It Is Housekeeping Time

He is meeting the neighborhood media in Leimert Park on Thursday, and on Sunday Mr. Dodge officially opens his campaign headquarters on Motor Avenue, near Palms Boulevard [votedodge.com]. He tells visitors what they suspected when they came to him — that being a Republican in Greater Culver City is an orphanating experience. There are direct parallels with living alone on a desert island. The political consultants and inspectors who look over the candidates in every campaign need to know they are not getting a novice in Mr. Dodge. He has been ignored before. A former music producer, engineer and studio owner, Mr. Dodge is entering a new phase of his life. “I have jumped out of the music industry because of my ideological perspective,” he says. “From the beginning, I had felt that I did not belong. Initially, the signs were covert because I was a Democrat, which makes me a neocon.” The change formally began 12 years ago when his son Taz was born, says the single father, who regards parenting as his primary form of identity. “I was raised in a conservative family,” he says. “But when I got involved in the music industry in the ‘60s and ‘70s, I was conned by the Socialists and the Communists. That is my only regret. When my son was born, all of a sudden I started recognizing the influences around — his mother, my friends. I recognized that it was time to return to my roots.”

Fertile Roots

Self-described as a “distant cousin” of the Dodge automobile family, Mr. Dodge’s grandfather founded a bank in Detroit that became famous, and he also served in the Eisenhower Administration. Saying that President Bush’s moral fortitude persuaded him to change his party affiliation, Mr. Dodge grades the president with an “A” for his first six years in the White House. “We are all human and make mistakes,” he said. “I forgive him for the mistakes. I would have made many more. The ‘A’ is for the courage of his convictions and for his moral steadfastness.”

In the Beginning

Mr. Dodge’s switch in party affiliation and his decision to run for office were wrapped up in a single occurrence three years ago. “My son and I were on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica,” he said, “and we saw a ‘Hate Bush,’‘Hate America’ table run by Jerry Rubin. Both of us were shaking our heads. This was so foreign to us. Taz was about 9 years old at the time. He looked up at a big picture of Hitler with Bush’s face on it. He pointed to it, and he said, ‘Isn’t that evil?’ It was at that point… That’s what did it. I said, ‘There must be a way to counter this force that is overcoming this community and affecting my son. That was the triggering moment for me. I had no idea how I would become involved in politics. All I knew was I wanted to get involved and help out in the ’04 election. I jumped on the Internet. I found a (Republican) meeting in my area. I went down there and joined. I became a leader of the Westside Republican Club. What I found out was, this was an organization where ordinary, likeminded citizens could come along, gather, have discussions. They could socialize — and vent — with people they liked. That was when I decided I didn’t want to sit around and talk. I wanted to do something. I am a man of action. I founded an organization, popupusa.com. We decided to send what we called ‘insurgencies’ into various liberal strongholds. One was the Third Street Promenade. We did a counter-event to Jerry Rubin’s. It turned into a major, major, historical event. Over about a six-month period, we had 30 volunteers every Saturday and Sunday for 8 hours at a time, presenting the Republican Party perspective. Huge signs saying Bush-Cheney. We engaged 1.9 million people. We signed up 800 new Republicans. We flipped about 60 Democrats, without me knowing what I was doing. I had no idea.”

Next: The Political Philosophy of Jeffers Dodge.