Signs of the times

There’s been a mini brouhaha in Mt. Airy recently over the alleged theft of campaign signs out of the yards of Kerry-Edwards supporters. Responding to what it calls the “systematic theft” of over 100 signs, the Ninth Ward Democratic Committee has drafted a letter of protest to the Bush Cheney camp and hung an accusatory banner over Germantown Avenue.

As trivial as it may seem, the Mount Airy sign-stealing fracas is indicative of the tenor of this election campaign, in more ways than one. There is, for one thing, the theft of the signs. Such juvenile antics are an affront to free speech and, as Ninth Ward Democratic Committeepersons Ken Weinstein and Steve Masters point out, will actually wind up hurting, not helping, the Bush-Cheney cause in this area. Even in this age of anything-goes politics, there are limits to what people find acceptable, and going too far in rhetoric or tactics can inspire a backlash.

The ninth ward Democrats have chosen to pin the blame for the thefts on the Bush campaign and, by extension, the president himself. In their letter to the Bush/Cheney camp, the committeemen blame a “viciously negative” campaign that has “set a dangerous tone on incitement against your Democratic opponents.”

This is as unfair as if the Republicans were to make the same charges against Kerry. Neither campaign can control all of the words and actions brought forth in its name. If we are to embrace the idea of a vigorous election-year debate that allows room for banner-carrying protesters scaling a building in New York or special interest ads making highly controversial claims (no matter how offensive these may be to some) we must at the same time avoid allowing each and every invective to tarnish those at the head of the ticket.

It’s important to remember that one of these guys is going to be president. It’s in no one’s interest to further the sort of mudslinging that ultimately damages our respect for that office itself.