One of our Rostra bloggers was a candidate for office a few years ago. In the final days of the campaign, dozens of his opponent’s yard signs were taken down and strewn in the yard of his supporter. Not his opponent’s supporter, his supporter.
One could draw the conclusion his campaign had something to do with it, even if overzealous volunteers acting on their own as a prank.
Or, thinking it through, it could also be surmised something else was in play, especially given the candidate was faced with having to explain why his opponent’s signs ended up where they did.
Not unlike having to answer whether you’ve stopped beating your spouse. Except, of course, for the fact it’s not a spouse beating, it’s freakin’ yard signs.
Crap happens in hotly contested races. Unfortunate crap, which in most cases no one will ever be able to pin on anyone in particular and in a good number of instances may be quite different than first blush suggests.
That said, Rostra is not about to publish unsubstantiated comments alleging, suggesting or implying illegal acts on the part of anyone, especially from those only willing to make such claims anonymously.
Candidate A’s signs ended up in Candidate B’s yard and neighborhood? Unfortunate. Something like that can typically be substantiated. The signs are now there, after all.
Who placed them there and why? A different story.
If an actual candidate or his/her campaign would like to make a statement about vandalism, we’re all ears.
Until then, the anonymous obsessives presenting opinion as fact, trying to impugn a candidate’s reputation, based on their “law enforcement inside sources” and other laughable substantiation — they will be ignored.
Freakin’ yard signs.
Go walk a precinct.