Bill Clark

Political ads—we’ve all seen them. They start off extolling the virtues of each candidate, showing what a great person so-and-so is and telling us all about the great things he or she will do when they’re voted into office. As the primaries come and go, the frequency of these ads rises. Instead of seeing one or two a night, we start to see one or two per commercial break. Not only does the frequency change, but so does the tune. Now instead of hearing each candidate talk about themselves, it turns to the candidates talking about each other: how this guy voted against that, and how that guy voted against this. It starts out with the candidates “showing concern” for their constituents and how they’d be a better fit for them and how they’d look out for them better, and it quickly deteriorates into a mudslinging grudge-match with each candidate disparaging their opponent as strongly as he or she can.

That’s what it’s like here in Massachusetts today, the day before the special election to fill the seat left vacant upon the passing of the late Senator Edward Kennedy. Martha Coakley and Scott Brown are vying to fill the open seat in the Senate. For those that haven’t yet decided who they’re voting for—yes, there are those that still think about who they’re voting for, rather than just voting the party line—these ads have become useless. They’re now just vicious attacks on character, neither candidate can claim that they have the best interests of the public at heart anymore. And then the “non-candidate” ads are thrown into the mix. Democrats Coalition for This, Republican Election Coalition for That. Now it’s their turn to attack the opposing party’s candidate, with the sole purpose of getting people to vote Democrat or Republican. No longer is it “For the People”, now it’s just “For the Power”.

While my mind has been made up for weeks as to who I’m voting for, I can understand the bewilderment of anyone tuning into the media to help make a decision. If my mind weren’t already made up, I’d be at the point where I don’t want to vote for either of them, and not because of the reason you might be thinking. While one might think that both candidates are the devil incarnate after watching a few ads from each party, frankly I’m just disgusted at what a ridiculous mess the race has become. For a month now, the only ads you see on TV or hear on the radio are personal attacks and character assassination.

Once. Just once I would like to see a candidate run a good, clean campaign from start to finish. Talk about yourselves. What will you do for Massachusetts, for your country, and for me as a voter? Truth be told, you don’t give a damn what voters want anymore, you just want to be prom king or queen. You want the popularity and the power to do whatever you please, vote as your respective party wants you to or as will benefit you, and ignore what benefits your constituents.

I put it to all of you, every last politician, run a clean campaign and I’ll vote for you—I don’t give a damn what party you are. Put the voters first, and you’ll gain votes, it’s as simple as that.

UPDATE: I was watching the news on Boston’s Fox 25 last night from 5:30-6:30, and every commercial break consisted of nothing but Scott Brown & Martha Coakley trash-talking ads, with non-campaign trash-talking endorsements interspersed here and there. Absolutely annoying. We know about the election by now–give it a rest!