The Vilest of the Vile
We are approaching our local (City and State) primaries tomorrow, and from watching the TV ads these past few weeks, seemingly we have the vilest of the vile running for public office. I can’t imagine for voting for any of them as they are the scum of the earth according to each other.
So the dilemma is whether to vote tomorrow or not. And more importantly who to vote for, if anyone, in the general election in November. Obviously, the lesser of the vilest in each party will be running against each other. Or maybe not, as it’s an old axiom in politics is that that mudslinging in elections actually works.
This is not a new phenomenon but rather goes back to perhaps to Jefferson and John Adams, in our own history, who were not afraid to dip their hands in the mud so as to sling a bit at each other. Yes, that Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson.
They rarely spoke directly about each other, but Jefferson’s supporters accused President Adams of having a “hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman.”
Not to be outdone, Adams backers called Jefferson “a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow, the son of a half-breed Indian squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father.” Racism at it’s finest, eh?
Ad infinitum went the trash talking.
So my conundrum continues today. Do I vote for the ‘worst of the worst’, or the ‘less worst of the worst? Never mind, I sent in my absentee ballot a month ago before all the TV ads. Problem solved. For now.