10-20-2004, 04:54 PM
[font "Arial"][black][size 4]By Carey Gillam [/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Arial"][black][size 4]KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) - Two weeks before a tight presidential election, tension among bitterly divided voters is translating into a barrage of attacks on political targets that can't talk back -- yard signs. [/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Arial"][black][size 4]Campaign signs depicting support for either President Bush or Democratic challenger John Kerry are being burned, chopped down, spray-painted and commonly, stolen away in the dark of night. There were reports even of a hatchet left in one and a swastika burned into a lawn sporting a Bush sign. [/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Arial"][black][size 4]Though sign shenanigans are common in election years, some Republican leaders are calling this year's activity unprecedented. Democratic leaders say attacks are so rampant that supporters should take their yard signs inside at night to protect them. [/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Arial"][black][size 4]"A lot of folks are doing sign stake-outs right now," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Tony Welch. [/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Arial"][black][size 4]Bush and Kerry are locked in a tight battle and have waged an increasingly vitriolic campaign in advance of the Nov. 2 election. The race has again shown a U.S. electorate narrowly divided. [/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Arial"][black][size 4]Lawn signs in swing states such as Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania have come under attack, and emotions appear to be running high even in traditionally tame states like Kansas. [/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Arial"][black][size 4]"I was outraged," said Lis Ross of Fairway, Kansas, whose "Kansans for Kerry" sign disappeared last week. "What made it worse was that they replaced it with a Bush-Cheney sign. I ran out there and ripped it into little pieces." [/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Arial"][black][size 4]Perpetrators are rarely caught and penalties vary widely if they are ever enforced. [/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Arial"][black][size 4]In Missouri, the theft of signs supporting Kerry and his running mate, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards is so pervasive that the Cole County Democratic Party in the state capital of Jefferson City this week issued a $1,000 reward to help catch the perpetrators. [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Arial"][black][size 4]"This is the worst year ever," said county party Chairman Thomas Minihan, who reported that even over-sized signs posted on area highways had been swiped. "It's costing us twice as much as normal." [/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Arial"][black][size 4]In Michigan, a Bush supporter caught men in the act of chopping down his Bush-Cheney sign. The vandals ran away but left the hatchet in the sign. [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4]In Ohio, two men were reportedly caught on videotape urinating on a Bush-Cheney sign, and in Madison, Wisconsin, someone burned a swastika into a lawn with a Bush sign. [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Arial"][black][size 4]Some people are working overtime to protect their signs. Mark Shemet of Jaffrey, New Hampshire, has had to replace two stolen Kerry signs in the last week alone. Pennsylvania Democrats have threatened to spread itching powder on signs to keep the opposition at bay, and an Illinois family last week covered their yard sign with petroleum jelly to repel thieves. [/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Arial"][black][size 4]The antics have also reached beyond Republicans and Democrats. Someone in Kansas City made off with John Crowe's yard sign for Libertarian presidential candidate Michael Badnarick last weekend, though the neighbors' Bush-Cheney signs were untouched, he said. [/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Arial"][black][size 4]The actions have left both sides
and frustrated. [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4]"We would hope that we could keep the political discourse above the level of yard sign thievery and defacement," said Michigan GOP spokesman Chris Paolino. [/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Arial"][black][size 4]But some political scientists think the activity may be a good thing. [/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font] [font "Arial"][black][size 4] [/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Arial"][black][size 4]"People really care about this election and this is one way to show it," said Richard Valelly, a research fellow at the Center for the Study of Democratic Politics at Princeton University. "It's American politics." (Additional Reporting by Tom Brown in Detroit and Greg Frost in Boston) [/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Arial"][black][size 4]KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) - Two weeks before a tight presidential election, tension among bitterly divided voters is translating into a barrage of attacks on political targets that can't talk back -- yard signs. [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4] [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4]Campaign signs depicting support for either President Bush or Democratic challenger John Kerry are being burned, chopped down, spray-painted and commonly, stolen away in the dark of night. There were reports even of a hatchet left in one and a swastika burned into a lawn sporting a Bush sign. [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4]Though sign shenanigans are common in election years, some Republican leaders are calling this year's activity unprecedented. Democratic leaders say attacks are so rampant that supporters should take their yard signs inside at night to protect them. [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4]"A lot of folks are doing sign stake-outs right now," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Tony Welch. [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4]Bush and Kerry are locked in a tight battle and have waged an increasingly vitriolic campaign in advance of the Nov. 2 election. The race has again shown a U.S. electorate narrowly divided. [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4]Lawn signs in swing states such as Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania have come under attack, and emotions appear to be running high even in traditionally tame states like Kansas. [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4]"I was outraged," said Lis Ross of Fairway, Kansas, whose "Kansans for Kerry" sign disappeared last week. "What made it worse was that they replaced it with a Bush-Cheney sign. I ran out there and ripped it into little pieces." [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4]Perpetrators are rarely caught and penalties vary widely if they are ever enforced. [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4]In Missouri, the theft of signs supporting Kerry and his running mate, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards is so pervasive that the Cole County Democratic Party in the state capital of Jefferson City this week issued a $1,000 reward to help catch the perpetrators. [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4]"This is the worst year ever," said county party Chairman Thomas Minihan, who reported that even over-sized signs posted on area highways had been swiped. "It's costing us twice as much as normal." [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4]In Michigan, a Bush supporter caught men in the act of chopping down his Bush-Cheney sign. The vandals ran away but left the hatchet in the sign. [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4]In Ohio, two men were reportedly caught on videotape urinating on a Bush-Cheney sign, and in Madison, Wisconsin, someone burned a swastika into a lawn with a Bush sign. [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4]Some people are working overtime to protect their signs. Mark Shemet of Jaffrey, New Hampshire, has had to replace two stolen Kerry signs in the last week alone. Pennsylvania Democrats have threatened to spread itching powder on signs to keep the opposition at bay, and an Illinois family last week covered their yard sign with petroleum jelly to repel thieves. [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4]The antics have also reached beyond Republicans and Democrats. Someone in Kansas City made off with John Crowe's yard sign for Libertarian presidential candidate Michael Badnarick last weekend, though the neighbors' Bush-Cheney signs were untouched, he said. [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4]The actions have left both sides
and frustrated. [/size][/black][/font] [font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4]"We would hope that we could keep the political discourse above the level of yard sign thievery and defacement," said Michigan GOP spokesman Chris Paolino. [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4]But some political scientists think the activity may be a good thing. [/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Arial"][black][size 4][/size][/black][/font] [font "Arial"][black][size 4] [/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Arial"][black][size 4]"People really care about this election and this is one way to show it," said Richard Valelly, a research fellow at the Center for the Study of Democratic Politics at Princeton University. "It's American politics." (Additional Reporting by Tom Brown in Detroit and Greg Frost in Boston) [/size][/black][/font]
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