Debates, Ads, and Silence: Voter Pet Peeves

Do you know what most of us voters dislike about politicians and elections? We have little to no accessibility to our elected officials.

Call your congressman's office and ask for your elected official. You will never hear the receptionist say, "Hold, please. I'll get him for you." The same thing happens if you send an email. You won't get a personalized response. You'll get the same "thanks for your concern" letter that everybody gets.

Even the upcoming debate scheduled between Tester and Sheehy. We are not invited, only members of the Montana Broadcasters Association. Which I'm not, even though I've been on the Montana airwaves for 42 years.

One solution I've got is that it be mandatory for all candidates for any office to appear at a sort of town hall. There would be a jar at the center of the stage filled with questions from the audience. Each candidate has to pull out a question and answer it. No bobbing and weaving. We would need a moderator to make sure they stay on course and actually answer the questions.

Another "Wilsonism" for elections: we are going to limit when you can run your political ads to the month of October through Election Day in November. I'm cringing every time I hear or see another ad from a politician. If you don't know who you're voting for at this point, then please don't vote.

But until Election Day, we will continue to talk back to the political ads that we play.