Why ‘The Stump 2008, readers may ask. The stump is the method by which political hopefuls running for public office connect with “the people.” “Stumping” includes stump speeches, whistle-stop tours, dropping in at a diner for a piece of pie
Why ‘The Stump 2008, readers may ask.
The stump is the method by which political hopefuls running for public office connect with “the people.”
“Stumping” includes stump speeches, whistle-stop tours, dropping in at a diner for a piece of pie with voters and kissing babies. It is the way candidates get amongst the people to show them that he or she is one of them. It is also a great opportunity to spread a message and connect a face with that message. It is a great way to get votes as well.
The objective reader may ask why we would allow politicians to campaign in our pages. We won’t. Our stump is merely the forum for all things political between now and Nov. 4.
It is surmised that the term “stumping” came about because a stump provides a useful platform to stand on while speaking. A candidate in rural areas could be seen high above those gathered if standing on a stump to address them. This page then is our useful platform to disseminate information.
The term gained prominence in the late spring and early summer of 1860, during Abraham Lincoln’s campaign for the presidency. It was common practice for high-ranking officers or workers in a campaign to “take to the stump” for the candidate.
The earliest written history of a campaign tour — or stumping — came from a prominent Republican about the successful effort to get Lincoln elected president in 1860. William Henry Seward wanted his party’s nomination, but as his reputation was not widely known, he lost the nomination to Lincoln. Harboring resentment for Lincoln after he got the nod, Seward finally let it go and set out on the stump with his 15-year-old daughter Fanny in support of the soon-to-be 16th president.
The first written account of a stumping tour then came not from William Seward, but from the diary of events Fanny kept while traveling with her father.
James G. Blaine in 1884 was the first prominent presidential hopeful to go out on a stumping tour as a candidate in person. Blaine was a prominent congressman and Secretary of State in the cabinets of presidents James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur. After Garfield was assassinated, President Arthur kept him on until December 1881.
Blaine lost the 1884 election to Democrat Grover Cleveland.
Stumping today is not as simple as traveling to rural towns, finding stumps and delivering eloquent speeches. Today’s campaign tour is much more sophisticated, employing television and radio, the internet, bloggers and high-dollar advertising. Far-reaching staffs work long hours and employ many methods to urge voters to their candidates. The stumping tour for the candidate is still a very prominent element of any campaign though.
The Stump 2008 in The Garden Island hopes to employ many modern-day methods to share with you the candidates, issues, financing and behind-the-scenes action of the next several months.
The last general election in November 2006 saw a total of 38,000 registered voters on Kaua‘i. Of those 33,000, some 21,000 made it to the polls to vote.
During the 2006 County Council race, front-runner JoAnn Yukimura captured 8.1 percent of the vote. The smallest vote-getter to earn a council seat was Ron Kouchi at 5.8 percent.
All seven seats are up for grabs in 2008, nd we plan to bring you profiles of all the candidates for council this year. We still have some time before the deadline to file for a seat, so in the meantime, The Stump 2008 will offer more in-depth coverage of the presidential and state races, the issues here on Kaua‘i and the work of the Charter Review Commission.
Welcome to our coverage.
