Candidate Endorsements
I’ve noticed a familiar trend in this year’s primary and general election cycle. It appears to me that the television, print, and even Internet media have favored and/or endorsed the candidate who enters the race with the most funding. It was extremely obvious to me when The Jackson Sun and The Commercial Appeal favored Ron Kirkland in the Republican primary for the 8th District and Roy Herron in the general election.
Kirkland outspent Stephen Fincher at least three to one, and at the beginning of the general election, everyone expected Herron to outspend Fincher, knowing Fincher entered the general with essentially no money due to a costly primary fight.
American media outlets are for-profit businesses, concerned with their bottom line. It’s doubtful the media would be unbiased in their election reporting and candidate endorsements. This leaves us, the electorate, to do our own investigations into the candidates in order to make an informed decision.
Ashley Jordan
Maury City, Tennessee
Editor’s note: For the record, the Flyer doesn’t endorse candidates.
Free Health Care?
Why is health care not free? How much is too much to pay for your health?
There are people all over the United States who are suffering from this monstrous system we call health care. Congress has turned our health care over to the hands of multi-billion-dollar corporations that do not care about us. The only thing important to them is money.
If we do not have enough money, do they just expect us to do nothing and die? Health care should not continue to go at this rate. People are dying because of the lack of resources to get appropriate health care, while the insurance companies sit back and get rich. We have a way to get our voices heard by voting on November 2nd. There is no need to suffer in silence. If we vote properly, change will come.
Kevin Porter
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Bringing Out the Worst
I have a question for freedom-loving Americans: Why do national elections bring out the worst in us?
This election year we have a welcomed new party joining the free election process. Sadly, too many of those in the Tea Party who claim to honor and respect the Constitution seem to want to pick and choose only the parts they agree with. While I believe most Americans think we need another choice in a national party, it seems those supporting this new start-up want to resort to violence or secrecy.
Some Rand Paul supporters attacked a young woman carrying a sign protesting Paul’s stand on some policies. Several Tea Party candidates refuse to answer questions from those they deem liberal. Others refuse to obey election laws that require them to submit their finances. Still others refuse to attend debates. Most of these folks claim they want to take the country back.
The methods some are using resemble the Brownshirts of Germany in the 1930s rather than those who have fought for our freedom for over 200 years. Germany was facing political and economic troubles at the time. The Brownshirts used those troubles to gain power by attacking unions and the working class. America today has the same problems. We even have those who are using these problems to gain power by preaching hate and dividing us. Democrats and Republicans are throwing so much mud and misinformation that only citizens who dig very deep can ascertain who is telling a semblance of the truth.
Don’t be fooled by those who blame others for our troubles. Instead seek to find and vote for those willing to put forth solutions that benefit all Americans. Remember: We can lose our wonderful nation very quickly by embracing hate.
Jack Bishop
Cordova
Memory Loss
It amazes me that so many people have forgotten in just two short years how bad things were for eight years under Republican leadership. People are being fooled and confused by Fox News, Tea Party Republicans, and GOP propaganda.
The stock market is flying high — over 11,000 after two years of Obama and Democratic leadership. Check your 401(k), IRA, and pension funds for the truth about the recovery. Now, millions of Americans want to give power back to the Republican Party that got us into this mess. Republicans haven’t changed one iota since they drove the economy into the ground.
Ron Lowe
Nevada City, California
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