Political candidates rely on rhetoric to win them elections. It doesn’t matter what their view is if they can’t convey their message in an articulate and persuasive way.
This past Tuesday I went to the HUB to vote. I was walking to the polls when I was handed a sheet of paper by a nice looking old man. Apparently he was running for state representative. My initial reaction was that he was smart in targeting us. As college kids, we were probably the largest group with the least interest in whoever won the position he was vying for, and therefore easier to influence. However, the pamphlet he handed me was a turn-off. The entire sheet was just a list of reasons not to vote for the other candidate; when I wanted to know what he supported.
In a little box he listed his “values,” which included, clean water, clean elections, women’s rights, and Penn State. He might as well have added puppies and world peace to his “values.”
After the election, I did some more research on him to see what I could find out. It took me nearly an hour to find out that he was a democrat. His entire election was based off of telling us how awful the “incumbent” was. If he ever talked about himself it was in overreaching claims. For example, the pamphlet said, “He’s on our side” and “Lee supports our values.”
Persuasion isn’t an easy task. This candidate just seemed to be trying too hard to warrant any believability. Needless to say, he lost.