Theodore H. White tells a remarkable story about Goldwater's chief speechwriter, Karl Hess. Chief speechwriters of losing campaigns usually find a safe berth somewhere in the party machine, but not so Hess. First, he applied for positions with conservative senators and congressmen-the very politicians who had been cheering him on a few months before. Unwanted, he lowered his sights dramatically. Could he perhaps work the elevators in the Senate or the House? Still no luck. The apostle of the free market was reduced to the ranks of the unemployed. He enrolled in a night-school course in welding and eventually found a job working the night shift in a machine shop.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- A story about Karl Hess losing political jobs after a campaign and retraining as a welder.
- In plain terms
- An influential writer struggled to find work and learned a trade instead.
- What can you take from it?
- Political influence does not guarantee career stability.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What happens after a campaign ends?
- Is retraining a viable path?
Another view
It overlooks the systemic barriers faced by political staff.
More from Karl Hess
Extremism in the pursuit of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.
Permalink to quote #4 Individualism. Self-reliance. Decentralization. Individual responsibility.
Permalink to quote #3 Given a nation that not enough citizens can be attracted to defend voluntarily, you probably also have a nation that, by definition, isn't really worth defendi…
Permalink to quote #2
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