I believe I've come up with a brilliant idea when it comes time to cast your vote in the upcoming primaries.
I know this diary will be a bit too late for those voters who've already cast their ballot and I commend them all for getting out to vote regardless of who their favorite candidate might be.
That being said, I've come up with a response to some of the so-called dirty politics that has permeated the Democratic primary season.
In full disclosure, I will attest to my support for Barack Obama and, no, I'm not blaming any one candidate for what I perceive to be dirty campaigning. However, there is a stink in the air and it behooves us all to speak on this topic.
The point of this diary is not to cast blame on any one candidate. It's to show my disdain for the way politics, campaigns and electioneering have become downright nasty and full of vitriol.
Republicans attacking Democrats I can see. But, Democrats attacking Democrats makes me cringe. Not so much because I think we need to use kids gloves when it comes to the primary season. Of course not. Our candidates need to be able to weather the storm that will occur during the general election. But, we have 3 viable candidates and to see the politics of destruction being played out is, in my opinion, very damaging to the Democratic Party's chances to gain the Oval Office.
With that in mind let us look back, say, 20 or even 30 years in US politics to see what I'm really getting at. There was a time when politics and the media played a different game. This was before the 24 hour news cycle; before cable tv saturation; before the creative use of spinning the truth; before what I perceive to be the precursor to today's political arena.
We all remember Lee Atwater and his infamous attack ads on Democratic candidates, most notably Michael Dukakis. His protege, Karl Rove, entered into the dynamic and continued the same. It was only on Atwater's deathbed that he caught full the ramifications of his misdeeds and felt compelled to apologize quite publicly, I might add, for these transgressions. But, that didn't stop Karl Rove from continuing down the path of the politics of destruction.
That being said, I'm dismayed to see our finest doing the same to each other. Of course, as I stated above, it's necessary to fight the fight and get into the occasional scrum now and again. But, lets leave it to the Republicans to be accused of pandering to the electorate and instead let us show our disapproval with the politics of destruction by simpling pinching our nose when we cast our vote.