability" in California. I conceived this theme after re-reading Republican President Abraham Lincoln's November 19, 1863 Gettysburg Address. In that world famous speech, Lincoln said, ". . . It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us . . . .that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." [Emphasis added.]

Sadly, there is a lot of "unfinished work" that remains "before us" that needs to be done, here, in California. I am "highly resolve[d]" to do what I can, if elected, to promote "a new birth of freedom" for all Californians, with a revitalized constitutional California government that serves the people well, not a corrupt California government that serves well crooked California judges and corrupt California lawmakers and California officials who are too gutless to do anything to eradicate the corruption that is entrenched in California. This corruption is analogous to a boa constrictor snake wrapped around our necks, our chests, and our abdomens, making it impossible for us, "We the People", to breathe, to move, to survive, to enjoy "the Blessings of Liberty".

If elected, I am determined to do my best to deliver a long overdue comeuppance to corrupt officials and hold them accountable, to promote "Principles of Governance" faithful to constitutionalism, to promote fiscal responsibility, and to help all--repeat--all Californians who apply themselves, to enjoy the full "Blessings of Liberty" and improve their socio-economic status.

An Excellent Assessment of Me

A friend recently told me he experiences me to have qualities which he likes in a political candidate: A) transparency [WYSIWYG], B) knowledge [ good command of relevant problems, law, and facts], C) logical [able to reason well], D) integrity [consistency of belief and action], E) trustworthiness [I do what I say I will do], F) intelligent [able to learn and open to correction], and G) graceful [kind hearted].

I am a "Vagrant" Candidate Who Needs Your Support: Donations, Endorsements, Fundraisers, and Volunteers

Currently, given the realities of politics, I am a "vagrant" candidate, namely, one with no current visible means of support. As of April 2, 2012, I have had two campaign donations which, combined, were less than $1,000. That money was spent to pay for publishing a "Candidate Statement" in the Sonoma County election pamphlet. Currently, I have no new campaign donations, no money to spend on the campaign, no political signs, no volunteers to walk precincts and pass out campaign literature or erect signs, no campaign manager, no campaign committee, no political mailings, and no robo political calls. As of now, I have this: the California Republican Party's official endorsement as their candidate for the Tenth District of the California Assembly, myself, amateur advisers of good will who give me conflicting advice, and an excellent webmaster who has agreed to render his services pursuant to a delayed compensation agreement contingent on donations.

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I am Worthy of Your Vote

If you are unhappy with an irresponsible California Legislature that produces endless deficits that undermines our economy, allows infrastructure to deteriorate, fails to resolve issues, doesn't provide vital services, inexplicably passes a law that gives retroactive immunity to crooked judges who took hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes, and refuses to obey the U.S.'s or California's Constitutions, I am a candidate worthy of your vote.

I am Part of the Solution

If elected, I will be part of the solution to help solve California's massive problems.

by Peter J. Mancus Attorney at Law, Photojournalist, Small Business Owner California Republican Party Endorsed Candidate for the California Assembly Tenth District Copyright Peter J. Mancus 2012 [Permission to copy in its entirety is granted.] I took the picture of the Golden Gate Bridge that illustrates this text. Similar pictures can be found at www.cloud9photography.us .