Neither Deserve Your Vote

The Kennedy-Romney contest is exactly what's wrong with American politics.

The incumbent, a stalwart of '60s liberalism, believes the government can create program after program to fix problem after problem.

That basic assumption is wrong, but Ted Kennedy has consistently worked to undermine America by spreading the gospel that the government can fix nearly every problem. People our age will be paying for what Kennedy has done long after his liver has hardened and he is dead and gone.

Kennedy is also clearly a man of little character. The trouble at Chappequidick, where he was responsible for the death of a young woman who was not his wife, is not easily forgotten by most people (though liberals, particularly those from Massachusetts, seem perfectly willing to dismiss it). His problems with, shall we say, personal discipline are legion.

Mitt Romney, by contrast, seems to be a man of fairly good character. But he is an equally poor choice for the state.

His experience is entirely in business, and in the campaign he has said he would like government to run more like a business.

That, like the liberal solution, is fundamentally wrong. Government is not a business, nor should it resemble one. Governing is about putting people and their concerns first, ahead of profit margins. Romney has promise, but he needs more experience before he earns people's vote for senator.

Some would argue that voters must make a choice between one of these two major candidates.

But when neither deserves to be senator, neither should receive people's votes.

Our suggestion is to write in somebody's name. Ross Perot. Gregory Peck. Teddy Roosevelt. Anyone but these two.

What this country needs is honest leadership not attached to one of the two established political parties. We need a third, independent party, drawing support from its citizens.

It's not a dream. There are now more registered independents in Massachusetts than there are Democrats or Republicans.