Sam Stone, Cairn Consulting

Spend an hour with Sam Stone of Phoenix, Arizona and I can promise you’ll come away realizing it might not be such a bad idea to sell peanuts and Cracker Jack in the Halls of Congress as you come to the realization, sports – most especially baseball, as Stone puts it, is this nation’s “unifier”.

In the hour I gave over to my verbal adventure with Phoenix Councilman Sal DiCiccio’s , chief of staff, I lookedback and realized those roots of thought began with Stone who says his come from, “Being born in Boston. Grew up in UpState New York. And “matured” in Arizona.”

Join Candidates.vote as I, Clark H. Caras, visit with Stone who is also head of Cairn Consulting that specializes in political advocacy. Stone attended the University of Arizona and Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Oregon.

Candidates.vote – It’s no secret to those who know you Sam, you have a love of books. What are you reading right now?

Stone – “The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created,” by Jane Leavy – I’m a baseball fanatic. I love history, politics, and sports. I do my best to keep sports and politics separate. Sports is my release. It’s how I keep my sanity.

Candidates.vote – Your love and study of both sports and politics can be attributed to either DNA or environment; or I guess maybe both?

Stone – It’s true I love all sports, but baseball has to be number one, especially being from Boston. I grew up with my dad, Martin Stone, being the batting practice pitcher for the Braves, LA Dodgers, and Red Sox.

We have pictures of me shagging fly balls in front of the Green Monster. On the east coast sports is engrained in you when you are young. It’s a religion! It was an event you go and do. On the east coast it’s a life. You talk about it the next day. It’s a unifier!

Candidates.vote – Being from the east coast and transplanted allll… most to the west coast here in Phoenix. Are those of us out west close to having sports as a “religion” or are we going to have to convert or be baptized?

Stone – Oh I’m not trying to let my jealousies get in the way of what I see with sports as a unifier all over America. For example though. Go to an Arizona Diamondbacks game and you’ll see the kids with Diamondbacks caps on and their dads all have other teams caps on with generations of tradition behind them. Boston, New York, St. Louis the Braves.

Candidates.vote – All the talk about sports reminds me we often ask our guest interviewees if they are a hamburger or cheeseburger kind of personality?

Stone – Cheeseburger for sure. No question. How can you eat a hamburger without cheese?

Candidates.vote —  Okay. How about when it comes to having pickles on the burger. Yes or no to them?

Stone – Pickles are up for interpretation. The cheese is not!

Candidates.vote – When you finish with “The Big Fella” do you have another book already chosen to take its place on your nightstand? One you might recommend here?

Stone – There will be a book there. As for recommendations? Biographies; great biographies. Winston Churchill, Truman, FDR, Washington. Read what they said! History is relevant. History does repeat itself. Even if it was a tragedy the first time. It will repeat itself and be tragic again.

Candidates.vote – Sam. You have a background in journalism, mass media and advertising. You have to have a bit of an opinion about some of what you see around you?

Stone – I’m seeing a move, from both sides, to censor thought. It’s one thing to disagree, but to not be allowed to think it! The minute you step over the line and criminalize thought, you cross a boundary that by being crossed is tragedy.

Candidates.vote – Any advice as in this political landscape of history we are seeing the umpire signal a full count a bit more often?

Stone – With all of these so-called “political reporters” talking about things like the Dow Jones – 99% of them couldn’t tell you what it is! It’s multiple times a week I grind my teeth over something!

Humans have been writers for hundreds of years. If you want to know about the 2nd Amendment and what it’s supposed to do don’t let someone tell you about it! Read the letters the framers wrote to each other back and forth when they were creating and debating it.

There are those who want to write about getting rid of the Electoral College because it doesn’t fit their agenda. Our framers knew all of these institutions were critical and you can read why they believed it in their own words. The Founders were entirely aware this would happen.

That there would be major cities and population centers along the coasts. They knew the life of a rancher in Arizona would be different than a banker in New Yorker. And you can read why they knew this and why they knew these things would work for us these 240 years later and in their own words and letters. Not up for interpretation.

Candidates.vote – On the political front it looks as if you and Councilman DiCiccio will be busy in Phoenix District 6 in the coming year.

Stone – Indeed looking forward to helping there. I can be reached thru the Councilman’s office. And very soon on my own www.SamStone.vote .