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Tuesday, May 11,2010 -Thomasville Times - 5 OPINION Thomasville Times MICHAEL B. STARN Publisher mstarn@hpe.com • LYNN WAGNER Advertising Director lwagner@hpe.com LISA M. WALL Editor editor@tvilletimes.com • ZACH KEPLEY Sports Editor tvillesports@yahoo.com Who says runoff is good for Dms? VIEWPOINT D.G. MARTIN N.C. Columnist Okay. So what if most North Carolina political experts disagree with me? They say that a primary runoff like the upcoming one in the race for the North Carolina Democratic nomi nation will be detrimental to the eventual winner. They point out that the runoff between Elaine Mar shall and Cal Cunningham forces both candidates to spend money against each other while their eventual Republican opponent, Sena tor Richard Burr, is raising more funds to use in the fall. And, they say, the time Marshall and Cunning ham fight each other could be better used to organize and prepare for the No vember general election. They remind us that a hard-fought, bitter primary runoff can leave negative impressions about both candidates. The winner might be burdened with the unfavor able impressions created by the loser’s hard-hitting ads. Finally, they argue that these “second primaries” are a waste of everybody’s time and effort since so few voters show up at the polls. Good points. Here is the other side. To have any chance of winning in November, the Democrats need a jump- start of enthusiasm for their nominee. She or he will stand a better chance of getting that kind of spirit when the nominee is a clear winner over another strong candi date. It did not happen in the first primary But it can happen in the June runoff At the very least, the winner will move into the fall elec tion having won more than 50 percent of the vote. Right now both candidates have the burden of having more that 50 percent of the primary voters go against them. More important, perhaps, the runoff gives both can didates the opportunity to grab the spotlight in ways that were not open during the days leading up to the May primary The field was too crowded. Without a second primary, the nominee would be stuck with only the very hazy impressions generated so far. The extra weeks between the primary and the runoff give both candidates more time on the political center stage to refine and drive home a message and build name recognition and credibil ity with the public. The free publicity and public contact during the next few weeks can be positive factors in the faU election — and worth hun dreds of thousands of dollars. In the summer months before a November campaign, it is almost impossible to develop the mood of imme diacy that a candidate needs to prepare for the faU by expanding the organization, by recruiting new supporters, assigning tasks, and build ing teams across the state. A primary runoff can put a candidate’s statewide organi zation to work at a time when it would otherwise be wait ing and resting. The contest forces the candidate and his or her organization to push those organizational efforts. Practice makes politicians better speakers, better inter viewees, and better fundrais ers. As they are required to explain, and as they learn to listen on the campaign trail, they improve as candidates. If you think of politicians as “actors,” the runoff is a valu able dress rehearsal for the fall campaign. It requires the candidate to go over his or her message and practice the lines and the moves, getting better prepared to meet the criti cal audience that wUl grade the performance in the fall. Do you want an example? Maybe you remember the 1990 senate primary contest between Harvey Gantt and Mike Easley. Gantt led Easley in the first primary, but did not quite reach the 40 percent threshold. The rimoff gave both candidates more expo sure and credibility, giving Gantt and his campaign a jumpstart that helped him mount a very strong effort against Senator Helms. How about you? Do you agree with the ex perts — or with me? D.G. Martin hosts UNC-TV’s North Carolina Bookwatch, which airs Sundays at 5 p.m. For more information or to view prior programs visit the webpage at www. unctv.org/ncbookwatch/. This Sunday’s (May 16) guest is Brett Friedlander, author of “Chasing Moonlight." Brett Friedlander Shares His Book, Chasing Moon light on UNC-TV’s North Carolina Bookwatch, THREE ON A SLlPPeiT/ SLOPE Meeting stupidity with stupidity VIEWPOINT JOE CONASON Syndicated Columnist Isaac Newton formulated three laws of motion. No. 3 being: For every action, there is an equal and op posite reaction. If he were still around, he’d propose a fourth: For every action, there is an unequal and opposite overreaction. Lately, Americans seem to be taking advice from Oscar Wilde, who said, “Modera tion is a fatal thing.” Stupid ity can be met and defeated with sensible, proportion ate measures. Or it can be met with even greater stupidity. Guess which is the preferred option these days. Last week, a 17-year- old knucklehead exposed his idiocy to the world by venturing onto the field at a Philadelphia PhiUies game and running around wav ing a towel. When a pursu ing policeman got weary of the chase, he pulled out his Taser and shot the kid. For that, the officer won praise from players, sports- casters and city police com missioner Charles Ramsey, who said the cop “acted appropriately. I support him 100 percent.” The cop was in line with depart ment policy, Ramsey said, because “he was attempting to make an arrest and the male was attempting to flee.” Really? Hitting a delin quent with a potentially fatal 50,000-volt burst of electric ity even though he poses no physical danger to anyone and has zero chance of escaping? Maybe the com missioner should read the directions from the Taser manufacturer, which say the devices are meant to “inca pacitate dangerous, combat ive or high-risk subjects.” The Police Executive Research Forum says they “should be used only on people 1) actively resisting or exhibiting active aggres sion or 2) at risk of harming themselves or others.” A fed eral appeals court ruled that cops may not use Tasers un less “the suspect poses an im mediate threat to the officer or a member of the public.” Sure, shooting the kid with a Taser taught him a lesson and will undoubtedly deter others from following his example. But if that were the only consideration, riddling him with live ammo would have been even more effec tive. The rational response would have been to let him cavort until he ran out of gas, then take him away, leav ing punishment to the courts. That is not to say the courts are always rational. The other day, a 19-year-old woman showed up in a Lake County, Ill., courtroom gal lery sporting a T-shirt that only a person of incompetent judgment would wear outside the house. “I have the (female sexual organ), so I make the rules,” it announced. That claim might be true if she were the only woman in possession of one. True or not, it was the wrong message to present to Judge Helen Rozenberg, who immediately held her in contempt and sentenced her to 48 hours in jail. The judge could have ordered the offending party to leave. She could have insisted that she cover up. She could have delivered a stern lecture. But the only remedy the magistrate could devise was to lock her up like a crimi nal. In Rozenberg’s case, “judicial temperament” is a contradiction in terms. Critics of the new Arizona immigration law likewise have decided to fight fire with napalm. Rather than merely object that the statute is shortsighted, counter productive and vulnerable to abuse, they decided to pretend it’s the greatest atrocity of the 21st century. “When I heard about it, it reminded me of Nazi Ger many,” insisted Hispanic Federation President Lillian Rodriguez Lopez. Los Ange les Cardinal Roger Mahony said Arizona was “reverting to German Nazi” methods. A New Jersey cartoonist drew Hitler with a mustache in the shape of Arizona. The only value of state ments like those is to reveal how little the speaker knows about life under the Fuehrer. Where are the concentra tion camps? Where is the mass slaughter? Who is the all-powerful dictator? Arizona may have become an uncomfortable place for Latinos, legal or illegal, but it bears about as much resem blance to Nazi Germany as it does to Antarctica. If a law like this were the worst thing Hitler had ever done, nobody would remember him today In moments when we are presented with a sore provocation, the temptation is to respond with unre strained fury. But wanton indulgence of anger usu ally ends up compounding foolishness with lunacy. You can fight fire with fire. As a rule, though, it’s better to use water. Steve Chapman blogs daily at newsblogs.chicagotribune. com/steve_chapman. To find out more about Steve Chap man, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. Letters to the Editor www.tvilletiiiies.com To the Editor On behalf of the Clean and Green Committee, I would like to extend a huge “Thank You” to everyone who participated in our Spring Litter Sweep. We had a great show of vol unteers on both Friday and Saturday. The Thomasville City Beautification Commit tee sponsors the Litter Sweep in conjunction with the NCDOT in both the Spring and Fall. We collected a total of 20 bags of trash. A special thank you to Ms. Nancy Staton of Thomasville High School and her National Honor Society members who worked both days and picked up the litter along Main Street from the fountain to the underpass. The commit tee asks your help in keeping our city LITTER FREE. Crystal Hodges Chairperson Clean and Green Committee City Beautification To the Editor To all those who voted in the primary on May 4th, I would like to express my thanks. Help keep our form of government alive by voting every op portunity you have. To those who voted for me I express my heartfelt thanks for you confidence and trust. Even though I did not win, I appreciate every one of you. Owen Moore High Point LEHERSTOTHE EDITOR All letters should include name, address and daytime phone number. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Letters should be no more than 400 words, unless otherwise approved by editor. Limited to one letter every 30 days. All letters are subject to editing. A L *, Y 2? EMAIL: Editor@tvilletimes.com FAX: 888-3632 MAIL: Letters to the Editor Thomasville Times 210 Church Ave. High Point, N.C. 27262 EDITORIALS All unsigned editorials are the consensus of Editor Lisa Wall and Sports Editor Zach Kepley
The Thomasville Times (Thomasville, N.C.)
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May 11, 2010, edition 1
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