election recount!
8.07.2005
while florida residents are still recounting the ballots from west palm beach for election 2000, someone needs to be counting the amount of idiotic, paper-wasting, tree-killing, retardedly pointless campaign road signs that litter the sides of our street today.
are we americans really that influenced by what other people think that we will change our opinions and our views in order to vote for the popular candidate and fit in with the rest of the crowd?
VA governor candidates are obviously banking on that judging by the sheer amount of signs seen regularly on the sides of roads.
they must believe that if a driver is unsure about whether to vote Kaine or Kilgore in the upcoming election, that undecided vote is definitely getting cast for whoever has more devoted followers that have the time to hammer down more propaganda in their yards than the competition's. to me, these blatantly plain signs only serve to shout to other neighbors, "Hey, I'm voting for Kilgore! I'm conservative bitches!"
it would be understandable if these ozone-depleting pieces of useless propaganda said anything about the candidate's stance on the economy, abortion, or ipods, but that is never the case.
in fact, every democrat & republican uses the exact same design - a blue background (red ones are rare and special and speak well for the candidate's uniqueness) with the candidate's name placed prominently in the middle in a large, plain font. don't forget the omnipresent small red bar (or blue for a red background) that displays the oh-so-critical, only-must-know fact about the candidate - what he/she is running for.
commercials on TV at least inform the public on a basic level as to what a candidate believes in. even if these white collar politicians are seen out of place at construction sites and with their fake families on commercials, they are at least attempting to appeal to the voters. hell, even mudslinging ads try to give you information about the other candidate - demeaning, of course - even if it is misleading or completely wrong half the time.
even without basic cable, Americans can form opinions on candidates through the internet, debates, and election rallies that actually state a candidates' platform.
with all these forms of sharing information, why would one be swayed to vote for the opposing candidate based on the guy's campaign signs?
devout disciples of Jerry Kilgore, the democratic candidate, must feel secure and sleep tight at night knowing that the 57 signs they each nailed down in their front yards are surely converting passerby's to vote the Democratic ticket.
