Lot more on ballot than just the Presidential nominees

Plus, upcoming campaign promises lots of TV ads for viewers to watch

Anyone who’s voted in a Presidential election, which I assumed includes everyone reading this column, knows there’s a lot more on the ballot than the two major party nominees at the top of the ticket. This time around those slots are filled by Kamala Harris and Tim Walz on the Democratic side and Donald Trump and J.D. Vance for the Republicans.

Not watching much TV—who needs it when you have a smart phone—I have no way to gauge the number of political ads my neighbors have been subjected to, thus far. Based on past experience when I was a regular viewer, I’d guess quite a few. But with Michigan being a battleground state in the Presidential race—the polls showing a toss-up—along with what promises to be an equally competitive U.S. Senate battle between GOPer Mike Rogers and Democrat Elissa Slotkin, and all of them flush with lots of money to buy advertising… well, the watcher of television is in for a feast (or is ‘glut’ a better word?)

Throw in the race between former State Senators Curtis Hertel and Tom Barrett for the open 7th District Congressional seat being vacated by Slotkin, a battle that will be waged primarily in the Lansing media market, and the folks wishing to peddle their goods and services will be hard put to find a time slot.

As for substance (if that’s the proper word), we’ll have the debates and for anyone so motivated, the policy positions available on the respective candidate’s web sites.

Most voters have already made up their minds on the high-profile races; those campaigns are aimed at getting as many supporters out to vote as possible (what’s called ‘turning out the base’) and swaying the “undecided” or “independent” voters. There aren’t necessarily a lot of the latter, but in a tight race the key to electoral success is swaying enough of them to lean your way.

To do so requires finding the right message they’ll respond to—an emotional trigger. Trying to scare the bejesus out of them is a tried-and-true method. Human nature is such that many people have an inclination to think the world is going ‘to hell in a hand basket’. The impression that the situation was much better in bygone days seems to be an attitude that goes hand-in-hand with growing older. When I see some of the Facebook posts my classmates share (all of us in our early 70’s), you’d think we grew up in Shangri La or the Land of Milk & Honey.

Of course, concern for future well-being—whether it’s centered on self, family, or larger society—is a prudent attitude, and ‘yes’ some things were better in the ‘good old days’ than they now are.

But fear of tomorrow or losing perspective of what’s an actual threat versus what’s an exaggerated one seems a poor way to live a life or order a society. I believe the better course is to judge a situation—be it a personal challenge or social problem—and do what you can to meet it head-on and make any necessary changes or corrections to rectify or improve the matter at hand.

There are certainly people—our fellow citizens— in dire straits, who face calamity through no fault of their own, where changing situations and circumstances pose a threat to their economic well-being and way-of-life. But that’s always been true of the world—past and present. It ought not be downplayed or dismissed, but neither should it be a guiding light.

A confident attitude, resolve, even a joyful attitude at opportunities given is (to me) a better way to greet the day than anger, resentment, and finger pointing.

Political candidates—or, at least, some of them—may not convey this message of optimism and clear-eyed determination. Certainly not in a 30-second TV attack ad which has become the stock-in-trade of Presidential and Congressional campaigns. So it’s up to the citizenry, i.e. voters, to sort of the situation, seek to discover what’s accurate and what’s not, and cast their ballots accordingly.

It’s important as well to become informed on all of the local and judicial races—state legislature and state courts, county commissions, township offices, village councils as well as school and library boards and judgeships—plus any propositions being put forth. The people elected to these positions and the outcome of the proposals will have as much, and possibly even more impact on our day-to-day lives and the future direction of our hometown communities than those holding the higher offices.

Steve Horton is a mid-Michigan journalist and editor-publisher of the ‘Fowlerville News & Views’—a weekly newspaper.