By Wayne Seybold
As a candidate for office, I believe in bringing a positive approach to the position – a confident campaign based on my conservative convictions.
Yet, today, after a long day of campaigning, I returned home to the epidemic that has captured the Republican Party and the political world, as a whole. This epidemic has torn down the fabric of not only our party, but our state and our great country. Sadly, I returned home to a mailbox full of negative campaign ads.
Enough! Today, I’m calling for a stop to the negative campaigning that has gone on at every level. As we look at the large obstacles facing our country today, it is sad that the election system put in place by our Founders to fix these challenges is so broken. When I see the great leaders of our communities, our party, our state and our country lashing out against one another, I am disgusted by the fact that, as a prospective representative of the people, we no longer seek victory in the arena of ideas. Rather, we mostly seek victory by tearing down our opponents.
My biggest struggle as a father of three is how to explain to my boys the justification for negative ads. These are people that they’ve met and have been encouraged to respect. How are we, as parents, supposed to explain negative ads while teaching respect – that it’s okay for adults who want to be leaders of our country to disrespect each other? How are we supposed to reemphasize a key concept of our schools as anti-bullying communities, when they see that we don’t have to live to the same standards? How are we supposed to tell them that these are the leaders they should look up to?
As my staff and I have been out making calls and knocking on doors, we consistently hear the same thing – “I am not going to vote, because I’m so tired of the negative campaigning.” And the establishment wonders why we continue to have lower and lower voter turnout?
We need to get back to the core values of our country. We need to get back to “We The People” and the values of President Reagan, Governor Daniels and Congressman Pence, who have sought to draw out the best in us, not divide us.
I encourage voters to get out and send a message to Washington, the State House, County Courthouses and Town Halls. Enough is enough! Our party, our state and our country’s future depend on it.
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