Paper Cuts
Charlie Earl
When
pollsters examine the voting universe, they attempt to identify registered
voters and likely voters. Registered voters are those who are legally qualified
to cast a ballot in the current election cycle (yes, I know, wishful thinking).
Likely voters are those whose voting habits indicate that they will probably
cast their votes this time as well. Clearly, except for the usual instances of
fraud, the election will be decided by registered voters, and probably by
likely voters. Those who consistently go to the polls during the election
process will have a greater impact than those who do not (a self-evident
observation).
In 1967 I
was finally eligible to vote. We had to be 21 years of age in those days so I
was not allowed to vote in the 1964 contest between Senator Barry Goldwater and
President Lyndon B. Johnson. Suffice it to say that my candidate got his doors
blown off in that national referendum. My single little vote could not have
turned the tide from Johnson’s “Great Society” goodie wagon to Goldwater’s
small government point-of-view. This is a very long introduction to my topic
and title, “Paper Cuts.” Every day since August my mailboxes, electronic and
snail version, have been inundated with slick campaign literature pieces.
Perhaps when
one reaches his mid-sixties, politicians and their minimally-astute minions
assume that we like mail because we have nothing better to do than to scan and
absorb slick advertising copy featuring the handsome candidate and the
requisite perfect family. My ever-shrinking memory bank reminds me that my
campaign produced a similar piece during our 1982 campaign for the Ohio House
of Representatives. There we were…the four of us seated in front of the
fireplace. My wife, Pat, and I were nattily attired and our precious offspring were
angelically inspired. Kelly wore her cowgirl boots with a modest mid-calf skirt
(she was 13), and seven-year-old P.J. looked rather dapper with his hair
somewhat under control (an exception). Our placid yet confident poses did not
reflect the turmoil and chaos in our household during that hectic campaign
season. But …. We only did the one mailer….sent to every household in the
district. In 2012, it’s a different ballgame.
Obviously as
we get closer to final Election Day, the quantity of political mail increases
exponentially. Several of the candidates send mailers to me several times per
week, and in some cases several per day. Notice the multiple uses of “several”
in one small sentence? Several in the electoral context means too many, too
often. The vast majority of the glossy pieces add nothing to my knowledge about
the candidate, party or policies. They generally fail to include any nuance or
specifics. In fact they offend me. If a candidate, party or special interest
group believes that I am so easily persuaded by so little information, then
they under-value my smarts and my role as a conscientious citizen. My response
is: nice family, nice graphics, so what?
Stop the
overkill with the barrage of electronic and paper mailing. Allow the Postal Service
to die gracefully without being propped up by your big bucks being shelled out
for your bulk rate. Send me fewer pieces with more depth and explanation. Spare
me the cascading reams of paper that spill from my modest little rural mailbox
at 4:15pm. Please Candidates, tell me more and contact me less. I’ll have a
higher opinion of you if you do.
Oh yeah,
then there are the insufferable ads on video….TV, cable and satellite. But that’s
another story. I must go soak my ailing fingertips in Bactine now.
Charlie Earl
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