Yes, All Politics Are Local

Little Merry Sunshine recently put up a post about how there is no escaping that fact that politics are local and that who you support might or might not impact your relationships with your neighbors. Now, her situation is a little funny. She has been blessed with a snow shoveling fairy throughout this horribly snowy winter. She also is likely the only progressive liberal Democrat in a neghborhood of true-blue Republicants. So, her wonder was if she put up a sign supporting her favorite candidate, if her neighborhods would take that as an affront to their conservative sentiments and perhaps cause her kind fairy to vanish into the ether.

Some dear readers might be going, "But, Goddess, it's just a stupid sign." But politics signs in the lawn or being held on the street corner are never just signs. I have seen them leading to yelling matches and, indeed, fisticuffs.

I have always believed that the politic lawn sign is incredibly passive aggressive. I find them lazy. Don't just throw a name at me, people. Why should I give a rat's ass that you support Joe Schomo? Come and talk to me! Tell me why! I might or might not agree with you, but hopefully, we will learn something from our interaction and go away better people. They are also incredibly invasive. If my neighbor has a sign on their lawn, I can't ever not see it. There is no respite.

Which is why I was so incredibly annoyed on Monday morning to come out of my house to discover my lawn had been signed. And not just my lawn, but every single lawn within at least a two block radius.

Democrat Eddie Washington is seeking reelection as the state representative for my district (#60). And it appears that one of his campaign volunteers decided that the best way to get my vote was not to knock on my door and chat with me or give me literature. NO! They felt the best way to win my vote was to trespass on my property and vandalize it. With a frickin sign. That was really hard to pull out of the ground. Dammit.

This signing strikes me as indicative of really bad judgement. As a political figure, Washington should make it clear to his volunteers that this kind of behavior is unacceptable in his campaign. So I will be calling to complain. I will likely be told that it was the work of an over-zealous campaign volunteer. But I also feel it important for Washington to know that this action has had a very negative impact on my feelings about his as my representative.