Dick Doyle
I really am getting tired of politics.
I read the papers, watch the news on television, even read some — but very little — of the political mail that comes to my house.
I was really impressed during our early voting leading up to the primary Aug. 12 with all the oversized postal cards that came our way from judges seeking my endorsement at the ballot box and also from the attorneys who want these judges to hand over their black robes to someone else.
Where does all the money come from? In my days as an advertising and public relations guy, I ran a few elections and I know what it cost to get into office then. I can only imagine what it costs nowadays.
Judges are supposed to be running as nonpartisans, sworn only to uphold the law and render justice. The postcards I received indicated that there are a few organizations that must think they may get a better deal by paying for postcard mailings to several thousand households where there is a registered Republican or to several thousand other addresses where a registered Democrat resides.
I don't mean to say it's wrong to campaign for office. But, unless you have (1) been a prosecutor or defendant, (2) been convicted or acquitted, (3) taken the oath to become an American citizen or (4) been in a time of crisis where your presence in Family Court becomes a time that marks your soul, you probably have never had contact with a judge at any level. How do you cast your ballot for the right one?
Many of them on the primary ballot were unopposed. The ones who had opposition were the ones bombarding you with the "I'm best for this judgeship. Look who's endorsed me!"
It's the way the system works — at least until somebody comes up with a better idea.
And, I'm really getting tired of political politics.
My e-mail box is getting pounded daily with political messages about the two presidential candidates that make my blood boil. Either these messages, which are usually passed on for the third or fourth time, have no basis in fact or are so far out as to make me wonder what idiots think these things up.
Both presidential candidates have good ideas and programs. Just comparing them and deciding which program fits your way of thinking seems to some people to be not enough information to have. They ask you to listen as candidates are vilified, their wives are being checked for everything from their hairdos to the height of their high heels, the meaning of the knuckle knock versus the handshake is suspicious, the un-publicized visit to this or that church or mosque has some secret meaning, the paintings on the candidates' charted campaign jets and on and on ... even their citizenship is being questioned! It's almost more useless trash talk than the average voter can take. And it doesn't help anybody.
What many of us seem to be forgetting is where the laws are made. That's where Congress comes into play.
It will make or break this new president. If one party wins the White House and the other commands the House or Senate, it will make little difference what the candidates for president will tell you between now and Nov. 4.
Congress is where the Republicans and Democrats live. They sit in session with a wide aisle separating them. And, when congressmen of different parties pass each other in the hall and don't even nod or say a word to a fellow legislator, we're all in trouble. That happens daily.
What I am saying is what a rising tide of voters across the country are saying to those running for election to the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate:
"Talk to each other. Compromise. Work together. Those we select to make our laws and allot our hard-earned tax dollars can make and keep this country strong and free."
But, if there is no agreement in Congress that we need the help of all our elected legislators, working together, to jointly pilot the Ship of State — that will render what we do at the ballot box futile.
Dick Doyle, a community volunteer and former newspaper editor, is a columnist for the Home News. He can be reached c/o the Home News, 2360 Corporate Circle, Third Floor, Henderson, NV 89074; by fax at 434-3527 or e-mail at [email protected].
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