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For those of you that regularly read or watch the news, it has been easy to notice that Capitol Hill is abuzz. Although November 8 (2011’s voting day) is still a few months off, election season already appears to be in full swing.
We are all familiar with this time of year. Television is suddenly dominated by ad campaigns, telling us to vote this way and that. Programming is interrupted by debates between candidates, and volunteers are stationed every few blocks, ready to ask if you’re registered to vote.
But there’s another characteristic of election season — new candidates fighting their way to the forefront and the shameless media scrutiny that goes along with it. In the past few years particularly it seems that the election game has stopped being a conversation about how to improve the state of this country. Instead it has become a circus arena with candidates vying for that famed title of “Most Outrageous Statement Made.”
It’s not hard to identify the issue here. In both the 2008 presidential elections, and the upcoming 2012 elections, media focus has been more about the personalities of candidates, rather than the ideologies they present. Instead of learning the specific ins-and-outs of the policies that these politicians prescribe, we learn more about whether or not Barack Obama experimented with drugs in college, or how much Hillary Clinton’s pant suit cost.
The 2008 elections were the first that I was able to participate in as a registered voter. So naturally, I paid more attention to campaigns than I had in years past. If I hadn’t done my own independent research, the only thing I might have learned is that Barack Obama might not be an American citizen after all, and that Sarah Palin won a beauty queen contest in the 1980s.
This year’s election seems to be no different. Although they may still be a year away, the 2012 presidential election is the hottest topic in Washington. Already, supposed “candidates” are lining up for their fifteen minutes of fame. Just earlier this year, Donald Trump made the announcement that he was going to run for president. A New York businessman prone to bankruptcy is going to be commander-in-chief of the United States of America, and repair a shattered economy. That sounds like more of a publicity stunt than anything else.
Likewise, Michele Bachmann, one of the more serious presidential candidates, has been a favorite for the media to pick on. True, she has made her fair share of uneducated remarks and public faux pas. I wouldn’t argue that it is her responsibility to check facts before she makes statements. The media, however, tends to over-exaggerate and over-analyze each and every comment that she makes, and frankly, few of Bachmann’s ill-researched comments have much to do at all with her potential presidential prowess.
The simple fact is that media, on both sides of the political spectrum, revels in making a mockery out of American politicians. This is the heart of the issue with modern American politics.
Politics are supposed to be competitive, but in recent years they have become increasingly frivolous. Particularly in the media, the main focus has shifted from major political issues to overanalyzing the past actions and statements of politicians, where they go on vacation, and what they are wearing.
Perhaps the media are not the only guilty ones here. Coverage has gone from covering issues to covering irrelevant facts about politicians. Politicians seem less than enthusiastic to correct this, effectively dodging addressing and solving national issues altogether. The take-home lesson here is that both of these parties, in addition to the voters themselves, need to bring our country’s current issues back to the forefront.
So it would appear that we, as voters, have our work cut out for us. Our demographic (people in their late teens and twenties) is one of the main target groups for campaigning. We are young and impressionable, but in numbers we are also powerful, which is important to remember when you head to the polls this November.
It is indeed unfortunate that elections, and politics in general, have become publicity stunts rather than a forum for public, intelligent debate. Thus, the more outrageous these campaigns become, the more unbiased, independent research is necessary.
The importance of being an informed voter has never been more relevant. It is time to turn away from the political circus arena, and get ourselves informed.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Taryne Tosetti at Taryne.tosetti@colorado.edu.
