If the Old Stuff Doesn't Work

I got to work today and the first thing I saw was Saturday's headline in The State.  Apparently, Nikki's ugly media blitz is beating Vincent Sheheen's not-so-nice ads.


So, I'm thinking, if the same old stuff isn't going to work, and I think it's fair to say it is not working, maybe it's time for Democratic and/or Liberal candidates to try something different.


Suppose Vincent Sheheen campaigned with other like-minded candidates?  Suppose he went on the road with Tom Clements, Green Party candidate for US Senate .  How about if they both came to Charleston and campaigned with Rob Groce, US House of Representative District 1 candidate, who is running under the auspices of the Working Families Party.


Now that they are campaigning together, they can pool some of their resources, run a real media blitz.  They can do interviews together, and explain how their philosophies and positions on the issues really do benefit the people of South Carolina.  Just think of the interest and free coverage they will have just because of the way they are running.


More important, they can focus on the issues, and the impact of their positions versus the destructive impact of the positions of their opponents.


Frankly, I'm tired of seeing ads that try to attack the character of the candidate.  I'm sure Nikki Haley is a lovely person, but her policies would devastate the people of South Carolina, except for those of us who happen to be corporations.  Her budget cuts would continue to devastate schools and libraries.  She would not support the social services that we desperately need as we try to survive the economic tsunami of the Bush/Sandford years; in fact, the ranks of the unemployed would continue to swell as she puts her campaign promises to her corporate sponsors into effect.


As for Jim Demint, I believe we voters have come to accept that he is "too big to fail".  But if our candidates -- and I don't mean Alvin Greene or Ben Frasier -- were united against Demint's hypocracies they would be heard.


And the most important thing our candidates need to do differently is to stop cowering.  I'm tired of hearing how Vincent Sheheen will work with the republicans and with big business.  If he actually stood up to these monied special interests, not only would he be newsworthy, he would get voters excited about going to the polls.


So, yes, we will probably lose, and lose big.  We have some top-notch candidates, who have thrown a lot of time and money into this, put their lives on hold for this campaign.  Isn't it time they stood together and told the voters what they could do for South Carolina?