A LITTLE TOO CONVENIENT

"I resolve to speak ill of no man whatever, not even in a matter of truth; but rather by some means excuse the faults I hear charged upon others, and upon proper occasions speak all the good I know of everybody." ~Benjamin Franklin

“Truth is generally the best vindication against slander” ~Abraham Lincoln


As we make our way through this warm, fun-filled summer of 2010, enjoying backyard barbeques, week-long family vacations, and cheering our local professional baseball team, another longstanding American sport is underway: Vicious Political Slander.

While I can cite no candidate for public office who has ever declared himself/herself to be a sinless saint, I have generally found the men and women who undertake this great political journey to campaign for elected office to be individuals of noble character who truly revere the United States, its Constitution and the respective state constitutions. My observations have encompassed the large majority of members of both major political parties and independents, lest we devolve into myopic slander of our own.

When we strip away the caricatures of the few infamous politicians whose stunts make for mainstream media fodder, we find family-oriented men and women from all walks of life who have consulted their spouses (and often their children) to discuss the personal/family sacrifices necessary to undertake a campaign on behalf of their citizens. Achieving electoral victory often means added responsibility at reduced income amidst a 24/7/365 glare of anyone with access to a camera, video recorder, and a computer. 

So, while vicious political slander has been the favored "hail mary pass" of cowardly, vacuous single-issue opponents since the dawn of time, I have been particularly startled by the personal nature of the baseless attacks against two fine gubernatorial candidates this summer. Nikki Haley (http://www.nikkihaley.com/) of South Carolina and Mike Cox (http://mikecox2010.com/) of Michigan have both been subjected to publicly-disseminated prurient slander certainly launched by unscrupulous consultants funded by their flailing (and failing) opponents.

These two fine Christians have spouses and children--Nikki's husband, Michael, a dedicated father and patriotic Army National Guard Officer; Mike's wife, Laura, a loving mother and selfless public official working on behalf of Wayne County residents--innocent spouses and children who have been crudely disregarded by paid political hacks attempting to score points for an opposition Titanic campaign. 

Nikki (helping from a young age in a proud family-owned business) and Mike (a Marine Corp veteran of ) have brought bold, transformative ideas to their respective constituents. Both candidates have involved diverse groups of residents, and will work on behalf of ALL regardless of political party. Yet, within a week of critical elections, slush-funded and well-publicized slander emerged. A LITTLE TOO CONVENIENT if you ask anyone. Informed citizens will not be distracted by this insulting use of slimy, dime-arcade innuendo, but will instead recognize the opponent's cowardice that contrived and funded it. It happened during their candidacies...fortunately to no avail...but it could happen to YOUR CANDIDACY at that cricitial moment. PREPARE!

TODAY'S QUESTION: Have you consulted with your family and with your campaign team to plan in advance to assess, address, and dismiss your desperate opponent(s)' potential, and almost certain, use of vicious political slander against YOU?