OPINION: Strange political season begins with few events for 'politickin'

Lack of personal contact, parades, festivals and gatherings alters campaigns

What a strange political season we are in.

Yes, the resurgence of the viral pandemic, covid-19, has already and will no doubt affect the 2020 political season.

On the national front, the presidential race seems laser-focused on the methods, ways, and reactions to the pandemic; and its aftershocks are causing the nation's economy to falter in a restarting mode.

Locally, however, the races for state representative, state senate seats and municipal offices, seem to be on an extended pause -- it is just hard to figure what the politicians must do these days to get their message out to the voters.

All the big campaign events -- a steady political press-the-flesh and see the voters face-to-face at a plethora of pancake breakfasts, community events, parades and even campaign debates -- seem on hold if not derailed.

There will be no Rodeo of the Ozarks Parade (which would have already taken place) and that event was always a grand starting gate for any Northwest Arkansas political campaign.

This year, sadly, it just didn't happen.

There will not be a Cane Hill Festival in Cane Hill, no Chicken, Peeling and Politickin' in Springdale, at least, not right now, and maybe not at all.

We know there is a cancellation of the Tontitown Grape Festival, and no Lincoln Apple Festival, no Decatur Barbecue, no Clothesline Fair in Prairie Grove and no Gravette Days to be held.

We have already missed the Dogwood Festival in Siloam Springs and, let's face it, most of the reopened Farmer's Markets all over the area are not lending themselves too favorably to "one-on-one political activity."

I mean, what is one to do when approached by a resolute stranger, hopefully wearing a face covering and trying to stay the suggested social distancing space between you and the canvasser, asking for you to support a candidate?

The shaking of hands is O-U-T, per the Center for Disease Control suggestions from Atlanta.

And you can forget about the neck hugging, fist-bumping and back-slapping of your favored and beloved politicians who you already support when they see you in public.

Should you even reach out to accept those campaign fliers?

What if this political fieldworker/volunteer has the covid-19 but has yet to develop symptoms?

Can you catch the virus off an 8x10 campaign plain office paper sheet of paper? Or how about a 6x9 cardboard mailer? And do you even want to get a bumper sticker or sticky campaign badge from a roll of 100 handled by these non-glove wearing folks?

Would it be better if they were all wearing gloves? Are you wearing gloves?

It makes the mind vigorously spin to what a voter must do when approached out in the public by these campaign workers.

Just imagine if you are the candidate? What do you do?

Most veterans are primed to pass among the public, printed materials in hand and stop for short and meaningful conversations in the political season.

But I fear that most of the public out for just a few minutes in a gathering will not stop to discuss the political future while trying to avoid covid-19 and risk infection from someone new to their small sphere of the planet these days.

Should we worry about an avalanche of fliers in our mailboxes? Should we grow wary of door-knocker slips left on a house-to-house canvass in the neighborhoods?

Will our newspaper (or its daily electronic images) be filled with political ads? Can our local newspapers (those still printed) carry out the messages from those seeking office? Will the city halls and libraries even be open for panel discussions?

Will we soon grow weary of the TV and radio that comes into our homes? And what about the internet? Are those ads really real on Facebook? How can I tell?

And last but not least of all the worries, there are those horrible robocalls.

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Maylon Rice is a former journalist who worked for several northwest Arkansas publications. He can be reached via email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.