I stopped answering the phone two weeks ago if I didn’t recognize the
number on caller ID. Some of the solicitations were hilarious. I especially
like aging crooner Pat Boone calling on behalf of Republican Senate candidate
Scott D’Amboise. He actually did better than I thought, finishing ahead of two
more qualified candidates – Deb Plowman and Bill Schneider.
I voted for Schneider, so it’s not surprising that he lost. I’m not too
good at picking primary winners. Schneider was one of the few candidates who
actually had federal government experience. Some, quite frankly, aren’t quite
ready for prime time.
Cynthia Dill’s victory surprised me. A lot of Democrats tell me she
comes across as a snob. Her association with Roxanne Quimby will probably be
the kiss of death north of Augusta.
Kevin Raye’s victory was no surprise in the 2nd Congressional District.
No one outside of Waldo County heard of Blaine Richardson until a few months
ago. Some thought he was Ray Richardson, the talk show host from Portland.
But it’s time to take a breather from all this. I’m just hoping that the
campaign committees on the winning and losing sides will start cleaning up the
mess they made on the highways and traffic islands.
Some of the visual pollution is so bad that it blocked vision at some
intersections. I felt like sneaking out in the middle of the night and
flattening a few signs, risking arrest and a heavy fine. But it would have been
bipartisan destruction: I’d take down as many Democratic banners as Republican.
The
last time I actively campaigned for anyone was in 2006. I was drafted to be
town chairman for Olympia Snowe and agreed to help Chandler Woodcock in his run
for governor.
So I spend a day or two putting up signs for Chandler before the
primary, being careful not to stick them too close to intersections or homes
occupied by angry Democrats.
When he won the primary, surprising many party activists, I got up the
next morning and took down every sign I put up plus a few in outlying areas. I
then cleaned them up, stuck them in my storage shed for the general election.
Since it’s raining today (post-primary Wednesday), I doubt if I’ll see
party activists grabbing their Plowman, Dill, Richardson, Emerson and whoever
signs from the highways and byways.
But I hope they do it soon – like this weekend.
I believe in freedom of speech, expression, press and all that. But I
just find campaign signs annoying, even if I’ve reluctantly put a few up
myself.
But at least we have a few months before November when it starts all
over again.
We are all conscious of those awful Red Mild Cameras which take your image is you go through and skip the yellow-colored light. In some places they are resulting in people to throw on their braking system every time they see a yellow-colored light, resulting in even more injuries, rear-end crashes. Many places rationalize this for protection but research has shown it isn't any more secure, but it clearly increases solution income.
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