Idaho Political Mailing has a Glaring Error

There are probably 20,000 registered Republicans in Twin Falls, give or take a few thousand.  Most of them are going to their mailboxes and being inundated with political mailings.  Primary Day is May 19^th.  Some say a candidate hates puppies, while others tell you the same candidate loves pets.  Because of the volume, there are sometimes mistakes.  I’ve had my share of typos.  I chuckled when I saw a mailing that obviously came from a template, and it wasn’t completely cleared of the previous message.

The mailing praises David Leavitt, one of my two State Representatives.  Then, at the bottom, he’s called Clint.  The name of one of his colleagues in a neighboring district.  I posted a picture of the mailing, and someone accused me of being biased against David, a guy I find to be a true patriot, and a very pleasant neighbor (he lives a few blocks away).

The Biased Calling Others Biased

Bias?  Thousands of people got the same postcard!  If they didn’t immediately throw it away, then they saw the same misprint.  What the woman who accused me of bias probably means is that I’m not wholly endorsing her candidate (I’ve been a broadcaster for 40 years and have endorsed just three candidates).  Some people are so convinced their opinion is fact that anyone who doesn’t join them is of the devil.

I had a series of nasty comments on my Facebook page as well about another contest in Jerome County.  A guy accused me of favoring Charles Howell’s re-election as County Commissioner.  First, I’ve endorsed nobody in Jerome County.  I do like Charlie, and sometimes character counts.  Online trolls accuse men like him of corruption but never offer evidence.  The angry fellow supports the Commissioner’s opponent.  I did some research yesterday and found that the angry man may have an undisclosed fiduciary relationship, having done some web work for the opponent.  Or, that’s what I was told.

They Want to Control the Message

I suggested his favored candidate join me on-air, and he said that I wouldn’t be fair.  Do I bite?  I know how this works.  Some candidates don’t want any media exposure.  In my opinion, it benefits some of them to keep the voters in the dark.

Finally, I don’t work for any political party or faction.  I try to learn as much about the candidates as I can (on my own) and then choose according to my conscience.  And I don’t vote for candidates whose only goal is to burn it all down, install a theocracy, or try to bully people.  A local pastor told me a few weeks ago that the bullies turn him off, too.