To the editor:
Looks like politics as usual in the 2nd District, in spite of the claims by all the congressional candidates that they will bring "a new attitude" to Congress.I still hear "election promises" of easy solutions to today's problems by almost all the candidates. And while it's still preconvention, political billboards cover the freeways and main roads.
Candidate propaganda focuses more on soundbites and who can beat whom and who's done what, rather than on who will best represent us by offering real answers to real problems.
This is the same old stuff Wayne Owens and other professional politicians have been giving us for years.
Preconvention campaigning should be focused on state delegates, not on mass media and the general public. I'm beginning to believe that the reason most candidates use soundbites, billboards and direct mail flyers is because they can't answer the tough questions that they get when they meet with delegates.
In the 2nd District, only Jim Bartleson has yet to use such tactics. His meetings focus on specific solutions to the questions of the delegates. My concern is whether it will last. Are the voters in the 2nd District really fed up with politics as usual? If so, Bartleson will undoubtedly be the next congressman.
Richard Harkness
Sandy