Voters, spit out the poison of partisanship
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October 10, 2015 2:04 PM
There’s really no difference between partisan politics and dirty politics in local elections.
That’s because in local elections, political affiliations aren’t supposed to matter.
Partisanship breeds contempt — or should, anyway. On the front end of the electoral process, it tends to make voters lazy and stupid. Who needs to really understand today’s issues and candidates’ stances on those issues, let alone the candidates’ actual background and qualifications, if all you need to do is check the box next to the man or woman whose name is followed by a letter you like? And on the back end, partisanship means the winning candidates owe payback to those who put them in office, rather than serve all the people that winning candidate is supposed to represent.
Because too few citizens realize that local elections have a greater impact on their daily lives than does a presidential election, local elections fail to draw much interest or participation. Injecting partisan poison into the system — particularly when it’s inaccurate, as a local Coeur d’Alene City Council race demonstrates — is deplorable. But there might be an upside.
In fierce competition with life’s hectic pace and society’s wilting sense of citizenship, local election participation could benefit from a good, hot controversy. Nothing stokes the coals of controversy like a smear campaign unless it’s a smear campaign that backfires. When prospective voters are more focused on streaming mindless videos than doing their due diligence as citizens, even a minor political tremor can start an earthquake of participation. And informed participation is the key to democracy.
So rather than condemn the latest in a long line of local election dirty politics, maybe we should thank those responsible. Late the night of Nov. 3, when all the ballots have been counted and voter turnout enumerated, we’ll know.
In the meantime, voters, beware the political fliers delivered to your mailbox, dropped in your door or handed to you in person. They can make just about any absurd claim, and sometimes they do.
That’s because in local elections, political affiliations aren’t supposed to matter.
Partisanship breeds contempt — or should, anyway. On the front end of the electoral process, it tends to make voters lazy and stupid. Who needs to really understand today’s issues and candidates’ stances on those issues, let alone the candidates’ actual background and qualifications, if all you need to do is check the box next to the man or woman whose name is followed by a letter you like? And on the back end, partisanship means the winning candidates owe payback to those who put them in office, rather than serve all the people that winning candidate is supposed to represent.
Because too few citizens realize that local elections have a greater impact on their daily lives than does a presidential election, local elections fail to draw much interest or participation. Injecting partisan poison into the system — particularly when it’s inaccurate, as a local Coeur d’Alene City Council race demonstrates — is deplorable. But there might be an upside.
In fierce competition with life’s hectic pace and society’s wilting sense of citizenship, local election participation could benefit from a good, hot controversy. Nothing stokes the coals of controversy like a smear campaign unless it’s a smear campaign that backfires. When prospective voters are more focused on streaming mindless videos than doing their due diligence as citizens, even a minor political tremor can start an earthquake of participation. And informed participation is the key to democracy.
So rather than condemn the latest in a long line of local election dirty politics, maybe we should thank those responsible. Late the night of Nov. 3, when all the ballots have been counted and voter turnout enumerated, we’ll know.
In the meantime, voters, beware the political fliers delivered to your mailbox, dropped in your door or handed to you in person. They can make just about any absurd claim, and sometimes they do.