As we sift through the rubble of last week’s election, two things are apparent to us.
One, in Lincoln County this year, by and large we were blessed with a great slate of candidates. That is not always the case, but in general we think Lincoln County has it pretty good.
In this cycle we lose some talented, respected lawmakers; notably the term-limited Bruce MacDonald in House District 89, Tim Marks in House District 87, and Ellen Winchenbach in House District 91.
However, on the strength of the campaigns, the respective successors, newcomers Stephanie Hawke, Jeff Hanley, and returning Rep. Jeff Evangelos, should pick right up where their predecessors left off.
Also, we suspect newly elected House District 53 Representative Jeff Pierce will be a force to be reckoned with once he gets his legislative legs under him.
The second thing we noticed is how the flood of outside money impacted our local process. We believe this issue has to be addressed in some fashion. The U.S. Supreme Court has effectively equated money with free speech, and that is where they left it.
In a vacuum the court’s ruling makes philosophical sense, but life doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It is possible for a third party, unconnected to either candidate, to wade into any race for any reason, and start lobbing bombs that may or may not reflect reality.
In our opinion, these untethered third party attacks damage the entire process, of course because of the mud they sling, but primarily because they collectively add to the hyperpartisan bitterness that has turned the arena of public service into an arid wasteland of gotcha politics and out-of-context quotes.
The run-up to this last election was less a celebration of Americans exercising their constitutional right than a palpable relief the end was near.
Maybe we should have voted in August this year.
If choosing our government in going to be something we have to endure rather than celebrate, our democracy is in sad, sad, shape.
