IFFY disendorsement by OnTheIssues.org: Condemnation for Issue-Free campaigns

OnTheIssues condemns candidates with an "IFFY Award" for running an "Issue-Free campaign." These are "iffy" candidates because they refused to provide voters with information on what they believe and how they will legislate. They are likely to be "iffy legislators" too -- never providing their constituents with information, on the belief that the less voters know, the more likely the "iffy" candidates are to get re-elected.

An IFFY award is a non-partisan condemnation: OnTheIssues doesn't care WHAT candidates' issue stances are -- as long as they HAVE issue stances!

At OnTheIssues, we believe that candidates should make clear their issue stances, and if they don't do that, then they should not run for office at all, and if they get elected and still won't divulge their issue stances, that they should resign or be driven from office by outraged constituents. Following is an example of a long-serving "iffy" legislator who was driven from office.

State Rep. Carl Sciortino ran an issue-based campaign in the Democratic primary 2004 against 8-term Democratic incumbent Vinnie Ciampa, and I served as a volunteer for Sciortino's campaign. Carl knocked on thousands of doors across the district, talking about schools and the environment and his plans to improve them. Sure, Ciampa knocked on doors too -- and would always know the ages of the voters' kids and the name of the voters' dog -- he must have kept an impressive file updating all of that information -- but he never said where he stood on schools nor the environment, nor anything else. Carl won -- and Ciampa was the first "issue-free" campaigner I ever encountered. Ciampa served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for 16 years, and was nominated and endorsed by the Massachusetts Democratic Party numerous times -- although it's unclear WHAT he was endorsed for. Did he support the Massachusetts Democratic Party platform? No -- the organization that Carl and me and others founded, the MassScorecard, scored Ciampa at a "C" (from "A" to "F") on his votes in the House compared to that platform. In fact, Ciampa never made a speech on the floor of the Massachusetts House -- not once in 16 years -- so no one really knew WHAT he believed in. But he did keep that impressive file with kids' ages and dogs' names -- and we hope politicians like him stay away from politics forever.

OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Principles & Values     Allan Fung: Condemned with IFFY award for running "Issue-Free" campaign.     Anthony Brown: Condemned with IFFY award for running "Issue-Free" campaign.     Brian Schatz: Condemned with IFFY award for running "Issue-Free" campaign.     Chele Farley: Condemned with IFFY award for running "Issue-Free" campaign.     Drew Edmondson: Condemned with IFFY award for running "Issue-Free" campaign.     Jim Justice: Condemned with IFFY award for running "Issue-Free" campaign.     Lou Correa: Condemned with IFFY award for running "Issue-Free" campaign.     Ted Budd: Condemned with IFFY award for running "Issue-Free" campaign.     Trey Hollingsworth: Condemned with IFFY award for running "Issue-Free" campaign.     Esther Charlestin: Condemned with IFFY award for running "Issue-Free" campaign.     Nella Domenici: Condemned with IFFY award for running "Issue-Free" campaign.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Allan Fung Rhode Island Republican candidate for governor of Rhode Island Anthony Brown Democrat U.S. Rep Maryland-4 Brian Schatz Democratic Sr Senator Hawaii Chele Farley Republican candidate for senator from New York New York Drew Edmondson Oklahoma Democratic candidate for governor of Oklahoma Esther Charlestin Vermont Democratic candidate for Governor Jim Justice West Virginia Democratic governor Lou Correa Democrat U.S. Rep California-46 Nella Domenici Republican Challenger New Mexico Ted Budd Republican Jr Senator North Carolina Trey Hollingsworth Republican U.S. Rep Indiana-9