Do yourself a favor and go read them.

That, and he was Denise Huxtable's husband "Lt. Martin Kendall" on The Cosby Show. That's so cool! [teenage girl mode off]

1. Start with the classic "Shut up!"
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWHgUE9AD4s” target=”_blank”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWHgUE9AD4s

2. Make a personal attack that has absolutely nothing to do with the topic.
"You sucked on 'The Cosby Show.'"

3. Throw in a racist insult.
"Freakin' Sell-out"

Well done Joe!

Andrew, tell him what he has won…

Oh how prophetic those words have proven to be. Excellent article and not just a little bit over my head.

Actually, if you're not already involved in local politics, do it now. You have to establish your base early. It's all about connections whether you wish to be a candidate or an aide or administrator. They have to know who you are, and you have to give them at least some minimal political reason to need you.

I came to Ventura County after years of living in the San Francisco Bay Area for most of my adult life. When I finished law school, it left the question of how I was going to make a living at the practice. I hated corporate law and large firms, so I needed to establish myself. I made friends with the local pols, became active in the powerful neighborhood councils, and eventually was appointed to city and county planning commissions. And I was a Democrat in a heavily-Republican area. If they like you, they like you, and party preference is not always an impediment even if you're on the "wrong" side. When it was time to appoint a judge to an Eastern District vacancy, they looked at who I knew, who spoke well of me, how clean my private practice was, and where I had earned my bones. They decided a Democrat with a solid legal background and good references was preferable to appointing another Republican with a lesser background. And it got me out of the direct political arena that I was starting to show too much serious interest in. I hadn't sought the position, and it genuinely came as a shock to me, but I said "yes" immediately.

Politics is a deadly-earnest business. I hope you've prepared yourself well for the rough and tumble. You can do everything right, and have it go terribly wrong just because you picked the wrong topic on the wrong day with the wrong leadership. And remember also that there are plenty of good people out there. But politics requires constant compromise, and if you ever feel that this is tantamount to selling out your principles, it will break your heart. If you're prepared for all that, the rewards can be great, both emotionally and monetarily.