I Did Not Become a Democrat to Run for Office

I've been a Democrat now for almost exactly three months. And from the moment I made it official, right up until now, every single day, I am asked by countless people the same question:

What are you running for?

In fact, on that first day back in early June, when I announced I was joining the Democratic Party, about a third of the response was:

“Joe, that's great! What are you running for?”

Or, “You're only doing this to run for office, Joe.”

Or, “You can't run as a Republican anymore, Joe, so you've gotta become a Democrat so you can run for office.”

There was so much of that, and it's continued day after day after day ever since.

There were even rumors about potential races I might run in. I was supposedly moving down to South Carolina and taking on Lindsey Graham, and there were a number of others, too.

Look, I get it. Because, let's be real—politicians do that sort of thing. For most politicians, every move they make is generally intended to further their career, advance their political prospects, get themselves elected. And throughout history, when politicians have publicly left a party to join another or to become an independent, in 95% of those cases, they fairly quickly announced a run for office. So I completely understand that reaction.

And let's be real again. How could I, Joe Walsh, former Tea Party hellraiser, 13 or 14 years later become a Democrat? It doesn’t add up, right? It’s just too big of a stretch. “Oh, something’s up here, Joe. You're trying to run for something.” Yes, I really do understand that reaction.

But here’s the thing…...