To the best of my knowledge, the GRIP philosophy was started by radio talk show host Jim Gearhart. Jim hosted the morning show on NJ101.5 (WKXW) from 6AM-10AM M-F. The acronym "GRIP" means Get Rid of Incumbent Politicians. GRIP is not a club or an organization. There are no meetings to attend, no dues to pay, no pins, hats, or T-shirts to wear, no forms to fill out, no mail to read, and no letters to send. It isn't affiliated with any particular political party, and it has no political agenda. GRIP has but one simple and single goal and that is to remove ALL incumbent politicians from their cushy government position for at least one term.

Though some might disagree, it's generally accepted that the longer a politician stays in office, the less they concern themselves with the desires or wishes of their constituents and the more intrenched they become in the political machinery that runs on our tax dollars. It's no secret that a politician will say virtually anything, around election time, to stay in office and continue feeding from the government trough. However, as it has been noted too many times to count, as soon as they're back in power, all the promises they made seem to vanish into thin air or be excused away by bureaucratic gibberish that's about as transparent as wax paper.

Some people might advocate that long-term politicians can get things done more efficiently because they "know the ropes", whereas a junior politician has to start from the bottom and work his way up the political ladder of power and respect. The false impression is that these junior politicians simply can't get things done. However, history proves otherwise. In fact, it is the junior politicians who usually come up with the best ideas about how to deal with an existing problem because they actually spend the time to try and figure out a solution. On the other hand, the long-term politician either 'goes with the flow', in fear of losing the respect of his fellow cronies, or they follow strict party lines, in fear of losing the support of their party.

What almost everyone fails to understand about GRIP is that it also instantly removes the existing cronies from their appointed positions. If you check the records, this is where a huge amount of our tax dollars really gets eaten up. Consultants, advisors, lawyers, and high-profile businessmen are very often appointed to offices about which they have little understanding or experience. They get appointed to these offices because they helped the politician get elected in some way, shape, or form. In the most simple of terms, it's the payoff. And, since a junior politician doesn't normally have a well-oiled political machine to back up their bid for office, they are much more likely to seek out people who are well-versed and well-respected in the particular fields where there are vacancies to fill. The bottomline here is that the taxpayers get their monies worth.

I could go on and on about the benefits of GRIP (getting rid of incumbent politicians), but one statement sums it all up in just a few words: "If you don't GRIP, you have no right to gripe."