I’ll start with my apologies to both the Five-Man Electrical Band and to Tesla, and throw in a hat tip to those folks at PolitickerMD for this one. But the story I’ll refer to actually appeared in the Baltimore Sun last week, written by Mary Gail Hare.
The story details Andy Harris’s Congressional campaign taking advantage of a court ruling that threw out restrictions on when political campaign signs could be posted – the former limit was no earlier than 45 days prior to the election. In 2008 that date would have been September 20, well after the “traditional” Labor Day start to election season. Reported Hare:
U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake said in striking down the Baltimore County law restricting political signs that time limits violate the right to free speech. She recently issued a written opinion on a suit brought by the ACLU on behalf of three former candidates and four Baltimore County residents who wanted to place political signs in their yards.
“A political sign is an important method of expressing support for a candidate,” Blake wrote. Many courts “have recognized the importance of official campaign signs and the message they provide” as a form of protected speech, she added.
She also got a statement from a Democrat in Harris’s district:
Michael G. Comeau, chairman of the Harford County Democratic Central Committee, said a reasonable regulation is competing against the exercise of free speech.
“I have always despised political signs,” Comeau said. “They do nothing for the landscape. In Harford, there is a tidal wave of this eye pollution that certainly does little to influence voters. I doubt anyone will vote for president based on seeing a sign.”
Leave it to a Democrat to consider free speech “eye pollution”. Somehow I doubt he objects to the anti-Bush signs and stickers I see on occasion. This is one of the rare times I actually agree with the ACLU, or maybe a better way of putting it is that it’s a rare occasion of the ACLU embracing common sense.
The more important question is this: if signs do little to influence voters, then campaigns wouldn’t spend money on producing them, would they? They’re an extremely cost-effective means of advertising for campaigns, and while they tend to be the bread-and-butter of acquiring name recognition in a local race, they serve an important purpose in larger races too. Since people tend to have a herd mentality, seeing several yard signs in your neighborhood advocating a particular candidate can subconsciously make you feel it’s all right to support him or her too.
To me, it’s a little early to put out my yard sign but probably sometime in August I’ll put out my Harris sign again. I’m noticing both sides are getting the large 4 x 8 signs out and to me the early start just means that the campaign is going to get a lot more interesting as November 4 draws near.
