When I sat in the front row at the Seventh DistrictCongressional candidate forum at Missouri Southern State University last week, I was pleased to see the auditorium was packed with voters interested in seeing which of the 10 men on stage would best represent southwest Missouri in Washington.
The attention that has been paid to this race has been gratifying. The Joplin Globe and Springfield News-Leader have gone above and beyond their usual political reporting to provide a thorough examination of the candidates' platforms.
People have been talking politics and that is good for our nation.
And even the attempts by some of the major candidates to gain an advantage in the campaign through the use of poorly written, ham-handed attack blogs, have been unsuccessful. For once, the issues have been what mattered.
Until today.
This morning we were slapped in the face with a reminder of why so many people have become disenchanted with politics as usual in the United States. The rumors spread over the weekend that an attack ad would be launched today against the presumed Republican front runner, Springfield auctioneer Billy Long, who has propelled into the lead with the help of an anti-Washington approach, punctuated with the catchphrase "I’m fed up."
I saw the ad for the first time and it was everything the rumors indicated it would be- it was low, it was dirty, it was negative, and most of all it was misleading. And, of course, the source of the ad cannot be traced to any of Billy Long's opponents.
It was paid for by Americans for Job Security. Sounds good, doesn't it. What Americans wouldn't be for job security? If Americans who want job security think Billy Long is bad, we must have all been asleep and failed to notice his red horns and tail.
Americans for Job Security was started several years courtesy of a $1 million donation by the American Insurance Association. According to documents filed today with the Federal Election Commission, Americans for Job Security spent $44,100 against Billy Long. That amount will undoubtedly increase between now and August 3.
Billy Long is the front runner and apparently he must be doing something that has the people in Washington, D. C. worried- or there is a candidate the special interests would much prefer to have as Seventh District Congressman. No way of knowing just who those special interests are. They are not required to submit their names to the FEC. They can feel free to hide behind patriotic sounding names like Americans for Job Security and make claims that no one will have the time or the money to refute.
Today (Tuesday, July 27) a vote will take place in Congress that will require those bankrolling these front organizations to reveal their names. That will have no affect on this election and others that are being affected by spurious anonymous attack campaigns even as this is being written.
This would be a perfect time for Billy Long's opponents in this Seventh District race to restore some decency to the campaign by issuing statements condemning Americans for Job Security and the group's effort to destroy what has been the most fascinating race the Seventh District has seen in decades.
And one last message to Billy Long: You and your supporters do not have a corner on the market.
Ever since I saw cowards, hiding behind the cloak of anonymity, attempting to hijack this election, you can count me as being fed up, too.