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