The Stifled Voice of the Voter

Some very long faces last week in the news editors' offices at the Democrat and Chronicle, when results arrived from the paper's "Voice of the Voter" poll.

It showed County Executive Maggie Brooks and District Attorney candidate Bill Taylor with substantial leads over the D&C's candidates, Sandy Frankel and Sandra Dorley.

You'd think the first and maybe only public poll in the two highest-profile races this year would be front page material, as in prior years.

Instead Editor, and de facto Political Director of the county Democratic Party, Karen Magnuson buried the poll results deep inside the section, on page 6.

You see, there are lots of voters who will vote for a candidate they think will win, perhaps on the basis that the candidate must be OK if a majority is behind him or her.   And there are plenty of people who have held back on contributing money until they can get on board with the likely winner.

So Magnuson and company buried the story.   As people who exercise power without responsibility can do.

Just a week before, the non-story of the sentencing of the last "robutrad" defendant commanded a front-page story not just about the sentencing, but a complete rehashing of the paper's spin on the robutrad matter.

Which reminds us of another disappointment for the D&C editors in the poll results.   Only 8% of those polled expressed no confidence in Upstate Telecommunications Corporation and 33% "weren't sure."   This despite the paper's month-long bashing of UTC, as the focus of the latest scandal contrived by the D&C/Democratic Party to slime the Republican administration of one of the best-run counties in the state.

Of course we've only seen the beginning of the D&C's anti-Republican campaign.   Gannett doesn't pay those big bonuses for nothing.