Playing Until the Final Buzzer
As the election for HD53 unfolds, I am behind by 412 votes. There are cries from the peanut gallery to “concede.” Concession, quitting and giving up seems to be common in our culture today. It’s a concept that is strange to me.
I have been an athlete my entire life. Regardless of whether you are a football fan or not, I bet you cannot imagine Tom Brady giving up and walking off the field if his team was down a few points with two minutes to go in a game. That is not the behavior of a champion. It would dishonor his teammates, his fans, the people who came to see a full game, and the opposing team. It would dishonor the sport. Instead, a champion, like Brady and so many others, plays through to the final buzzer – win, lose or draw. In that spirit, my favorite coach used to tell me, “Mike, you never lose, you just run out of time.”
As a state-level high school wrestler, I won some matches and I lost some matches, but never rolled over and quit before the final whistle. That would have dishonored my coach, my teammates, my school, the fans, my opponent and the sport.
As an Army Ranger combat arms officer, trained to fight in small unit tactics behind enemy lines, we were always surrounded and outnumbered from the beginning of the mission. But the mission, whether to rescue a POW, conduct critical reconnaissance, deliver an essential message, disrupt a supply line, or to delay and disrupt the enemy in order to protect the main force…the mission was paramount. With that mindset, warriors fight to the last man. Surrender is not an option. To do so would dishonor those who fought and died, dishonor those who suffered in POW camps, dishonor fellow warriors, and dishonor the country we loved and swore to serve, protect and defend.
I am not a politician. My wife Cathie and I knew from the beginning of the calling to run for office that we were starting from behind. We knew there was a chance we could lose. In fact, we knew there was a high probability we might lose, given I was a political unknown and considering the strategic Democrat gerrymandering of the new HD53 district. However, the mission was to run with honor, to run a positive, solution-focused campaign and to deliver a mainstream, moderate commonsense message – without compromise - regardless of how the vote turned out. I believe I have done so.
Now we are down to the final few days. Based on the current count, we are behind. We might lose. But here’s the thing, if we believe as a nation, a state and a region that every citizen’s vote matters, and that every voter is important, then we need to count every vote.
If we win, we win knowing every vote was counted. If we lose, we know that every vote was counted and that we simply ran out of time to convey our message. Quitting before the final count would dishonor our team. It would dishonor the 18,720 Central Oregonians who trusted me with their vote – after all, let’s recall that half the district voted for me and my desire to serve and be a voice for Central Oregon. I am humbled, honored and grateful.
I have been an athlete my entire life. Regardless of whether you are a football fan or not, I bet you cannot imagine Tom Brady giving up and walking off the field if his team was down a few points with two minutes to go in a game. That is not the behavior of a champion. It would dishonor his teammates, his fans, the people who came to see a full game, and the opposing team. It would dishonor the sport. Instead, a champion, like Brady and so many others, plays through to the final buzzer – win, lose or draw. In that spirit, my favorite coach used to tell me, “Mike, you never lose, you just run out of time.”
As a state-level high school wrestler, I won some matches and I lost some matches, but never rolled over and quit before the final whistle. That would have dishonored my coach, my teammates, my school, the fans, my opponent and the sport.
As an Army Ranger combat arms officer, trained to fight in small unit tactics behind enemy lines, we were always surrounded and outnumbered from the beginning of the mission. But the mission, whether to rescue a POW, conduct critical reconnaissance, deliver an essential message, disrupt a supply line, or to delay and disrupt the enemy in order to protect the main force…the mission was paramount. With that mindset, warriors fight to the last man. Surrender is not an option. To do so would dishonor those who fought and died, dishonor those who suffered in POW camps, dishonor fellow warriors, and dishonor the country we loved and swore to serve, protect and defend.
I am not a politician. My wife Cathie and I knew from the beginning of the calling to run for office that we were starting from behind. We knew there was a chance we could lose. In fact, we knew there was a high probability we might lose, given I was a political unknown and considering the strategic Democrat gerrymandering of the new HD53 district. However, the mission was to run with honor, to run a positive, solution-focused campaign and to deliver a mainstream, moderate commonsense message – without compromise - regardless of how the vote turned out. I believe I have done so.
Now we are down to the final few days. Based on the current count, we are behind. We might lose. But here’s the thing, if we believe as a nation, a state and a region that every citizen’s vote matters, and that every voter is important, then we need to count every vote.
If we win, we win knowing every vote was counted. If we lose, we know that every vote was counted and that we simply ran out of time to convey our message. Quitting before the final count would dishonor our team. It would dishonor the 18,720 Central Oregonians who trusted me with their vote – after all, let’s recall that half the district voted for me and my desire to serve and be a voice for Central Oregon. I am humbled, honored and grateful.
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Quitting would dishonor our many faithful contributors. It would dishonor our friends and dedicated volunteers. It would dishonor our party…and it would dishonor my opponent. It would dishonor the election system…and I trust and respect our Deschutes County Clerk, our local election officials, and the electoral process. Quitting would dishonor the country I love and our constitutional republic form of government, which remains the ideal of the world.
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Quitting would dishonor our many faithful contributors. It would dishonor our friends and dedicated volunteers. It would dishonor our party…and it would dishonor my opponent. |
Most importantly, Cathie and I are confident that God called us to this campaign. God did not promise we would win. He called us to run. And He called us to run the race to the end. To quit would dishonor Him. I have absolutely no desire to do that, regardless of politics, and certainly not in response to peanut gallery jeers and catcalls.
Therefore, I may ultimately lose the election, but I will not concede. I say this, not with belligerence, hostility or sour-grapes, but rather with humility and a sense of reverence and honor.
I may ultimately lose, but I will also not concede the principles and positions on which we ran and for which I believe half the district voted for. Principles such as faith in God, support of the State and Federal Constitutions, defense of our Bill of Rights, especially the First and Second Amendments, curbing executive branch overreach, balance of power, legislative accountability, fiscal responsibility, small government, lower taxes, local control, individual responsibility, protection of small businesses, law and order, defense of law enforcement, excellence in education – and just plain commonsense in government. These positions I will not concede, regardless of the election outcome.
I close with a reminder of the famous words of a past president – a man who sometimes won. A man who sometimes lost. But a man noted for his courage, who never quit. A man who played to the final buzzer.
Therefore, I may ultimately lose the election, but I will not concede. I say this, not with belligerence, hostility or sour-grapes, but rather with humility and a sense of reverence and honor.
I may ultimately lose, but I will also not concede the principles and positions on which we ran and for which I believe half the district voted for. Principles such as faith in God, support of the State and Federal Constitutions, defense of our Bill of Rights, especially the First and Second Amendments, curbing executive branch overreach, balance of power, legislative accountability, fiscal responsibility, small government, lower taxes, local control, individual responsibility, protection of small businesses, law and order, defense of law enforcement, excellence in education – and just plain commonsense in government. These positions I will not concede, regardless of the election outcome.
I close with a reminder of the famous words of a past president – a man who sometimes won. A man who sometimes lost. But a man noted for his courage, who never quit. A man who played to the final buzzer.
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
(to help elect Michael Sipe, Republican Candidate for Oregon House District 53)
