kill every political consultant

[welshTerrier2]

oh, there must be a couple of decent ones out there ... maybe we can still save one or two ... but the rest of them have to go ...

we cannot have a democracy and we can never solve the country's serious problems if this crap continues ... without an informed electorate, there can be no democracy ...

imagine a situation, and this may be the actual situation, where being vague on policy gives your political opponents a smaller target to shoot at ... let's say it's "politically effective" to be vague on policy ... would it be OK with you if your party remained vague on the issues to help them "win"? i think it stinks ...

it seems to me that voters have a right to know where you stand and a right to know how you plan to solve the problems the country faces ... when "winning" becomes a higher priority than little things like truth, and integrity and democracy, something's gone very, very wrong ...

source: http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_press_re_060817_more_pa_candidates_r.htm

Project Vote Smart released the 2006 Pennsylvania National Political Awareness Test (NPAT) results today showing that 71 percent of the state's candidates refused to answer questions on the issues that are of top concern to Pennsylvania voters, such as education, budget and spending priorities, casino taxes, security, and international issues. Pennsylvania results show that only 44 percent of congressional candidates, 50 percent of gubernatorial candidates, and 27 percent of state legislative candidates were willing to inform voters through the NPAT. Both Senatorial candidate Casey and Senator Santorum refused to provide responses.

Richard Kimball, Project Vote Smart President, said that national response rates for federal and state candidates have fallen dramatically over the last three elections. This trend is evident in Pennsylvania, where congressional candidate responses have substantially declined from a high of 72 percent in the last election. <skip>

Since 2000, Project Vote Smart has found that party leaders and consultants from both major parties are advising candidates not to respond to the NPAT for two primary reasons: it will limit the candidates' ability to control their campaign messages, and it will expose them to opposition research.

These NPAT results indicate that most candidates who wish to represent the citizens of Pennsylvania in key leadership roles are not willing to help citizens cast informed votes. Their refusal to answer balanced, fair-minded questions on key issues strips citizens of the information most crucial in a democracy.

[The Magistrate]

1. Locking

Innappropriate, threats of violence.