Politics is by its very nature, corrupting. I don't care who you are, how high your ideals, or how noble your intentions; you will never leave this profession either as a candidate, an operative, or an activist as clean as you entered it. Survival in this profession demands the making of painful compromises, the telling of half truths, and unfortunately in some cases even outright lies. That's just the way it is. It's the way it always has been and always will be for nothing short of a fundamental change in human nature itself will alter it; a nature forged through hundreds of centuries of human behavior.
In politics there are times when you have to be out and out cold blooded and cruel and each individual must ultimately decide for him or herself which is more important; imperfect victories where we at least get something of what we're after or moral defeats where we get nothing at all.
Again, this is a personal call that only you can make as an individual. Nothing of any real value is ever free and so if progress be your goal, you must at times be willing to swallow your pride, suppress your personal disappointments, and look to your ultimate objectives. This of course does not mean that the ends always justifies the means but it does mean that pure purity of tactics ensures that those goals we have set for ourselves will never be reached for politics is the antithesis of purity since it is ultimately grounded on the imperfections of human nature itself.
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