Annie Loyd, Congressional Candidate
Note:
Recently, Annie Loyd announced that she is withdrawing from the race for U.S. Congress for the 3rd Congressional District in Arizona.
“There is no doubt that partisan politics has brought us to an impasse, has brought us to this fork in the road, it has brought us to being unable to pass any type of legislation that moves us forward as a society and we have to start somewhere,” said Annie Loyd. As an independent running for U.S. Congress, she has put herself in the front lines of Arizona politics. Should she win, she would make the history books.
If Loyd triumphs against Democrat Bob Lord and Republican incumbent John Shadegg, she would make history as the first independent woman to hold such an office. As an open and out Lesbian, she would make yet another first in the political arena. Usually front runners who put themselves in such a position are those that started out with that in mind. In the case of Loyd, the idea of running was not a first consideration.
As a small business owner, she was the managing partner of a residential construction company in Arizona, she had firsthand experience working on political campaigns and with non profits —including HIV-AIDs groups. The move to elected office appeared imminent.
“ Running as an independent for congress allows me to have an independent voice not attached to party politics, without highly paid consultants telling me what to say , who to say it to, who to take money from representing a system that is broken, representation a system that promotes parties and not the good of the people,” said Loyd.
“I care about people, humanity. And in my state in Arizona I am outraged by the fact that we are not more outraged at what is going on here to our failure to promote renewable energy resources, economic generator. Our failure to bring forth good ideas with regards to health care, our failure to address immigration, these are systems failures.”
A hot button issue in the Southwest, and increasingly one in other parts of the U.S. as illegal immigration has had an impact on the agenda of politicians on both sides of the ideological fence, Loyd has no difficulty in assessing the damage, or pin pointing the attempted solutions to the issue.
“We (The State of Arizona ) are the epicenter. We are the laboratory. We are the chemistry experiment, put a little of this in, and see what is going to happen. Eventually we are going to have an explosion.”
Loyd has no problem in situating the blame for some of the current state of affairs in Arizona on one very popular, and very controversial, political figure.
“People like sheriff Joe Arpio are adding that chemistry of hate and fear and playing on people’s hate and fear,” said Loyd adding, “They are utilizing their position as law enforcement agencies to intimidate hard working men and women.”
Loyd underscores the complexity of the issue and the the lack of venues for the expression of concerns.
“Another aspect is the lack of serious open discussion about the problem. And that is part of the problem are the lack of discussions going on, substantive discussions, about immigration because it is so confusing. So people say, ‘Well gosh I want secure borders, ‘ people want safety and yet there is something going on inside of them that touches their humanity and says there is something not right about this and they are uncomfortable with it, but they don’t know how to speak out about it.”
“The policy issue around immigration is more complex than our tax codes. So it is difficult for rational sane citizens in Arizona to know what to stand for and stand against,” says Loyd.
Recently in Arizona those who are believed to be illegal immigrants were rounded up by local officials in a raid to remove illegal immigrants. The actions of Sheriff Arpaio have been the cause of some concern in the Governor’s office. When considering that 40,000 warrants have been allowed to go without action while the County Sheriff utilizes resources to round up those believed to be illegal, his recent actions have has caused a storm of controversy. Considered by some as an act of overt racism, the effectiveness of these round ups has been called into question, along with their legality.
Considering that the Sherif’s post is a political one in part, his recent actions have come under scrutiny. Considering the current budgetary limits – the state has experienced a tax shortfall -- the limited resources available to law enforcement to handle known offenders with warrants, some have considered these moves as little more than political posturing to appease a public frustrated by the infectiveness of local and federal officials to arrive at realistic solutions to the long term problem of illegal immigration.
For Loyd, it is the very political nature of the two party system that is to blame for the ineffectiveness of government both locally and nationally in dealing with the issue.
“Partisan politics has stolen the voice of individuals. Partisan politics has stolen the voice of ‘We the people,’ which our constitution was based on ,” says Loyd.
“Republicans want to believe that their party stands for conservative values. And co responsibility, yet we have a nine trillion dollar deficient under republicans,” says Loyd.
She is no less critical of the other side.
“Democrats want to believe that their party is the party of employer sanction laws, the suppression instituted by sheriff Joe Arpio is impeding upon the constitutional rights of individuals everyday and the democrats, both the democratic party in the state and its leaders, have failed to speak out and represent the hard working men and women in this State,”said Loyd.
“ When NAFTA was passed by the Clinton administration it was to bring Mexico’s economy into alignment with the U.S. When the U.S. does well Mexico does well, if the U.S. doesn’t do well Mexico doesn’t do well.”
“ Mexico’s population is leveling out now. They have issues with immigration from Guatemala, El Salvador, the Honduras just like we have challenges with immigration. Immigration is an issue for nearly every country around the world, and that brings up issues of globalization. It brings up issues of multi national corporations , but it goes to the heart and soul of do we value people or do we value property.”
“Go back to our forefathers like Henry Ford,” said Loyd adding, “They knew building their companies that built the United States, the economic generators for the U.S. , was that the most important capital were their workers. In both our work force and our military we have forgotten that we are human beings, that we are people,” said Loyd.
It is that very lack of focus, lack of priority given to individuals that Loyd attributes as the cause for frustration on the part of voters, and society in general.
“We have lost our moral compass, “ said Loyd adding, “We have become so enmeshed in consumerism, acquiring a bigger house, acquiring a bigger car, that we have failed to remember what is truly important.”
“I think it happened over a long period of time in our society, I think has become a cultural issue. And in the light of all of this ugliness and supposed disappear I find great opportunity. The opportunity is when the pain becomes greater than the fear, we make the change. The pain we are experiencing as individuals in Arizona witnessing the Gestapo like behavior like Joe Arpio, is causing us tremendous distress.”
Loyd sees little in the Sherif’s activities that are solving problems.
“ He (Sherif Arpiao) is a publicity hound. He has a magnificent campaign, at the tax payers’ expense. He takes on issues that are hot button issues and gets covered every single day. He uses the media to further his own personal agenda. It makes for great copy, and intimidates elected officials to the point where they stop challenging him,” said Loyd.
“In the civil rights movement, it wasn’t until two Jewish men , two young Jewish boys died fighting for civil rights, that it finally shifted in the media. Do we have to have people die before we understand that this is not right?” asks Loyd. “ So I run as independent to inspire people to find and use their voice. I run as independent to inspired people to stand up and stand for doing the right thing. There is absolutely no justification in the year 2008 for water bording , for torture.”
With her concerns, running a campaign like this depends on support. Loyd has not sought big names to endorse her candidacy.
“ I have to be honest with you, we have so much time in the day. In a large political campaign, and I have been involved in large political campaigns, you have a couple of people to go after endorsements. We don’t have that luxury. So we are smart about the time we spend,” said Loyd adding, “I spend little time looking for endorsements. I would rather have one from the little old Lady who has lived her for 90 years than Phil Gordon( current Mayor of Phoenix Arizona).”
It is political opportunism that is also to blame for the problems we face, and it is an issue that Loyd feels is epidemic in U.S politics. “It is about what is politically expedient. And that is why we are where we are in so many issues,” says Loyd .
“We are at the cross roads of the old way of doing it faced with it isn’t working, And we have this new path, whether you call it a paradigm shift a fresh perspective, it is there. It is 2008 are we going to keep going down the same road, and it is a road mired in insanity.”
One area she sites as an example is the erection of a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.
“We were so excited about the wall coming down with Ronald Regan, and now we are talking about the only solution we have for immigration is to build a wall? That to me is the most preposterous expensive ideallogically based radicalization in our country. That is insane! We are better than this we are more innovative than this.”
“We have many politicians, but we have few leaders,” says Loyd.
“I am not an isolationist, I am pragmatic. We cannot continue the American economy solely on buying things being a consumer society. We have to create a manufacturing base again. We have to create real sustainable resilient jobs for the American people.”
Running a campaign that is outside of the support of either political party can mean more than struggling for support. I can turn ugly.
“I have had phone calls saying , ‘ what is it going to take to get you out. ‘ I have had phone calls saying you have to drop out. I have had threats. Yes, I have documented threats from people in political parties that say you have to get out,” said Loyd. The phone calls to exit the race begs a question, one the Loyd quickly raised after recounting what transpired during the campaign.
“If I am not a threat, why are you spending time threatening me? If you think I can’t win, why are you spending your time and energy threatening me?”
“I don’t stand in fear. I am not afraid of Joe Aprapio, said Loyd adding, “ I would rather die for what I believe in than sit back in silence allowing atrocities to occur in my home town. In the place that I live, to my friends. I will not sit in silence and do that,” said Loyd.
With her outspoken stance, her sexual orientation has not been an issue in her candidacy, at least not directly. “No, no body has come up to my face and said no I am not supporting you because you are gay. I don’t have, for my age , the stereotypical coming out. I knew that I was gay when I was 17. So I grew up in South Dakota. I grew up in that state when people were beat up because they were gay. And I experienced that personally. I witnessed that period.”
Loyd often points to disconnects and the lack of communication among those engaged in the process as reason for the system failures.
“Our high level decision makers or at the national level fail to engage with the people whom they are making policy decisions about . Most republicans don’t interact with democrats and republicans don’t interact with democrats.”
As an independent she is just that. However, there are elements to both parties that have some appeal to her. “There are things republicans say that make sense to me, there are things democrats say that make sense to me.”
With younger people making up larger parts of the voting constituency, the issues that they feel most passionate may come as surprise to those unaware of them.“Across the board they are interested, they are engaged they are intrigued. They love that I am running as an independent,” said Loyd adding, “One of the most frequent questions I get asked is about social security. “
“Many of them are going into the military. One or two in each class room. You have a large number, I don’t know the exact statistic but 70 to 80 percent , are go in wanting to get an education and not having the means to do it any other way. Other kids are going in because their family is there. They feel a call to duty.”
“ I spend time with military moms and dads and kids that have come back from Iraq and older men and women who have served over there and it is so tuff for them. They look like deer caught in the head lights. You know they have witnessed things no human being should have to witness. And doing things no human being should have to do,” said Loyd adding, “My heart goes out to them. They are so courageous in what they want to accomplish.”
She is also aware of the increasing problems returning troops have with obtaining proper medical treatment. “The red tape they have to go through. Again we are just not taking care.”
It is the difficulty that some having grasping the current state of affairs that hit Loyd with an observation about the current state of the nation.
“We live in Disneyland,” said Loyd continuing, “We as Americans live in Disney land. We don’t have to worry about an airport blowing up because of the diligence of our men and women in the military.”
There is also the increasing role fear has played in the way day to day business is being conducted that often leaves those wishing to participate unable to do so. “In the United States people have come to fear the government and I find that completely undemocratic,” said Loyd. “No longer is it time to ask permission or wait until it is perfect. WE need more candidates not less.”
One question that comes up is the issue of splitting the vote. With Loyd’s candidacy having an impact on both parties, the issue of splitting the vote is not one she is one to shy away from addressing. “It is the politics of fear and it works with most people, said Loyd. “ Does not a democratic republic benefit from a multitude of choices?”
Considering the strains, threats and difficulties in running a race such as this, one could come to the conclusion that it would lead to stress. “I am truly the happiest I have ever been in my life.”
A persistent theme that crops up for Loyd is the importance of opening doors for others.
Whatever the outcome, Loyd wants to encourage more to run, even against the odds.
“My goal is to inspire you,” said Loyd.