The Gadfly is a series of letters offering commentary on local issues and published in the Warrensburg Gazette.

Suppose they gave an election and nobody cared. If that’s our goal, we’re off to a good start in Johnson County, because very few people bothered to attend the Farm Bureau candidate forum on August 23rd. Yes, it was rainy and the forum was at the fairgrounds, but a lot of local candidates (and a couple of state-wide ones) were there and ready to meet voters.

I guess I should have expected to see this level of apathy. Most people will rely on three things to make their voting decisions:

1. The party their grandpa voted for. A surprising number of people are Democrats because their great-grandfather wore gray in the “late unpleasantness” of the early 1860s; a lot of Republicans can trace their leanings to the other side.
2. TV sound bites. We get short commercials from candidates, their parties, and other interested groups, plus whatever the various networks feel fit to dispense. At least these don’t filter down to the local level.
3. Whether the name sounds familiar. We’ve seen the Republicans stick with their designated sacrificial lamb to oppose Ike Skelton in the 4th Congressional District and the Libertarians nominate a recluse for Governor over a party activist. No wonder incumbents win so often.

I guess it’s too much to hope that more than a small portion of the voters will take the trouble to learn about all the candidates and vote intelligently. But I guess the country, state and county will muddle through anyway.