Substituting jail time with robocalls begging criminals to stay on the straight and narrow. Does that sound ridiculous? You're not alone in thinking so.
If someone set out to sabotage a campaign, it would be challenging to do better than this self-inflicted piece of political parody.
For the Crockett campaign the electoral trend lines are not good, but on how many levels did this "Hail Mary" go wrong? Let's summarize...
With his hyper-conservative constituency - How could they be pleased by a program that makes Mr. Rogers look hardbitten and cynical?
With the Sheriff - Jim Winder was neutral in the race for County Mayor. However, a press conference critical of the jail, at the jail, without first calling the jail, guarantees the popular sheriff will reconsider his options.
With his own campaign message - Crockett based his candidacy on the contention that he's a tough minded businessman with practical methods for cutting the budget. So, how does emptying the jail with prerecorded happy talk reinforce that contention?
With independents - Does Crockett expect that outsourcing the jail to a small business with strong Republican ties will survive the smell test?
Evidently, Crockett's campaign thought this circus act would demonstrate his commitment to saving tax dollars. If last week they were willing to advance this proposal, perhaps I could offer a suggestion for next week.
Why not close the county complex and move it all back to fourth south and state. After all, isn't that Victorian monument still called the City AND COUNTY Building?
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