We are days away from the general election and the mudslinging has kicked into high gear. The negative political ads, mailers, Facebook posts and Tweets know no political party affiliation. They are an attempt to keep the voter away from the polls on Election Day. They are the most basic forms of voter suppression disguised as political advertising.
Whether they are targeting an incumbent or a challenger, the creators of these negative forms of communication are hoping that the voter will become so disenchanted with the targeted candidate that they will not venture out to vote on Election Day.
As voters, we owe it to the political process to ignore these veiled attempts to prevent us from having our voices heard at the polling booths. We owe it to all the candidates involved to educate ourselves on their merits and not rely on the rumors and innuendos. Finally, we owe it to ourselves. We must not allow any political party, candidate and their "machine" to dictate to us, as voters and citizens, how, why and if we should vote.
Vote for the candidate that will have your best interests and that of the constituency their office serves at heart. Strap on those boots and trudge through the mud that has been flung and vote.
We have heard the pundits and read the bloggers discuss the reasons for continual low voter turnout. This has especially come to light with the recent special election held in Florida.
Historically, mid-year election voter turnout is low. However, the so-called mid year elections races are the ones that tend to have a more direct affect on our lives. A senatorial, congressional, gubernatorial, mayoral or village dog control officer race will ultimately touch on more personal topics than a presidential race. It is normally not until after all the votes are tallied that voters; especially those that did not go to the polls, begin to voice their disdain and criticism.
Many political scientists claim that it is based on "voter apathy". I believe it goes far beyond that. It is more of the voter not being fully informed on the importance of voting during these off years. Voter education in this regard it extremely important.
Many past and current candidates will argue that they have engaged in voter education. They followed all the rules; sent out their mailers, handed out their palm cards, made the robo calls, even kissed a baby or two. They designated who the "prime voters" were and carried out a full blown Get Out the Vote assault. There's the rub; the "prime voters".
The buzzwords "prime voters" have morphed from being those most likely to vote to those most likely to donate. All too often, candidates and their staff are found to be cherry picking who to meet & greet. It is a problem across the board in every state and level of the election process. Financing a campaign is expensive and donors provide the necessary funding;however, the number of votes the donors bring directly to the polls is minuscule in the grand scheme of things.
We have quickly gone from calling for support in the form of votes to dialing for dollars. All too often the young voter, the poor voter, the woman voter and the minority voter become disconnected from the process. I cannot begin to tell you how many people locally don't vote because they believe it wasn't a big race. Every election is a big race.
Candidates need to make it a point to get out and meet those they have ignored in the past. They need educate these segments of the public on just how important their vote is.
Candidates need to stop ignoring those that live in what may be considered undesirable neighborhoods; embrace them and listen to their concerns. They want to know that the politicians do, in fact, care and have ideas to help make their lives better.
Candidates need to speak to the young voter in the language that they understand. That entails utilizing the tools that social media affords them. Incorporate Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram into your overall campaign strategy. Encourage young voters to become involved in the election process. Actively recruit young people as campaign volunteers. Most importantly, listen to their concerns since it is their future on the line.
Candidates must not ignore the woman voter. Women make up 51% of the population and garnering their support during the campaign should be a top priority. Women wield tremendous political clout that is so often overlooked and underestimated.
Finally, we need to do our part by providing education within our own social circles. We need to reach out to our family, friends, and neighbors. Encourage them to vote. Educate them on the importance of their vote and being involved in the political process.
There you have it. The State of the Union is in the history books and the obligatory social media pontifications have begun.
For clarification, pontification is "the act of speaking out for the purpose of hearing oneself speak.
Posturing...speaking to people that don't really care what you say one way or another since you're speaking solely to front yourself as "someone in charge"'. (source: Urban Dictionary)
In fact, this article may, in fact, be classified by some as a pontification; but, I digress.
As the pundits from both sides of the aisle start dissecting and analyzing last night's speech; let's remember that as the insults and accusations begin to fly on social media there are issues closer to home that we all can be advocating for without alienating our social media friends.
There are those in the south; many of whom who spent the night trapped on icy highways in their cars fighting to stay warm. There is the senior citizen down the block wondering if the frigid cold and icy roads are going to keep the "meals on wheels" volunteer from delivering what would probably be their only hot meal for the day. There is the single parent sending their child off to school this morning worrying if he or she will be warm enough at the bus stop.
The examples above are just the tip of the iceberg. They serve as reminders that, while we each have a right to express our personal opinions regarding the President's speech, we should not lose sight of what is happening in our own backyards. They are just as important as the president's proponents and refuters arguments over the national political and social issues. However, insulting our social media friends over these issues is serving no purpose other than adding more fuel to an already raging firestorm.
Binghamton radio airwaves recently played host to an in-depth interview with Donald Trump. The former GOP Presidential hopeful is currently being rumored as a potential opponent against New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo in November. You can listen to the full interview here: WNBF Trump Interview
Several of the points made by Mr. Trump need to be addressed.
1. New York State has the highest taxes in the nation. This couldn't be further from the truth. Currently, Maryland ranks highest of the top 5 states nationwide. (source: Bloomberg via MSN Money). New York does rank at #3 highest. However, the bipartisan proposals being touted in Albany should help to reduce the current personal and corporate tax burdens across the state.
2. They want to take away all of New Yorkers' guns under the SafeAct. Again, this is a flat out fallacy. While the law may still need some tweaking, one thing is for certain; it does not state anywhere in its current form that New Yorkers will have to give up all their legally registered firearms. On December 31, 2013, Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny, of the Federal District Court in Buffalo, upheld most of the New York SAFE Act, saying that its provisions "further the state's important interest in public safety.... it does not totally disarm New York's citizens; and it does not meaningfully jeopardize their right to self-defense". (source: New York Times "Federal Judge Upholds Majority of New York Gun Law" 12/31/2013)
To be fair, there was one statement made by Mr. Trump which cannot be disputed. People are fleeing the State of New York. However, there are a variety of reasons for this as there are for every other state in the Northeast experiencing the same phenomenon. To bluntly place the blame on the current administration and the governor does a disservice to those listening to Mr. Trump.
No matter where you personally fall on the political spectrum, you owe it to yourself to check out the "facts" before believing or sharing. It is only going to get worse as we move forward in this important election year.
Please excuse me for interrupting your comments and online posts for just a second. I understand that your negative rants are just as important as the "feel good" posts that I share with my online connections; however, does that mean you have the right to hijack my positive outlook on the world and, in turn, ruin my entire day?
We all have our opinions when it comes to politics, social issues and, yes, even cats. If you post something I do not agree with, I make the conscious effort to either reply with facts that substantiate my opinion or simply scroll right by your post. I do not go out of my way to post a comment that is disparaging or outright mean spirited.
Maybe I am naive to think that adults are capable of having an intelligent online conversation without the name calling and vile comments. This was not how I was raised nor was it how I was taught to carry on conversations with people I may disagree with.
Yes, debate is important and a fact of life. I am not discouraging it by any means. It you disagree with something I post, then state your case as to why. Simply calling a third party out in your reply does not help to advance your case.
All too often, there are those (myself included) who have been forced to delete a post because the comments posted in response have gone rogue. These forced deletions go against the whole purpose of social media.
We can be social without being mean spirited.
As consumers of the news, we have become accustomed to certain biases in reporting from sources such as FOX News, Huffington Post, The New York Times and MSNBC; and we make our own choices on which of these we rely on for our news. However, when there is such a clear deletion of previously reported facts; I find myself forced to say something.
The Binghamton, New York mayoral race heated up yesterday with the candidates facing each other in two debates. The first debate was held in front of the members of the Rotary Club. Though closed to the public, the press was allowed to attend and report on it. Our local paper filed a report shortly after; which appeared on their website and was accessible online to its readership. Unfortunately, this image is all that remains of the original report.
Apparently, the editorial staff removed the original story when it posted its report on the evening's public debate. All links to the first report bring the reader to this updated version. (Candidates focus on crime, economy in two debates, Press & Sun Bulletin, 10/29/13).
I have no problem consolidating the story into one report. I do have a problem with the overt deletion of a statement made by one of the candidates regarding the stop and frisk policy deployed by the NYC police force which has since been ruled unconstitutional. At the Rotary debate, the candidate suggested that the city needs to implement NYC's "stop and frisk" policies. These policies have been ruled unconstitutional, are racist and can actually make things worse. (see http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/12/justice/new-york-stop-frisk/; see http://bklynr.com/all-the-stops/; see http://healthland.time.com/2013/07/26/stop-and-frisk-stirs-up-rather-than-deters-youth-crime/)
As the newspaper's subscribers read the paper this morning over their morning coffee, they will have no idea what truly happened or was said at the first of the two debates. If they do not have Internet access, they will not be able to watch the video of the evening's debate where the candidate acknowledges and addresses his previous statement. The readers deserve as much transparency from their news sources as they do from anywhere else. Changing the slant of its reporting to make someone look better in the eyes of the public is no longer journalism in its truest form.
The voters will make their own decisions on November 5th at the polls. It is up to the candidates to convince them who is the right person for the job; it is not a journalist's place to try to sway the vote toward one candidate or another. That is what editorial board endorsements are for; which are normally filed in the opinion section not as the top story of the day.
