Political Yard Sign Wars Wage as Election Nears

Published on October 20, 2004 By blogic In Politics

There's been lot's of JoeUser buzz about dirty tricks, as we near the election. Tempers are high, and I think we'll all be relieved when the election has passed. And I guess any following fights between the parties regarding recounts, hanging chads, voter intimidation, and voting of the dead.

Mrs. blogic's parents live in Pennsylvania, and have had their Kerry signs stolen several times. We've traveled to PA several times, mainly to register voters, and the excitement there is palpable. The political ads are constant in PA, but in NYC we were shocked when we finally saw an ad, last week: Chuck Schumer ran a Senate spot. Does anyone even know the name of his opponent?

I gather this is also happening on the other side, which is no surprise. I've never claimed Democratic zealots are any less nuts than Republican ones. Does anyone really think that stealing these signs will affect the election? Then again, why put up the signs in the first place? I can't imagine they make any real difference. Maybe it's all irrational.

Anyway, Reuters has a good piece on this:

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) - Two weeks before a tight U.S. presidential election, tension among bitterly divided voters is translating into a barrage of attacks on political targets that can't talk back - yard signs.

[snip]

"I was outraged," said Lis Ross of Fairway, Kansas, whose "Kansans for Kerry" sign disappeared last week. "What made it worse was that they replaced it with a Bush-Cheney sign. I ran out there and ripped it into little pieces."

[snip]

In Ohio, two men were reportedly caught on videotape urinating on a Bush-Cheney sign, and in Madison, Wisconsin, someone burned a swastika into a lawn with a Bush sign.

Some people are working overtime to protect their signs. Mark Shemet of Jaffrey, New Hampshire, has had to replace two stolen Kerry signs in the last week alone. Pennsylvania Democrats have threatened to spread itching powder on signs to keep the opposition at bay, and an Illinois family last week covered their yard sign with petroleum jelly to repel thieves.

Comments (Page 2)

philomedy

on Oct 23, 2004

mitch

i jest i kid i jab at those i love. i know people with these politica

l monstrosities on their lawn. obviously plant life is not dying considering the earth rotates so the sun would illuminate both sides of the sign. And bush did lose the debate, while in my opinion cheney stalemated with edwards. as for polls, they can be made to prove anything. in support of this, maybe you could read one of my postings, the one about health insurance and sex, because there's quite a silly poll from indiana that i cite in that. as for the last comment, again, its hyperbole. i write to be entertaining, first and foremost, and sometimes i happen to have a message. honestly, i have not seen any kerry/edwards signs that approach the magnitude or girth of the bush/cheney signs. in satirist fashion, i just took the situation to the extreme.

obviously there was a message in my reply, but two of the three lines you picked out were just jokes. i thought the strongest anti republican line was the one about the metaphor. anyways,thanks for the critique, though, its the only way to improve my work.

until next time

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