Gazette Endorsements a Good Reason to Vote

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……….for somebody else. It’ll all come down to this Tuesday and as expected, the Janesville Gazette endorsement editorials have been running in lockstep with the Republican party. Just consider that the Gazette has chosen a Republican for every major political office except one. From the governor on down they chose corporate connected politicians from the GOP and remained true to their beliefs even when they picked Sheridan, a candidate whose connections with GM and union labor forced them to cross party lines. But besides being political opposites, this selection on their part adds another dimension to the differences most fundamental Americans like myself have with their choices. For one thing the Gazette chose Sheridan for a quality that most voters should reject in their quest to make a “smart choice.”

Sheridans odd mix of corporate politics and government representation poses a serious dichotomy for many, including myself. But I do find some relief knowing that had Sheridan been a Republican, I clearly would not vote for him regardless of his union relationship. The Gazette can’t say the same. The bottom line is they consider Sheridan’s union connection a positive influence on his sworn duty as a public servant. I do not, and that’s the big difference.

Worse yet, they decided to shift gears entirely when it came to the local county offices. Here they dropped their party-line politics completely and went with at least in their view, the candidates education, professionalism and experience. Had they used the same credential criteria and consistency for Governor and legislative offices, they would have chosen Doyle, Robson, Baldwin and Falk hands down. At least the Beloit Daily News, to their credit picked Doyle to lead Wisconsin. But like the Beloit Daily News their choices for the county offices seem driven by the desire to break down both offices to appointed positions. I would admit that the Gazette picking Spoden was a surprise after they had gone out of their way to over-emphasize his relationship to Runaas wrongdoing and misleadership and blast it on their front pages. Their choices at this level also seem designed to make a political statement and prove they are not partisan, endorsing what they perceive as the “smart choices,” or at least that’s what they want their readers to think..

Both newspapers share the same local agenda, but the similarities end there. Eventually they want to empower the county board with the responsibility of county office leadership and take away the right of the people to elect their own public servants.

So the Gazette follows the Republican platform for the governorship and all legislative offices except in the case of the wild-card Sheridan, where they chose corporate connections. At the county level, they pick in their view, educated professionals with experience. Their inconsistencies expose their motivation and make it easy to disagree with nearly all of their choices. Don’t be fooled.

A couple of months ago I thought the idea of publishing a list of endorsements would be the cool thing to do, but I’ve decided against it. People are smart enough to draw their own conclusions based on the information they see and read. I have written my support for several candidates and posted my reasons and democratic beliefs for all visitors to see. Everybody certainly has the right to choose any candidate for any reason they like and that includes newspapers. My objections to our local newspapers have been reaffirmed by their editorials, along with their carefully selected and edited news articles composed and directed to influence public opinion.

This mid-term election is very important and it’s prudent to remain consistent to your political philosophy without selling out to the special interests. Rock County is Democratic and needs to remain true blue for its own common good, this I believe. Don’t let the media or the negative ads compromise your choice’s and don’t allow the Republicans to return Rock County to the “stone age.”