Getting to the bottom of the endorsement debate
Published 12:00 am Saturday, October 30, 2004
Kevin Cooper/The Ironton Tribune
You need to keep your nose of politics in this county.
The message from the large man standing in front of me was clear: He didn’t approve of an endorsement published by this newspaper two years ago.
I disagreed and attempted to explain my position to the man. I later found it ironic that the man who criticized the newspaper for offering an opinion was the owner of one of the biggest political stirring spoons around.
Apparently what’s good for the goose isn’t good for the gander, at least in his book.
Who better to express an opinion than a community newspaper? I’m sure some folks will look at the list of candidates this newspaper endorses today and attempt to "figure out our agenda."
If those people are looking for a political agenda, good luck. Our only agenda is in pointing out who we feel is the best person with the best plan to lead our county.
Political endorsements always draw a lot of fire.
And, fear of that fire is what drives many newspapers not to endorse local races. Fears of offending an advertiser or a friend and having negative repercussions makes many newspapers just stick to the "big races."
Well, we’re a little different. For the most part, we feel that our weighing in an opinion on who should win the presidential race is a little silly. Lots of folks give lots of opinions about the presidential race. But who better than us can provide an opinion on issues facing Lawrence County residents?
If you’re looking for a newspaper that is looking out for what is in the best interest of Lawrence County, you’d better not look to The New York Times or USA Today. Look no further.
A newspaper that pays taxes and employs people in the county is uniquely positioned to offer an opinion on what political direction would be best.
Lots of people get confused over the purpose of endorsements. They think an endorsement means the newspaper is attempting to tell its readers for whom to vote. Hardly.
First, we just want you to vote for someone, anyone.
Second, endorsements are a way of offering a public opinion about our candidates. Heck, we’re about as split as the country as a whole on the matter, but the newspaper’s editorial board was clear and unanimous on its decisions locally.
Neither myself, nor our news editor, Michael Caldwell, has a political agenda. We don’t consider ourselves aligned with a particular party. In fact, the subject of a candidate’s party affiliation wasn’t even mentioned until long after we’d made our choices.
Our endorsements are not about political parties or who is friends with who or who is related to whom. We cast all of that aside and try to dig into what each candidate either has done or plans to do when elected. It’s that simple.
Conversely, our not choosing a candidate doesn’t mean he or she is a bad person or is incapable of doing the job required. It simply means we feel his or her opponent is a better choice.
The logic behind our endorsements is no different than the logic most voters should use when they make their decisions on Tuesday. The only difference is that we have the guts to share it with several thousand readers.
Kevin Cooper is publisher of The Ironton Tribune. He can be reached by calling (740) 532-1445 ext. 12 or by e-mail to kevin.cooper@irontontribune.com.