What's in a Campaign Slogan?

Every once in awhile, someone runs for office and comes up with a catchy slogan that sets the theme for the campaign.

In the early 1990s, a gentleman ran for mayor.  He had only lived in town a little over two years and had never held public office here or anywhere else.  He put signs all over town that said “[…] for the future of Oswego”  He campaigned very hard on that slogan.  There was only one problem.  At a candidates’ forum, he was asked about his vision for the future of Oswego.  He was unable to give a coherent answer to the question.  From that moment until election day, his campaign went downhill.

This year we are treated to a candidate, who is running on the slogan “Pro-Oswego”.  What exactly does that mean?

What if the candidate has a record that we can examine?  What if that record includes eight years on the County Board and five as a Republican Precinct Committeeman?  What if that record showed a high rate of absenteeism? What if that record includes unquestioning loyalty to a corrupt political machine whose select group of insiders got very rich at the expense of the taxpayers?  What if that record includes supporting decisions that wasted serious amounts of taxpayers’ money?  What if some of those decisions contributed mightily to Kendall County having one of the highest foreclosure rates in the United States and many area homeowners being under water?  What if that record included few, if any, displays of independent thought or action?  Finally, does pro-Oswego mean sitting on the Village Board at the same time the candidate’s employer is also a sitting board member?  Imagine how tense the candidate’s work environment would become if the candidate dared to vote against the boss’s wishes?

 Does the slogan mean that the candidate’s opponents are “anti-Oswego”?  If that’s true, what does anti-Oswego mean?  Are you anti-Oswego if you oppose special deals where politically-connected people get to make substantial profits, but taxpayers get the privilege of picking up any losses?  Are you anti-Oswego if you think a special tax break for a local business is a bad idea, especially if that business has already received significant government aid and their parent company has received billions of dollars of tax money, most of which will likely never be repaid?  Are you anti-Oswego if you oppose a tax-base sharing program, where Oswego residents will get to pay higher taxes so the money can be spent by Chicago Aldermen without the slightest accountability?  Are you anti-Oswego if you refuse to turn a blind eye to the kind of insider deals and corruption that are rapidly crushing Illinois?  Are you anti-Oswego if you think it’s a bad idea to create a special district that causes seniors and working people to pay higher taxes on their homes for more than two-decades into the future, while the property owner benefitting from the special district cannot be held to his promises?

If that’s what is meant by pro-Oswego and anti-Oswego, I think it’s clear where most of us would count ourselves!

Finally, to tell everyone that you are “pro-Oswego” and imply that all your opponents are not has to be the most breathtaking display of arrogance by any candidate in anyone’s memory!