LD-26 Republicans Go Way Negative

The lies, distortion and hate are flying fast and furious from Republicans Al Melvin and Marilyn Zerull in LD-26. The candidates who are running clean (everyone except Vic Williams) have gotten infusions of last minute cash because of independent groups spending money on their opponents' behalf. (I think Clean Elections is a great idea, but this is getting ridiculous.) The Dems — Cheryl Cage, Don Jorgensen and Nancy Young Wright — are using the money to buy mailers and TV time sending out a positive message. Melvin and Zerull are using it to create hit pieces.

Cheryl Cage, according to Melvin's TV ads and mailings, is a raving leftist loony. Um, no. Cage is a centrist Democrat, while Melvin . . . Well, if we created a line with the center as zero, the left side going up to ten liberal and the right going up to ten conservative, Cheryl would get somewhere in the two-to-five liberal range, depending on the issue. Melvin would be up in the six-to-ten conservative range — though, to be honest, I don't know any issues where he's as low as six. But Melvin's camp thinks, if we can portray Cage as a wild-eyed radical, Melvin will be viewed as the safe choice. It's the Republicans' up-is-down campaign world.

Nancy Young Wright, according to Zerull's hit pieces, is against children and for deadbeat dads. The fact is, Wright was a school board member who had the courage to clean out the corruption in the Amphi School District and get more money into classrooms. She's fought for kids, and gotten results. Education is her number one issue. And the deadbeat dad thing? I have no idea what orifice they pulled that one out of.

You know, Republicans talk about being the party of values and morality. They never tire of telling us how they're the good, God-fearing people, and Democrats are in league with the devil.

Remind me, isn't bearing false witness kind of a no-no? I seem to remember it's number nine in those Commandments conservatives want to put on state house lawns.

I guess if you tell everyone how good and moral and family-values-loving you are, you don't have to worry about dotting all those silly Biblical i's or crossing all those cumbersome Commandment t's.

NOTE: I just got a robocall from Al Melvin complaining about flyers the Democratic Party ("Democrat Party" in the robocall) sent out spreading lies about him. I haven't seen the flyers, so I don't know what they say. But I guess Melvin is a little sensitive about negative campaigning when it comes his way. "Don't reward the Democrats for this negative campaigning. Vote Al Melvin," he said, or something to that effect.