*Ninety-eight percent of Americans - plumbers, dentists, bus drivers - have skin in the game. We have to worry about the 2 percent - the intellectuals and politicians making the big decisions who don’t have skin in the game and are messing the whole thing up for everybody else. Thirty years ago, the French National Assembly was composed of shop owners, farmers, doctors, veterinarians, and small-town lawyers—people involved in daily activities. Today, it’s entirely composed of professional politicians—people who are just divorced from real life. America is a little better, but we’re heading that way.
*Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of _Black Swan_, _Antifragile_, and _Skin in the Game_, in Esquire Magazine
When we talk about the Swamp, we’re talking about the 2 percent. Intellectuals and politicians. People who are, as Taleb says, divorced from real life. If you want to unscrew things, you need politicians with skin in the game.
I know one. And you probably know her, too.
Dottie Bailey for Missouri House District 110. Republican.
Dottie Bailey has skin in many games. Perhaps most visibly was the skin she put into the game of helping Ferguson during and after the riots. Dottie jumped into the St. Louis Tea Party BUYcotts, the first which took place while rubbish piles were still smoldering.
Dottie followed that putting her skin in the game to demand a legislative fix for abusive municipal courts. Dottie pressured lawmakers and defended me from attackers on the right who opposed the liberty-promoting SB5 introduced by former state Senator Eric Schmidt, now our State Treasurer.
It was Dottie’s idea to “adopt” one Ferguson business owner. Dottie worked endlessly to help Dellena Jones keep her hair salon open and running. Dottie’s GoFundMe project raised over $7,000 for Dellena. They remain close friends.
Dottie has two children in Rockwood schools, and she puts her skin into education as well. She attends school board meetings, demanding the district promote liberty and sound fiscal management. Unlike one of her opponents, Dottie consistently opposes reckless spending by the district—recklessness and cronyism that led State Auditor Tom Schweich to give district a failing grade.
On national issues, Dottie was instrumental in Heritage Action’s fight against abuses by the unelected, unaccountable Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. President Trump moved quickly and decisively to clip the wings of that abusive leviathan. As a mortgaging banking expert, Dottie saw how CFPB was killing the real estate business and discouraging home ownership through onerous regulations. Thanks to Donald and Dottie, it’s morning in America for home business again. Heritage honored Dottie with a plaque on their Wall of Honor.
I could go on, but I’d rather you met Dottie yourself. She is running to replace our fantastic House Rep Kirk Matthews, who has decided to return to private life. Like Dottie, Kirk is a guy with skin in the game, too. The kind of people Jefferson hoped would fill the people’s houses in the federal and state governments.
On May 3 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., former House Speaker Tim Jones will sponsor a campaign kick-off fundraiser for Dottie. Tim would love to his neighbor, Dottie, in his former seat representing Missouri’s 110th state House district.
If you live in the 110th, you should take this opportunity to meet Dottie. If you don’t, but you care about good government and politicians with skin in the game, you should stop by and make a small donation.
I am Bill Hennessy, Treasurer of Dottie Bailey for Missouri. I have never been so proud to help a friend.
P.S. If you can’t make it Tim Jones’s office on May 3, you can donate today. Here’s the link.