Miner Queries: Second chance: Will you vote for change Feb. 10?

I may have mentioned previously that I like ads. It’s the only reason I watch the Super Bowl.

But it’s not always a Super Bowl ad that gets my attention. For the last couple of years, Nissan of Omaha has been running a series of ads featuring two stereotypical car salesmen. Between the music, writing, and acting, these ads always make me stop. And lately, one snippet from the ad in which the salesmen compare techniques keeps replaying in my head.

“People love shiny things,” says the clean-cut, smooth-talking salesman. “Just dangle the shiny.”

Conversely, his scruffy co-worker says customers are sheep. “You gotta herd ‘em and then you make ‘em buy that car!” he declares.

After listening to this, smooth guy continues, “I just nod, pretend like I care and flash the pearly whites. They’re powerless.”

Right there, I think the ad’s writer captures our election process. We wait for the shiny: shiny 15-second sound bites; shiny simplistic solutions; shiny visuals; shiny stories. Or, we’re horrified at the consequences candidates paint for us if we vote for the other candidate. Much of this fear-driven campaigning is financed by shadowy PACs with undisclosed donors.

So instead of looking under the campaign hood and digging into voting records, resumes and profiles, not to mention campaign funders, we simply watch TV. We follow the shiny ads and debate appearances that tell us nothing about how a candidate will perform in office. Yet most candidates have an accessible record. As my brother says about his practical joking, “I have a history!”

And unfortunately because we don’t like politics and get sick of long campaigns with ads, calls and canvassing, we put off making a decision. So when we finally vote, we either pick the shiny candidate we most “like” or respond to the fear and vote for the candidate we dislike least. Worse yet, we may simply vote based on the R or D designation.

A Dec. 24, 2014 Des Moines Register article noted that according to unofficial data from the Iowa Secretary of State’s office, “More than one in three Iowans — 37 percent — voted a straight-party ticket in the 2014 general election. . . ”

Yet most people I know are not active party members. They don’t know their party’s current platform, leadership or funders. They simply trust their party of choice represents the same values it did for their parents or grandparents.

Voters must participate in the process for things to change.

We have another chance to do that Feb. 10. Go vote to fill the House District 23 seat recently vacated by Mark Costello.

Elect an experienced public servant. Steve Adams has more than 30 years experience working to promote economic development in rural Iowa. He knows our district, and he’s spent time working with legislators over the years, so he understands the legislative process. He’s shown his willingness to serve with three campaigns.
Let’s give him a shot.

Cherie Miner is a local parent, community volunteer, freelance writer and artist. In a former life, she was a corporate writer and public relations professional. Contact her at news@redoakexpress.com or on Facebook.