Politics at its best...and worst...

I have to say that Courtney's post on the "people behind the campaigns" was encouraging, especially in light of so many people that I know who care so little about politics and the outcome of this election. It is inspiring to think that thousands of citizens, young and old, work tirelessly for what they think is a chance at a better future for our country.

But then, I read this article on CBSnews.com that exposes a somewhat darker side of these volunteers. In swing states across the country, there has been a serious effort on the part of the media, celebrities and campaigns to register new voters, but apparently there is an equal underground effort to keep certain voters from registering or voting at all. The article claims that dirty tricks are in no way specific to this election and have been reported in all presidential elections in the past few decades, but the tactics and number of reports this year far surpasses records. From people knocking on individual doors to question a person's legality and citizenship, to anonymous phone calls urging voters to cast their ballot over the phone, to emails instructing people that Republicans and Democrats have different days for voting, Rep. on Tuesday and Dem. on Wednesday, every dihonest and incredulous effort has been made by these "activists" to suppress would-be voters.

Most of the incidents cited in the article illustrate Republican misuse of power in deterring new, young and minority voters from registering or voting Democratic. And while I can't believe that either party would succumb to such measures, I find it hard to believe that all of the fault rests with the conservatives. Surely if there is this kind of corrupt support for the right wing, the leftists must also have their "means of persuasion." But the article mentions nothing of this, and I wonder about media bias and what kind of effect this negative article has on people's views of the Republican party.

I suppose if we want a group of people who care wholeheartedly about politics and the way our country is run, we must also be prepared to have those who ruthlessly abuse politics and refuse to open their eyes to other possibilities. And unfortunately, as Courtney highlights, the media doesn't give much attention to the former.