New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was in Waterbury 12 days ago to campaign for Linda McMahon’s bid for the U.S. Senate. Photograph by John Murray
By John Murray
One hundred years ago a newspaper’s endorsement of a political candidate moved the electorate. Today it only reveals the political bent of a news organization and amounts to yet another political flyer at your doorstep. Consider that the New York Times and the Hartford Courant – newspapers driven by liberal agendas – both endorsed three Democrats; Chris Murphy for Senate, Elizabeth Esty for Congress and Barack Obama for president. In the other corner, locally, we have the Republican-American newspaper – a bastion of conservative Republican ideals – grinding out endorsements for the GOP; Linda McMahon for Senate, Andrew Roraback for Congress and assuredly, Mitt Romney for president.
Is anyone surprised by these endorsements?
Former President Bill Clinton was in Waterbury six days ago to campaign for Congressman Chris Murphy’s bid for the U.S. Senate. Photograph by John Murray
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has stopped endorsing candidates for president and senate because it placed “our independence at risk during an election.”
When the Waterbury Observer began publishing 19 years ago, the two co-founders, John Murray and Marty Begnal, made a conscious decision to never endorse a political candidate for office. The Observer would try to bring information to its readers and let them form their own opinions. The Observer’s mission was to provide information, and encourage citizens to vote.
That policy hasn’t changed. So it’s with great pleasure that the editorial staff of The Waterbury Observer wholeheartedly endorses no individual candidate for office in 2012, and throws whatever sway we have in encouraging local residents to vote on November 6th for whomever they feel best represents their ideals and hopes for the future.