Wednesday, October 20, 2010

A Note about Third-Party Materials

My opponent and I each have some supporters who are sending out their own letters, passing out their own fliers, blogging, or putting up their own Web sites, describing their own views of the issues and the candidates -- but who are not part of either campaign. They have the right to do these things, and I'm grateful to everyone on either side for caring enough about children and their education to get involved in an intelligent and responsible way in the discussion.

Just as there are different opinions on the issues themselves, there are different opinions of what is appropriate and justified in a campaign and what is not. I would like all my supporters to be calm and civil, to be very careful with the facts, to stay "on message" (at least something close to my version of the message), and to avoid angry personal attacks. In some cases, because they are angry or inexperienced or both, they still do something inappropriate and inflammatory. If I happen to learn who they are and what they're doing, I can ask them to temper language I think is inaccurate or goes too far. I have already done so in a few cases. Sometimes I've been able to persuade individuals or groups to modify the content and tone of their materials. Sometimes I haven't.

Whether or not third-party materials are accurate in their content and appropriate in their tone, it's important to remember that they are third-party materials. They are not produced, funded, endorsed, or distributed by my campaign. If you want to know what I think and how I approach my campaign, please ask me directly, or study this blog and my official campaign Web site, www.electtimo.com.

If you want to know what my opponent thinks or how he approaches his campaign, please ask him or consult his campaign materials.

Then make your own judgment, rather than accepting someone else's.

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