The collective sigh of relief felt throughout Cullman Wednesday morning signaled the end of another primary political season the previous night. As Wednesday’s Times headline told us, it was a clean sweep.

Since Tuesday, we have received less campaign junk mail and not been forced to use the TV remote every time one of the half-truth political commercials starts bad-mouthing an opponent. No doubt, political commercials had to be in the thought process when the DVR was on the drawing board. It’s difficult to recall a political commercial that did not have some kind of negative tone.

As we anxiously await the November election (yes, that is sarcasm), I wonder how today’s politicians would fare in a campaign fashioned after those in the ‘60s or ‘70s (or earlier). Whatever happened to candidates standing on a platform at a local political rally addressing the issues in front of voters, often from the back of a flatbed truck with campaign music blaring as the candidate took the stage and a scent of barbeque drifted in the air?

Today’s campaigns might be better if we had a revival of sorts where politicians did more handshaking — pressing the flesh — and kissing babies. Candidates, mostly those seeking state or national offices, tend to deliver “stump” speeches, shake a few hands and move on to deliver a different version of the same speech tailored for a new crowd. The constant security threat and the ability to reach voters via social media are two factors that have put the one-time popular campaign rally on the shelf.

My first experience of stump campaigning was in junior high when I passed out bumper stickers for the late Sen. John Sparkman during one of those rallies. Campaign rallies began to fall from the limelight in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, although I did experience a scaled-down version when I covered the George Wallace campaign as he toured southeast Alabama during his final attempt to reclaim the governor’s mansion.  

A side note: in a decade-plus of covering Alabama political campaigns and government, Wallace may be the best I met when it came to politicking and working a crowd. The Clio native, who will forever be associated with his stand in the school house door, was never too busy to answer a question or extend a handshake, a true sign of yesteryear’s politician.

I have also attended an endless number of newspaper editorial board meetings where politicians asked for the newspaper’s endorsement. Although it’s still being done, this one-time routine campaign stop is not as common as in previous years. It was in that type of meeting where I first met Cullman politicians Jim Folsom, Jr. and Guy Hunt as they sought statewide office

In today’s political arena, especially on a local level, many candidates will make an effort to shake a hand and ask for a vote while visiting neighborhoods and a variety of events and places, including the local coffee shops. However, too often, candidates now depend more on social media and messages financed by outsiders in an attempt to reach voters, which seems to only dilute the candidate’s message.

In the recent primary, there were a lot of claims of candidates being tied to President Barack Obama’s healthcare plan. Really?  

Not sure how a Republican Alabama House or Senate member can be closely connected to Obama, but many PACs and other groups know if a Republican is associated with Democrats, whether it’s Obama, Sen. Harry Reid or Rep. Nancy Pelosi, it will likely play on the emotions of voters. The same can be said about the Democrats’ political strategies, but this primary election was dominated with Republican races so there was not much Democratic propaganda to spread.

In our world of information overload, if a repeated message can make an impression, even if it’s negative, distorted and somewhat fabricated, the advertising is considered a success by most political camps.

I understand that PACs and special interest groups have used their deep pockets to fund campaigns for years, but the increased involvement has pushed the cost of running for office higher and higher.

Prior to the Tuesday’s runoff, a local candidate whom I met while he was buying an ad at the newspaper (that’s full disclosure) expressed concerns of the outside influences, the rising campaign cost and the difficulty of explaining to voters why candidates spend tens of thousands of dollars in an effort to win an office that pays less than the campaign. He said many voters are tired of Montgomery politics getting involved in local campaigns, but there is little that can be done to stop it.

Sure politicians can repeatedly say they are seeking an office to serve constituents and the communities where they live, and that is true for some elected officials. But, it’s not what voters are hearing when campaign war chests are padded with outside money looking to maintain or gain political clout. It’s another reason why voters have lost touch with elected officials who allow outsiders to have a voice in their local campaign. As a result, those voters express their displeasure at the ballot box or don’t vote.

While I have never sought political office and it’s definitely not on my bucket list, allowing outside PACs and special interest groups to be part of the process often keeps me second-guessing about voting. But, since it’s one of those freedoms many have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend, I return to the polls election after election.

Again, special interest groups and PACs are nothing new, but maybe they weren’t as evident when the campaign message was being spewed from a speaker on the back of a flatbed truck.

So with just more than 100 days until the Nov. 4 general election, let’s allow the air to clear and enjoy a short break from the campaigning. Soon the flyers will return and the airwaves will be full of meaningless messages that rarely touch the issues that matter the most, forcing us to ponder if we are voting for a candidate or against those behind the scenes funding the rhetoric.

Publisher Terry Connor welcomes your comments, and he can be reached at 256-734-2131, ext. 111, or email tconnor@cullmantimes.com.