Senate Candidate Michelle Smith Can't Take the Heat

I know that Michelle Smith is a lousy candidate and would be a lousy state senator because when people show me who they are, I believe them.

A few voters, over this past week, asked some serious, pertinent questions regarding the policies and character of Michelle Smith, the D202 School Board President who is running against Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant in the 49th District. I was one of those people who posed such questions on her campaign's Facebook page. They were not fluffy questions, but they were reasonable and anyone could have seen them coming. Pretty much any candidate worth twenty cents should have had no problem answering them.

While I was clearly not impressed with Ms. Smith's credentials, ideas, and responses, I wasn't alone. I asked my questions to hear her answers, to give her that chance that she keeps saying she wants: to tell me in her own words who she is, what she wants to do, and how she intends to do it. I'm supposed to do that, as a voter. I'd assumed that Smith knows what she's supposed to do as a candidate.

I was wrong about that.

I don't think any of us who posted to Smith's Facebook page were abusive or unfair, though I'd agree we were sarcastic at times and not very tolerant of nonsense. And, there was nonsense. And, there were snotty little insults tossed at myself and others from friends of Ms. Smith, supporting her not by talking in any depth about Smith's accomplishments or her ideas, but by lashing out. Most of their comments still sit on that Facebook page.

So, I think we gave as good as we got. What's pretty pathetic is that the few of us took the criticism we got far better than the candidate did.

The only time the candidate herself chose to respond to the views of others it was childishly and with snark that held no detailed rebuttal, no clear statement of her views on the issue at hand.

Whatever else she may do well in this world, Smith is too thin-skinned and weak to be a good candidate.

One person who was angry about the recent crisis at the school board over the custodial staff and possible layoffs got a rude response from candidate Smith. When he said she'd been against the workers while Sen. Bertino-Tarrant had supported the workers, Smith's response was: "Sad you believe that. Not the case at all." That's it--no elaboration, no actual dialogue about an issue that matters. Just a snotty insult to someone that in theory she is running to represent.

Smith told someone who asked her some pointed questions about, and criticized the lack of, specifics in her stated positions that he should just get off her campaign page and go post positive things on Sen. Bertino-Tarrant's Facebook page, instead!

Other voters she just ignored, stiffed for answers completely.

All while she was finding time for posting things like being proud to get Super PAC support from a national lobbying organization that donates 95% of it's campaign contributions to Republicans. So, she's for sale, and not just locally.

All of this shows the lack of heart and intelligence in Michelle Smith's campaign. It's also a very serious lack of strength and courage. That's the failure in her campaign and candidacy.

Late yesterday evening, just when I was thinking that Smith couldn't be more shallow, she drained just a little more water from the puddle.

After just a couple of days of people not coddling her enough in her campaign to earn the confidence and votes of the citizens of the 49th, Michelle Smith not only deleted any comment--her own included--that she felt put her in a bind, but she disabled all comments on that Facebook page from select voters. I assume Smith thinks there's no downside since her friends have plenty of other access to the candidate.

Let that sink in: the gal who wants to earn your vote for a place representing every citizen in the 49th senate district in the Illinois legislature pretty much pouted and ran away in the face of less than a handful of people who told her they need a little bit more than a glamour shot and some vague talking points about "fighting for you in Springfield" to move them to vote for her. When she had nothing to say, her go-to was to try to shut others up.

Not only is my post here evident that Smith's ploy is not going to work, but at least one of the other citizens she tried to dismiss with prejudice is still expressing himself on his own Facebook page. Turns out that us regular voters have more on the ball than the candidate ever will.

Here's the even bigger problem that this all leads to: If Michelle Smith can't take the heat radiated by a few interested and energetic citizens, she doesn't stand a chance sweating it out in hot kitchen that is the state legislature.

Michelle Smith would fail to work for us simply because it's clearly too hard for her to work with us.