Campaigns off focus in ’06

Don Sherwood, a Republican from the northeastern area of Pennsylvania, is vying for… Don Sherwood, a Republican from the northeastern area of Pennsylvania, is vying for re-election to the House of Representatives. But the focus of his campaign’s television advertisements is his apology to his wife of 33 years for cheating on her. He also defends himself against allegations that he abused his mistress. The fact that he is a member of the Republican Party only adds to the bizarre nature of his candidacy.

Republicans are well-known for being the “moral party.” During the 2004 election, the “sanctity” of marriage was used to swing voters to the Republican side as an amendment to stop gay marriage was introduced. Cheating on a spouse, however, destroys the very sanctity of marriage that Republicans are trying to save.

Sherwood’s opponent, Democrat Chris Carney, responded to Sherwood’s pleas for forgiveness by releasing ads that ridicule Sherwood and his affair. It also focuses on the suspected abuse of the mistress by reiterating that she claimed to have been strangled repeatedly. While it’s nice to see that Carney won’t allow Sherwood’s affair to go unnoticed, his advertisements are just as pointless as his opponent’s.

Neither of them is giving enough time to actual issues.

The focus of a campaign should not be the candidate’s personal life. If he is in a scandal that is large enough to warrant a televised apology, perhaps he should reconsider running for election especially if such an affair goes against the very values he is supposed to stand for.

Sherwood’s affair and apology represent one of the core reasons that the average citizen has for not voting. Candidates who are already riddled with scandal and corruption do not inspire many people to go to the polls. Campaign advertisements are not the only way for candidates to spread the word about their stances on issues, but they are the most accessible. Wasting advertisement space to apologize for an affair only informs the voters that their candidate is unfaithful, which could then affect the amount of trust the voters place in the candidate’s election promises.

Sherwood is not the only candidate who is dealing with a scandal during the race for a Congressional seat. Several other candidates are also facing investigations. Curt Weldon, another Republican from Pennsylvania, is being investigated by the FBI for using his influence to help his daughter gain lobbying contracts. Bob Ney, a candidate from Ohio, also recently admitted to accepting bribes from the infamous Jack Abramoff. While he is being called on to resign as soon as possible, the fact still remains that every day it seems a new scandal breaks out on Capitol Hill.

Illinois voters recently took part in a poll that revealed their current attitude towards elections and candidates. Neither candidate running for governor of Illinois has a large lead because of claims that the voters do not believe either of them will make a good governor. The voters polled also stressed that they thought corruption was still prevalent in the state government. Four out of 10 voters continued on to state that they thought both of the main candidates would fail to rid the administration of the corruption, scandals and fraud investigations.

Even in areas where the main candidates are not embroiled in scandals, this seems to be an increasingly common view of the government. With the amount of corruption on the rise and investigations taking place, people may find themselves simply losing faith in their government. After a while, it begins to feel as though every district only has to wait a week or two for its candidate to come out with his own shocking revelation.

The constant media coverage of the Mark Foley page scandal doesn’t help matters, especially with the constant accusations that others knew of his e-mails for a while without taking action. The idea that the scandal was not addressed for quite some time leaves the question of how many other Congress members are also being allowed to continue with improper activities. Many citizens might find such scandals and potential cover-ups disheartening.

While it is still difficult to understand why someone would voluntarily choose not to partake in the democratic process, a sharp look at some of the candidates offers a bit of insight on the choice. If a voter has to choose between two scandal -ridden candidates, he may decide it is better to just stay at home. The poll results from Illinois show that voters are growing more disillusioned with the government because of scandals and corruption, and this result is reflected nationwide by consistently low voter turnouts. Perhaps the only way to increase voter turnout is to increase candidates’ integrity, which does not appear to be happening in time for the November elections.

No amount of scandals will stop Shannon from voting. E-mail her at slb46@pitt.edu.