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ARE POLITICAL ENDORSEMENTS NECESSARY…?


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ARE POLITICAL ENDORSEMENTS NECESSARY…?

 

Jonathan R. Rees – jrrees2006@verizon.net

 

In this current election cycle, candidates are running around like chickens with their heads cut off in search of endorsements from one organization after another with the belief that it can secure them an election and when those questionnaires come through the mail, candidates get cracking to crank out the sweetest one liners possible.

 

Yet, are political endorsements really needed in these times to win your respective race? I think the answer is NO!

 

The only real endorsement any candidate should be seeking is that from the voters on Election Day not from organizations voters may or may not belong to.

 

A careful examination of the many organizations that hand out endorsements and/or ratings will show that candidates will receive endorsements from a variety of organizations but often those endorsements can split the voter in half as John Q. Public might respect the endorsement given by both the MPD and the DCFD but each has endorsed a different candidate. Thus with so many organizations giving out endorsements and very few candidates ever getting the lion’s share, these endorsements have historically resulted in cancelling each other out in the minds of most voters and have turned voters off not on, leaving voters to ignore them and going back and judging each candidate on what they are saying.

 

Of course, often candidates that have received the endorsement of our notable Washington Post have gone down in defeat as was the case with former Councilman John Ray. Even John Ray s campaign manager conceded that the mood among voters was: (Ray is the establishment candidate. He can t be for you when the Washington Post is for him.)

 

With each new election year, endorsements are becoming less and less effective in swaying voters, the number of organizations endorsing are too many for voters to count and candidates are spending too much time trying to win over these organizations than voters.

 

In 2006, a smart candidate will just take her/his position on those issues of importance straight to the people who will vote and not to those organizations handing out endorsements and ratings and when those questionnaires come in the mail, you didn’t get them because you were just too busy knocking on doors and being a tangible candidate not a name without a face.

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What is the downside to the political support, the monetary support and the actual votes that many endorsements bring? Endorsements give legitimacy to serious candidates. I do not like for candidates to be beholden to certain groups, but on the other hand, if there is a like-minded philosophy between a candidate and an endorsing entity, then it only makes sense for that entity to work with the candidate to get elected.

 

In a field like the Ward 3 race, the endorsement of the NW Current or the Ward 3 Democrats doesn't make sense....most of the candidates have "electable" qualities and all are democrats. However, where certain associations and unions are concerned, there is a natural symbiosis which the process must work through.

 

B. Frank

 

ARE POLITICAL ENDORSEMENTS NECESSARY…?

 

Jonathan R. Rees – jrrees2006@verizon.net

 

In this current election cycle, candidates are running around like chickens with their heads cut off in search of endorsements from one organization after another with the belief that it can secure them an election and when those questionnaires come through the mail, candidates get cracking to crank out the sweetest one liners possible.

 

Yet, are political endorsements really needed in these times to win your respective race? I think the answer is NO!

 

The only real endorsement any candidate should be seeking is that from the voters on Election Day not from organizations voters may or may not belong to.

 

A careful examination of the many organizations that hand out endorsements and/or ratings will show that candidates will receive endorsements from a variety of organizations but often those endorsements can split the voter in half as John Q. Public might respect the endorsement given by both the MPD and the DCFD but each has endorsed a different candidate. Thus with so many organizations giving out endorsements and very few candidates ever getting the lion’s share, these endorsements have historically resulted in cancelling each other out in the minds of most voters and have turned voters off not on, leaving voters to ignore them and going back and judging each candidate on what they are saying.

 

Of course, often candidates that have received the endorsement of our notable Washington Post have gone down in defeat as was the case with former Councilman John Ray. Even John Ray s campaign manager conceded that the mood among voters was: (Ray is the establishment candidate. He can t be for you when the Washington Post is for him.)

 

With each new election year, endorsements are becoming less and less effective in swaying voters, the number of organizations endorsing are too many for voters to count and candidates are spending too much time trying to win over these organizations than voters.

 

In 2006, a smart candidate will just take her/his position on those issues of importance straight to the people who will vote and not to those organizations handing out endorsements and ratings and when those questionnaires come in the mail, you didn’t get them because you were just too busy knocking on doors and being a tangible candidate not a name without a face.

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Bfrank... Two organizations I am with are split between Cropp and Fenty so how do you think that plays in the minds of voters?

 

 

 

 

 

What is the downside to the political support, the monetary support and the actual votes that many endorsements bring? Endorsements give legitimacy to serious candidates. I do not like for candidates to be beholden to certain groups, but on the other hand, if there is a like-minded philosophy between a candidate and an endorsing entity, then it only makes sense for that entity to work with the candidate to get elected.

 

In a field like the Ward 3 race, the endorsement of the NW Current or the Ward 3 Democrats doesn\'t make sense....most of the candidates have \"electable\" qualities and all are democrats. However, where certain associations and unions are concerned, there is a natural symbiosis which the process must work through.

 

B. Frank

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