Matt Murray’s tongue is planted firmly in cheek when he writes:
I have never been more proud of our local politicians and their minions than for re-setting the yard signs at the intersection of Cross Highway and Roseville Road after an accident knocked them — and the guard rail — down.
Without those signs, I would never be able to decide who to vote for.
I think I might be voting for the Candidate with the least amount of lawn signs!
May we all be thankful we live in a country where a sign is allowed to announce a ‘someone’ running for a position in our town, state or federal government. The signs will disappear shortly by our rights will remain.
Dear Mr. Shuldman:
Are you the one who reset them? And you are right, I *should* base my vote based on the quantity of yard signs, direct mail post cards, and real and robo phone calls. Heaven forbid it should be based on issues, qualifications and character of the candidates.
As a side note: the phone calls are repugnant for any minions/politicians/campaign managers reading this. It does NOT endear me to your candidate.
PS: Mr. Shuldman, would you please remove the illegally placed signs on State of Connecticut property (this includes the easements, entrance/exit ramps), Routes (33, 136, 57, etc.), highways like I-95/84/91, the Merritt. The Statue has existed for many years prohibiting placement on State property. We know all the candidates want to follow our laws. It would be a powerful statement if they were gone by CoB tomorrow.
Matt,
I am guessing you’re the type of person who doesn’t vote. To me you sound like someone who thinks he has all the answers and doesn’t care to listen to anybody else. Are you really that sensitive over a lawn sign on state property? If that is your biggest concern then my friend you truly are someone who might need to think about getting some sort of a clue.
Matt has always spoken out against signs, mailers and other forms of political presentations, although I can not embrace his anger I am very sympathetic to his concerns. Unfortunately the political process has broken down to an almost complete ignorance of the real issues at hand. Real and sensible debate on the issues facing our state and nation are often lost in the fury of the campaign and daily activities. As a result the composition of our state and federal legislatures often conflict with the needs of a free republic. It is important for every voter to search out and fully understand the issues before voting. Here in Connecticut we have been burdened with single party control for many years and it has seriously damaged our state, this can only come from voter ignorance and/or disinterest.
Dear Mr. Brennan:
There’s an old expression about “assuming” something.
I have voted every election since 1976 including primaries. It is one of our rights as US citizens. And a precious one at that since other countries do not have the liberty to do so.
If I may ask, is it okay for candidates/campaigns to violate Connecticut law during an election and then go to making and upholding them the rest of the time? Does that mean they are above the law (sometimes)? It’s not a big deal but why not keep the signs to private property only and leave the public land alone? Again the fallacies to sway a vote via these methods are ludicrous at best.
Dear Mike,
It’s not anger, but more of a desire to speak out when no one else will. It is just silly to have Foley and Malloy (etc.) signs on all four corners of an intersection when one would suffice. It reminds me of kids running for student council in middle/high school: “vote for me I’m better!”
But it is insulting to think that the campaigns think we the voters are so empty headed that the signs will make a difference.
[sarcasm alert] May I assume Messrs. Brennan and Schuldman like getting the robo and real phone calls, too? [/sarcasm alert] The only ones who say they are appreciated are the vendors marketing the telemarketing services.
I can’t wait to get the calls to remind me to vote in case I hadn’t heard/seen there is an election coming up.
Furiuos campaigns and daily acitivites within those campaigns are being carried out as such because of the lack of voter turnout in the U.S. So by speaking out against yard signs and other silly things within a campaign does nothing to help the situation. Instead of being overly sensitive about receiving a robocall, try and understand the issues at hand and don’t blame the campaigns and the politicians for your own ignornace.
Mr. Murray,
Does a yard sign on state property really affect your daily life that much? Honestly, it is ridiculous and quite frankly a ridiculous law.
Dear Mr. Brennan:
Name calling is always a good rebuttal in a discussion. I’m sorry you have gone that route.
Yes, the signs do impact all of us as we do see them on every corner. Then they are tossed after the election. Imagine if a candidate decided not to waste so much money on the signs/postcards/robo calls and instead put the money to a charity (Untied Way, American Cancer Society, etc.)? Yes, s/he can promote the fact that they have done that. It would show thinking outside the box and doing demonstrable good for others. It would be a win-win for many.
Not sure where the name calling occured but we will agree to disagree.
First: yes, we agree to disagree. I think that’s a requirement for Dan’s blog. 🙂
But the first shot was: “then my friend you truly are someone who might need to think about getting some sort of a clue.” Not too bad. Round two was: “try and understand the issues at hand and don’t blame the campaigns and the politicians for your own ignornace (sic).”
I opted try to explain my thoughts and concerns.
I didn’t think my comments would cause a somewhat personal attack but that is ok. Traveling in many places where free speech is difficult, signs on roads do not bother me. It reminds me of our freedom. As for robo calls- I can easily hang up or not answer at all. But the desire by a candidate to run for office and want to be part of the political system has my true respect. Getting involved over takes ‘hanging’ up.
We have serious issues at turnstile and federal levels. CT for better words is broke. Our federal government motionless. And I would rather see more dialogue here on solutions and what the different candidates stand for, then thebwa strong time on signs that have appeared and will disappear almost as quickly.
Dear Mr. Schuldman:
I didn’t feel your comments were a personal shot. Yes, expressing your views, which is fine. Like Mr. Brennan it appears we may not be in agreement.
But the slippery slope of ignoring very basic simple laws, it makes me wonder what other laws will be bypassed or ignored? Sadly former Governor Rowland (now twice convicted) for not following the laws. The power of the office presents some very strong temptations no matter who sits in the chair.
As to hanging up on robo callers, it’s not that simple. On a prior election cycle we needed to contact someone with a fairly urgent medical matter. As we were about to pick up the phone, a robo call came in and would not release the line regardless of multiple attempts to hang up. If it was your family member involved you might desire a free/available phone line asap. I am on the Do Not Call list for a reason: I do not desire to be bothered with unwanted phone calls. Even though it is legal for any campaign to call, it does not mean it is right. People are on the Do Not Call on purpose. The Connecticut area codes are available and can be downloaded for no charge (https://telemarketing.donotcall.gov/). I cannot fathom why anyone would not use it.
Dear Mr. Shuldman,
It appears the signs are not disappearing all that quickly. Any chance some minions can be nudged?
Wondering if the vehicle that hit the guard rail etc. there was distracted by the plethora of
signs and forgot to steer?
When I looked closely at my original picture (Dan cropped it a bit), there are zero skid marks. Granted if the ABS kicked in, the marks would be very light, but this looked like a “free sail” into the guard rail. One heck of a wake up call. 🙁
I have noticed in the past several years that the signs mostly omit party affiliation. Are they embarrassed?
Apparently. 🙂
I hope so. There are 2 on my property that will removed by 8 am this morning. But hopefully your post will convince others to do the same. I would also volunteer to remove signs if either party needs help