You might know Dr. Carl Mumpower as a two-term Asheville City Council member or 2008 Republican challenger to Democratic U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler.
He?s also responsible for daily one-minute audio commentaries under the name ?The Candid Conservative,? and he?s recently expanded that output to the written page. Mumpower calls The Candid Conservative ?a handbook for saving America ? one conservative at a time.?
Less a narrative than a checklist, Mumpower?s book features a countdown of dangerous trends and policy challenges, guiding principles for conservatives, and a 10-step process for American recovery.
Among the targets of Mumpower?s observations: ?The Dangers of the Anointed.?
The politically anointed have a deep-rooted need to be liked. The ?Lion of Liberalism,? Ted Kennedy, was a master of giving away other people?s money and appearing virtuous in the process. Robbing Peter to pay Paul pretty much guarantees accolades from Paul, and most politicians are quick studies in currying this sort of shameful adoration.
The anointed, with the curious certitude of the self-deceived, often see themselves as more intelligent and compassionate than others. This arrogance of perspective provides a moral license to use almost any means to do almost anything, including destroying the culture that empowers them.
A dead giveaway of an anointed status seeker is a focus on who gets to make the changes over what those changes should be. This is power politics disguised as benevolence. The outcome is disarray, with more prospects for the anointed to find purpose in the disorder.
