You have got to be kidding me...As my very astute 17 year old daughter mused, this sounds like something off of an episode of Malcolm in the Middle, and she is so right.
Dig this. Last weekend, in our humble Midwestern community, in the not-so-neck-and-neck race for county commissioner, the man trying to unseat the "6 year veteran" was looking out his own front window when he saw his opponent drive up in front of his house, get out of his car and remove his political sign --- from his own yard. Let me make sure that I've made myself clear. The incumbent, John Toplikar, drove up to his opponent, Calvin Hayden's home, and stole the opponent's signs directly out of his yard. Yes. That's what I said. Right out of the opponent's yard. Read on. This story will get even better further down.
This is flabbergasting on so many levels. Why am I amazed, you ask? Why should I be surprised that a politician should stoop to such a level? Let's break it down:
- The opponent, Hayden, is hardly even known by anyone in the county. At least, he wasn't. Now, his name is a household word. You can bet that at the very least, he will now receive pity votes.
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Toplikar has held this seat for SIX years. What on earth was he so worried about?
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This is not a race for Congress. Nor for Attorney General. Nor for the House of Representatives. Nor for Mayor or even City Council. This is a race for a seat on the County Commission.
Are you kidding me? This man needs to get a life.
So, when Hayden and his wife realized what was going on (they had suspected something to this effect for some time but hadn't been able to prove it), they called the police and the county elections board. Both offices basically told the Haydens that unless they could catch Toplikar in the act, they were hosed. Understandable, but frustrating.
Not to be deterred, a large number of Hayden supporters went out the following morning, hoping to catch Toplikar stealing more of Hayden's signs. And one volunteer did just that - caught him in the act, stealing two of Hayden's signs. Unbelievable. Check out the video here on YouTube. Hayden is now facing a misdemeanor theft charge. The question is, "Will this be enough to convince voters to check his opponent's name in the booth?" Guess we won't know that until Tuesday, since in this great country of ours, you're innocent until proven guilty.
The video? Hil-arious. The one from our local news channel explains the whole story and contains the edited version of the theft scene (more bang for your viewing buck, so to speak), so it's actually better than the YouTube, but you can choose for yourself which one(s) to watch. ;-)
Balanced Babe - (Molly Wendland)
