It's Getting Dirty Out There....

Elections used to be fun. Growing up many centuries ago, my parents, siblings and the pet stegosaurus would sit by the TV and watch results come in. Ads were minimal during the campaign, as everyone KNEW Walter Cronkite would tell it like it was each evening on the news. Candidates debated, usually about issues and not about each other's shortcomings. It was long on discussion, usually short on venom.

I came home today to a mailbox filled with hit pieces from both parties, all concerning the 15th Assembly District race. No "Backpacker" magazine, no "Smithsonian"....just a lot of crap that gets increasingly more intense each day. Besides the hernia my letter carrier is trying to hold off, the ceaseless volume of NastyGrams we receive is beyond the pale.

My first thought was "who's paying for all this?", as I try to visualize what must go on to generate the kind of cash it takes to vomit out the volume of print ads, radio spots, TV commercials...for a small state Assembly District! And how about sending something with even the slightest piece of truth or an idea what the candidate might do if elected?

Much of the ability of candidates to run all this junk each election cycle should cause us to ask simple questions - what are we getting for all the money being spent? Who's spending the money, and why? Are we in for the same ol' thing no matter who gets elected? And finally - why aren't campaigns for state and federal offices publicly funded?

That might at least mitigate the pull of the lobbies, the special interests that seek to buy a candidate or two (hundred). And it would certainly curtail the waste of tons of paper and the fowling of the airwaves. Only in an election year can "American Idol" look like a cultural coup.

Let's hope politicians get it this year. We can hope, right? That we'd like facts and plans, not mindless sound bites and catch phrases.

And I'm so thankful that we who are running for the LARPD's Board's 3 open seats get along just fine, thank you very much. It's nice to share ideas and talk about what could be for the District, even if we each have different priorities sometimes. May all campaigns be so civil! Remember to vote November 2nd!