We've Got the Candidates We Deserve

So much has been written recently about Mark Kirk, his military record, and how he apparently "misremembered it wrong" (I can barely type those words because they are so grammatically incorrect) which awards he did or didn't win and I've stayed out of the whole thing. This has been difficult for me because if you're a long-time reader of Little Merry Sunshine, you'll remember that I'm not exactly a fan of Mark Kirk's (here, here, and here, for example). Even though I've avoided this scandal, I applaud Ellen of the Tenth for the way she has relentlessly held Rep. Kirk's feet to the fire.

I can no longer stay quiet.

As I've read the articles in the Daily Herald, Chicago Tribune, and Sun-Times and the comments people have left in support of Kirk, against Kirk and also pro- and anti- Alexi Giannoulias (Mark Kirk's major opponent in the upcoming Senate race who also faces his own scandals), one thing stands out to me: We have the candidates we deserve and we have them in every single election.

How often do we all go to the polls holding our nose and pulling the lever for the "lesser of two evils" candidate? Most people I know complain a lot about how they wish we could get some better candidates. It's rare that candidates actually inspire us to be better and rarer still that we feel like they aren't bought by some deep-pocket lobbyist or another.

But don't we have responsibility for these lackluster (and often corrupt) candidates who constantly fail to live up to even minimal standards we expect of our leaders?

Less than half of all adults vote. The numbers are a bit higher during the sexy presidential elections and are truly pathetic during the "unimportant" local elections. I've got news for you: the President isn't going to do anything to get the snow plowed off your street or the potholes fixed, but your mayor's got some pull there. The local school board determines what kind of an education your child gets, not Congress. Voting takes 10 minutes, maybe, and with early voting there's simply no excuse not to vote.

Why do candidates spend so much money on tv, radio, and print advertising and do everything they can to get on the news? Because they know that most voters are too lazy to do any independent research. In the olden days (i.e., back when I turned 18 and started voting), it was tougher to do the research because the internet didn't exist. But today, we can all sit around in our pj's and vet our candidates. Doing a quick Google search of "Mark Kirk" gave me 13.9 million results in .21 seconds. Sure the tough part is going through those links and determining which ones have any validity, but you can find the answers. Oh, and if you find information that seems just a little outrageous, check it out on FactCheck.org or at Snopes.com before believing it. Most of it isn't true, especially if it comes via an email that's been forwarded 900 times.

Remember that a candidate who spends millions of dollars on tv, radio and print advertising or whose name you hear in the news constantly isn't necessarily the best candidate, they simply have a ton of money.

There are usually more than two candidates per office. In addition to the Democratic and Republican candidates, there are usually a number of lesser known 3rd party or independent candidates. Don't discount them simply because the media does and they don't have any money. If you don't know whether or not they exist, you can find the information at your county clerk's website where they'll have a complete list of all candidates in the upcoming election.

Get involved. Attend town hall meetings and debates or forums and ask questions. Write letters to the editor. Volunteer your time. Donate some money. Put out a yard sign. Host your candidate in your home and invite your friends and neighbors.

Support candidates who tell you why you should elect them rather than spending their time telling you how bad their opponent is. When we demand better, we'll get it.

Politics is nasty business because we allow it to be. Politicians lie to our faces and conduct themselves in ways that would surely get them fired instantly in the private sector because we allow them to and keep voting them into office year after year after year. Some people want to institute term limits, but I think they're unnecessary. We've already got term limits. They're called ELECTIONS.

The bottom line is this: Decisions are made by those who show up. When we show up for ourselves and demand better, we'll get better candidates. Until then, we've got the candidates we deserve.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For . . . WAIT! Did That Woman Steal My Ice Cream Money?!

On tonight's news there was a story about two 12-year old girls from the affluent suburb of Deerfield who allegedly had their ice cream money stolen at Baskin Robbins by a mom of three.

It seems that these two 12-year olds set a $20 bill on the counter at Baskin Robbins, while the woman in front of them was still in the process of her own transaction. They then walked away to look at the different flavors of ice cream. The woman finished her transaction, turned to walk away, then realized she forgot her purchase, turned back around, picked up her ice cream and the $20 sitting on the counter and proceeded to sit down with her kids in the store. A little while later, the 12-year olds realized their money had been stolen and called the police. According to Baskin Robbins, the mom is a regular customer in the store.

Why didn't the kids ask the woman, who was still in the store, if she picked up their money by mistake? Or if they were too scared to do it, why not have the manager of the Baskin Robbins do it?

The kids called the police. The police are now investigating. This happened 13 days ago. The police are STILL investigating and it made the ABC7 news today, almost 2 weeks later. The parents of one of the "victims" says they want to prosecute the mom who stole their kids' money. The police are investigating and giving interviews to the media about this.

This is the biggest waste of taxpayer dollars I think I've ever seen and now I want to move to Deerfield. They clearly do not have any problems there with vandalism, gangs, drugs, actual theft, homelessness, etc.

I've seen the video and you will too in a moment. In my opinion, this mom probably didn't realize the money wasn't hers. She was probably distracted since, ya know, she almost walked off without her purchase. According to the Sun-Times, the kids called one of their mothers crying that their money was gone. My question: Did the mom advise calling the cops? If these 12-year old girls were my kids and they called or came home upset about someone stealing their ice cream money, I'd look at them and tell them that was too bad and they've just learned an important life lesson: Do not leave money sitting on the counter and walk away. I would tell them that they should not take out their money until they are about to pay for their purchase. I would tell them I was sorry they'd lost $20, but that was too bad and they would never make that mistake again. Furthermore, I would say that if the $20 was stolen on purpose then the person who took the money must have needed it far more than my kids did. If, on the other hand, I saw the video, I would conclude that it was an honest mistake and encourage my kids to learn from it. What I would not do is call the police and I most certainly would not ever say that I wanted the person who took $20 prosecuted.

I have to believe that it is costing Deerfield taxpayers far more than $20 for their police department to investigate this and for their deputy chief to spend his time doing media interviews. Don't they have any other problems in this town?

How do you feel about this? Would you want your local police to investigate this "crime"?