June 25, 2010
By Rebecca Gladden
Back in 1966, when future U.S. President Ronald Reagan was running for Governor of California, his campaign worried that dissension within the ranks of the state's Republican party would result in the worst case scenario for himself and his party -- a Democrat winning the office.
In an effort to try to prevent that eventuality, the party chairman coined a phrase which was used by Reagan during his Governor's campaign and throughout the rest of his political career.
As Reagan later recalled, "The personal attacks against me during the primary finally became so heavy that the state Republican Chairman, Gaylord Parkinson, postulated what he called the Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican. It's a rule I followed during that campaign and have ever since."
The meaning of the maxim is clear. Although differing factions within the party might have had legitimate issues with one another, it was ultimately better to present a united front and have a Republican win the office than to allow party infighting to hand the election to the Democrats on a silver platter.
Though it isn't practiced as much in today's rancorous political climate, the Eleventh Commandment is still espoused by many party faithful who believe it is the best way to ensure the success of individual campaigns and the party as a whole.
After all, it's one thing when a political party is attacked by critics from the outside. But when acrimony threatens an organization's wellbeing from within, it's a much more insidious danger.
And when candidates from the same party assail each other, they often provide more powerful ammunition for future attacks by their opponents than the opposition would have come up with on its own.
A few weeks ago in Michigan, after winning his fifth Cup race of the year, driver Denny Hamlin made headlines when he questioned the legitimacy of a late-race debris caution that brought the field together for a double file restart, presumably to create more drama as the race wound down.
"I understand this is show business," said Hamlin of the caution. "I didn't see any debris, if that's what you're asking. I mean, we typically get one every single week. I'm not going to say it's accepted, but what can you do?"
After hearing those comments, some argued that it was poor judgment on Hamlin's part to make that statement during a nationally-broadcast post-race interview. In so doing, he provided fodder for NASCAR's critics, who already question the believability of the sport and deride it as contrived entertainment rather than legitimate competition.
Does NASCAR need an Eleventh Commandment? Should they insist that competitors not speak ill of the sanctioning body, at least in public?
NASCAR execs tried something like that a year ago, gathering drivers and team owners for a closed-door, no-media-allowed session that quickly became known as the "Shut Up and Drive" meeting. The upshot was that it's in everyone's best interest for the sport's participants to emphasize the positive and keep criticism and negativity to a minimum.
The mandate seemed to take hold for a while, but clearly, judging by Hamlin's comments and others, the bloom is off the rose.
Some drivers are naturally better in the role of perennial cheerleader than others. Michael Waltrip and Kenny Wallace are known for their ability to beat the upbeat drum. Other drivers are more questioning, if not downright critical.
Is it realistic to expect everyone to be enthusiastic all the time? Can solutions be found if problems are never brought to light? On the other hand, is it proper for drivers to use the media to raise issues that would be better discussed in private? Or does doing so ensure that their concerns are heard and not glossed over?
All rhetorical questions, mind you.
I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.
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