Suffering from pre-election depression

We have a statewide primary coming up on July 20, and this is normally the time when I write a column that tries to get people fired up about voting. Sadly, this year I find that I’m the one that needs firing up because I am not at all excited about this election.

I will most likely vote in the Republican side of the primary (assuming I can work up the enthusiasm to show up at the polling station) and like most people I have been giving the governor’s race most of my attention. That contest has been a particularly ugly one so far, and that fact probably accounts for significant portion my pre-election depression.

All four of the leading Republican candidates are being dogged by charges of ethical impropriety.

Former Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, who has been leading the race in both the polls and in fundraising, accepted and then returned campaign donations from some big insurance companies and has been investigated for misusing the power of his office in other creative ways as well. Nathan Deal was the subject of a congressional inquiry looking into some questionable dealings between his auto salvage business and the state. Eric Johnson has been hammered for the part he played in dismissing ethics complaints against former Georgia speaker of the House Glenn “Romeo” Richardson. And I’m sure we’ve all enjoyed the ongoing saga of Karen Handel and her on-again/off-again relationship with the Log Cabin Republicans.

Is it possible that there are just no honest men (or women) who choose to pursue a career in politics these days? Or does power just lead automatically to corruption, no matter who you are before you acquire it? Whatever the case may be, I guess I’m like a lot of people in that I’m just turned off by the whole affair. The candidates do such an effective job of tearing each other apart in these campaigns that they convince me that I don’t really want to vote for any of them.

I suppose the best thing to do is accept that no one who has been in politics for any length of time is likely to come out squeaky clean and try and concentrate on what the candidates want to do should they get elected. That would be a lot easier to do, of course, if they would talk more about those plans and less about what a rotten so-and-so the other candidates are.

So here is my plea for John, Nathan, Eric, Karen, and all other candidates for office in Georgia on July 20: please, please, please give us a break from the mud-slinging and tell us, with as many specifics as possible, what you want to do if you should win the office you are seeking. We are facing some serious issues in Georgia and we need to know what you want to do about our economy, our schools, our roads, and our water supply. Treat us like adults for once and let’s have a serious conversation about the issues that are bearing down on us.

I know - it’s not going to happen. We’re going to get another few days of them sniping at one another and then it will be time to step up to the voting machine and hold our noses while we try and decide on the lesser evil. It just seems like there ought to be a better way to get to know candidates than the 30-second attack ads that provide most of what passes for an election campaign these days.

Does anyone out there have any ideas? Let me hear from you if you do.