Yard Wars - Stealing Lawn Sign good? w/poll

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20041020/us_nm/campaign_vandals_dc_7

Campaign signs depicting support for either President Bush (news - web sites) or Democratic challenger John Kerry (news - web sites) are being burned, chopped down, spray-painted and commonly, stolen away in the dark of night.

In addition to my canvassing and other more mainstream election year activites, I've also been giving a lot of thought to stealing yard signs. I live in what is probably the most liberal area of Milwaukee, very very blue. Yet there are a couple of poeple who insist on putting their Bush-Cheney signs up. I kind of see it as a slap in the face to all of the working poor around here (not ot mention the minorities. If you're not a white male, the Bush administration doesn't give a damn about you.) I like to think of the lawn signs as political game. BY putting a sign on your lawn, you are joining the visibility game.

On the one hand, I realize it's suppression of free speech. On the other hand, visibility does actually have an effect (unfortunatly) abnd although I don't think anyone around here is going to be swayed, why take the chance?

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20041020/us_nm/campaign_vandals_dc_7

But some political scientists think the activity may be a good thing.

"People really care about this election and this is one way to show it," said Richard Valelly, a research fellow at the Center for the Study of Democratic Politics at Princeton University. "It's American politics."