VIEW: 18-25: Primary Election Coming

VIEW FROM HERE
By Bob McDowell (Born Neil Carson)
Number 18-25
PRIMARY ELECTION COMING Week of
2018/06/18
This being an even numbered year, and not a 'leap year', we are
faced with the
'mid-term' election season. Some states are already having, or have had,
primaries
while we here in Oklahoma will have our primary on June 26. This date being
the
fourth Tuesday tended to throw me a curve since elections have historically
been on
the first Tuesday, or first Tuesday after the first Monday.
Campaigns have been if full swing from Congress on down to the
County level.
Here in Tulsa we are having an 'open seat' for the District One Congress
seat
because Cong. Bridenstine had self-term limited to three terms, and kept his
word.
In the meantime PRESDT-45 nominated him to head up the NASA and after months
of Senate minority delay tactics past year end and re-nominated he was
finally seated,
so the seat is already open with a number of candidates seeking election.
At the State level, it seems that all seats are up for election,
except for half of the
48 Senate and two of the three Corporation Commission seats. Things have
been
rather lively for some time. Some rather nasty radio campaign commercials
have
cropped up, noticeable in the primary race for the Republican nomination for
Attorney General. Frankly, when such a thing happens it serves as a
'turn-off' for me,
and a number of those in my circle of friends, towards the perpetrators of
such. It
indicates to me that those behind such tactics are more of the C/S mentality
and will
not receive my vote.
Admittedly in some cases it is the retained 'campaign advisor' who
comes up
with these nasty, and all too often false, attacks. But it is the candidate
and closest
'amateur' advisors who succumb to the sales pitch of the 'professional' that
resorts
to such tactics. Unfortunately such methods have caused all too many very
honest
and qualified individuals to decide to sit on the sidelines and thus reduce
the choices
we voters might have.
Another such tactic is the "whisper campaign" where a, usually
false,
accusation is sent from person to person in such a way that the victim might
be
unaware of its existence until too close to the election day to mount a
refutation. In
my own personal experience of being a candidate none of the above was ever
known to me to be used. In fact in my 1996 race for State Senate a friendly
relationship was maintained with my incumbent opponent, much to the
consternation
of members of his party from the "swamp" in Oklahoma City who observed it.
That
is the way it should be!!
In the end, we should exert every effort to become fully informed on
every
candidate and every issue before casting our ballot. If we do not have
adequate
information to make a decision, then the vote on that race or issue should
be
withheld, in my opinion, because a guess will make the decision a 50%
probability
of being the wrong one, to the detriment of the government and population.
The demonstrated outright hatred expressed against PRESDT-45 in the
last
Presidential race, and continuing today, sadly in some cases from within his
own
party, in my opinion comes from those who may have never been able to accept
things going not their preferred way. It is too bad that such individuals
have failed
to complete the 'growing up' process and still are acting like the 'spoiled
brats'
they seem to be. If the party officials were more mature and with more
dedication
to the original written principals of the respective party they would move
to correct
those who violate the rules of polite society and even, if necessary, move
to remove
them from the ballot or publicly disavow their candidacy.
There was an old movie titled "The Farmer's Daughter in which party
officials
proceeded to do just that against their own candidate when it was found he
had the
wrong affiliation outside the party. As usual in those days there were a
number of
major stars involved.
END
Composed May 29, 2018
Robert W. McDowell, Jr.
841 Lynwood Lane
918-451-1051 Broken Arrow
OK 74011-8608
Email: abdmcfpi@localnet.com