If anyone reading this lives in Grand Rapids’ 2nd electoral ward and wasn’t already planning to vote for Rosalynn Bliss in the upcoming city commission elections, I’d urge you to do so, if for negative reasons (which isn’t to say there aren’t positive ones, it’s just a disclaimer).
This morning we had a phone call from Right To Life West Michigan urging us to vote (I didn’t spare the time to explain that I’m taxed without representation in the US) for Shaula Johnston. Delighted at the opportunity to communicate with somebody from any campaign, I decided to quiz them on Johnston’s other policies that might affect abortion rates, such as poverty reduction. At the City Commission level there is no chance of having a serious impact on abortion policy, so this would seem a sensible area for an anti-abortion candidate to work on.
So I asked “What are her other policies on issues that might affect or lead to abortions?” and received the response “It’s very simple, you can either vote for abortion, or against it.” When I replied that it really isn’t that simple, and asked again what the candidate’s policy views were I was told “I don’t have that information, but I can give you a phone number to call…”. The caller had no response to my followup question about why she would be calling me in support of a candidate she knew so little about, and instead tried to return to it being a very simple decision.
At that point I asked that we be removed from their calling lists unless they’re willing to make more of an effort to learn something about the candidates they’re supporting. Apparently they have very little interest in information, as I was told we’d be removed from said lists. If Johnston isn’t putting in the effort to keep informed those working for what must be a very small campaign, is she really likely to make a good city commissioner?
(Almost as soon as that call ended the phone rang again, this time with someone looking for a James Stewart who wasn’t me. She wasn’t allowed to tell me why she was looking for that James Stewart because I wasn’t that James Stewart.)
Tags: Grand Rapids | Shaula Johnston | Rosalynn Bliss