# Life on the campaign trail: I kissed a pig **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 7, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-the-campaign-trail-i-kissed-a-pig/552919 "2010-09-07T14:10:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-the-campaign-trail-i-kissed-a-pig/552919/41 "2010-09-08T20:30:38Z")
The parties have a much reduced role in local elections, but they are usually involved at least in name. Or sometimes, like where Zsofia is, they stay in the background but contribute money or volunteer time to “their” candidate. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-the-campaign-trail-i-kissed-a-pig/552919/42 "2010-09-10T15:03:09Z")
but why? the major issues that animate the parties at the federal and state levels don’t usually get much play at local municipal levels, do they? aren’t local politicians more concerned about roads and municipal infrastructure and so on? does having local officials affiliated with a particular party help that party in any way in the federal or state elections (e.g. - organization of voting places and procedures for federal and state elections - are they run by the counties or municipalities?) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-the-campaign-trail-i-kissed-a-pig/552919/43 "2010-09-10T15:12:08Z")
There are some local elections that are more politicized than others. School boards in particular draw in religious crazies who try getting elected to put “creation science” in the curriculum or ban sex education or birth control information. In the US these positions, particularly the banning of sex education, is associated with the Republican party. And you may or may not recall there was a Republican presidential primary debate where most of the candidates denied that believed in the theory of evolution, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-the-campaign-trail-i-kissed-a-pig/552919/44 "2010-09-10T18:27:15Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > But what Im getting at is that I don’t think that the political parties nominate candidates for municipal or county governments here in Canada - is it all that common in the U.S.? Here, party politics normally only starts at the provincial government level. Some Canadian cities (usually the larger ones) have municipal political parties, and their city council functions in some quasi-parliamentary manner, with a “government” and an “opposition” side. But the difference is that these parties are not necessarily affiliated with the provincial or federal parties. In the US, the Democratic and Republican parties seem to hold a near-duopoly over most all levels of government. ETA: even among the Canadian provinces that have “counties”, the importance of these entities can vary wildly. I understand that in New Brunswick, counties play no role in administration but now are solely geographical terms. Quebec has MRCs or _municipalités régionales de comté_ which I guess can be translated as counties, which are administrative but not political divisions. (_Comté_ is also an informal term for an electoral riding.) ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-the-campaign-trail-i-kissed-a-pig/552919/45 "2010-09-10T18:32:15Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > but why? the major issues that animate the parties at the federal and state levels don’t usually get much play at local municipal levels, do they? aren’t local politicians more concerned about roads and municipal infrastructure and so on? > > does having local officials affiliated with a particular party help that party in any way in the federal or state elections (e.g. - organization of voting places and procedures for federal and state elections - are they run by the counties or municipalities?) Sometimes, as is speculated in this case, the party’s grooming a guy. So they run him for mayor and hope that puts some shine on him when they want to run him for governor or for Congress. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-the-campaign-trail-i-kissed-a-pig/552919/46 "2010-09-10T18:43:20Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > > > but why? the major issues that animate the parties at the federal and state levels don’t usually get much play at local municipal levels, do they? aren’t local politicians more concerned about roads and municipal infrastructure and so on? > > > > does having local officials affiliated with a particular party help that party in any way in the federal or state elections (e.g. - organization of voting places and procedures for federal and state elections - are they run by the counties or municipalities?) > > Sometimes, as is speculated in this case, the party’s grooming a guy. So they run him for mayor and hope that puts some shine on him when they want to run him for governor or for Congress. Yup, this is pretty common in large cities. NYC, Chicago, and Boston all have pretty large political machines and all have had mayors with bigger political aspirations. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-the-campaign-trail-i-kissed-a-pig/552919/47 "2010-09-10T18:54:27Z")
Even in smaller cities, like Trenton, Newark, Hoboken, and Camden in New Jersey are all places where mayors may springboard into statewide elections. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2010, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-the-campaign-trail-i-kissed-a-pig/552919/48 "2010-09-15T05:06:59Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > With apologies to Jill Sobule: > > \*I kissed a pig, its lips were sweet > \* Pork _is_, after all, a nice sweet meat. ---
**Author:** ![pantheon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@pantheon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pantheon)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-the-campaign-trail-i-kissed-a-pig/552919/49 "2010-09-16T19:21:17Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Pork _is_, after all, a nice sweet meat. [Pork the one you love.](http://content.funnyhumor.com/pictures/porklove.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-the-campaign-trail-i-kissed-a-pig/552919/50 "2010-09-16T20:08:23Z")
Sicko. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-the-campaign-trail-i-kissed-a-pig/552919/51 "2010-11-02T03:49:23Z")
So? are the swine-lovers going to go en masse for **Jonathon Chance** in the election? Or will the anti-swine vote be decisive against him? where’s the smart money on this one?? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-the-campaign-trail-i-kissed-a-pig/552919/52 "2010-11-02T12:44:37Z")
Good luck in the election, **JC**! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-the-campaign-trail-i-kissed-a-pig/552919/53 "2010-11-02T12:58:19Z")
And why isn’t this thread in the 2010 Elections forum? Typical MSM, not addressing the real issue - the SDMB “powers that be” think that that the pig-kissing issue isn’t important enough? Nooo - that forum’s all about trivia like health care and taxes - classic Beltway thinking, out of of touch with the real issues and what real people think - porcine puckering is by far the most important issue facing the Republic, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-the-campaign-trail-i-kissed-a-pig/552919/54 "2010-11-05T12:03:26Z")
So, didja win? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-on-the-campaign-trail-i-kissed-a-pig/552919.md?page=2)