"... please don’t insult our intelligence by attempting to make us believe your opponent is a low-life and not worthy of being allowed to exist."

...................................................................................................................................................................
Spare all the political bloodsport
The Times-News, September 9, 2014

If we must be subjected to another round of political debates and advertisements, here’s a tip for candidates: Talk about yourself instead of your opponent.

Imagine, the idea of voting for someone as opposed to casting ballots simply against someone else?

How . . . refreshing.

Yes, when candidates consistently bash the opposition, they would be wise to consider what they’re actually doing. In fact, they would probably seem much more credible if they talked about what they have done in their political or professional lives or will do once elected. Let’s hear some goals and priorities, instead of what the opposition is lacking.

As the adage goes, great people talk about great ideas, average people talk about other people. If that is indeed true in social circles or at the office, just carry it over to city hall, Graham, Raleigh or Washington.

It would be refreshing to hear a candidate at least acknowledge their opponents’ willingness to serve their community, state or country, rather than to paint them as the devil incarnate. That’s what makes the spin we hear and read every election year so tiresome. They [sic] average Joe doesn’t enjoy political ads because they are all the same and have been for years. It’s puzzling as to why candidates haven’t figured this out before now.

And please don’t insult our intelligence by attempting to make us believe your opponent is a low-life and not worthy of being allowed to exist.

The first of three debates between U.S. Senate candidates Kay Hagan and Tom Tillis essentially kicked off the local election season last week and was sadly typical of the customary exchange of insults and spin between two high-profile candidates. The debate, if it could be called that, merely reflected what the well-financed campaigns of both have been saying via TV commercial advertising for months already.

Hagan called Tillis’ record on such issues as abortion “abysmal,” while Tillis said that though he supported the Supreme Court’s June decision in the Hobby Lobby case, he believed that contraception should be available over the counter and “probably more broadly than it is today.” That is, abortion is OK, as long as big corporations don’t have to pay for it, and he seemed to stray far from right-wing beliefs on that issue.

In an alternate line of attack, Tillis accused Hagan of opposing over-the-counter birth control access because of donations she’s received from the pharmaceutical industry, to which Hagan responded by pointing out that women no longer have to pay out of pocket for contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

And the back and forth continued.

Our hope is that candidates locally will take a better path. And usually they do, not including the often grotesque flyers the parties produce in races for N.C. General Assembly. There are any number of public forums ahead, including one sponsored by the Times-News on Oct. 13 and 14 at the Paramount Theater.

But if political candidates can’t seem to figure out how to behave they need only take the lead from high school football coaches and how they conduct themselves after the games are over.

Standing in an end zone after a tough contest is won or lost, coaches talk about how much they need to improve, the mistakes they made, what they did right. They almost never criticize an opponent or make derogatory remarks about the other side.

In the age of non-stop commentary via cable TV and the internet, that is indeed refreshing.
...................................................................................................................................................................