Political yard signs expressing some high emotions
Mary Kitchen of North Strabane Township said her husband, John, made this yard sign after she expressed frustration over the presidential candidates. People have told Kitchen they will write in her name as their presidential choice.
Tom Bell of Peters Township purchased his sign from an online printing company. He said several people have knocked on his door to inquire where he got the sign, or ask if they can take a photo of it.
Annie Shaner of Peters Township placed her yard sign on her chimney after four signs were stolen from her yard.
This large sign is in the yard of a home on Gateshead Drive in Peters Township.
As the 2016 presidential campaign enters the home stretch, yard signs are popping up in support of the candidates.
But some area residents have come up with unconventional yard signs to express their emotions about an election that has been anything but normal.
Take Tom Bell of Peters Township, who planted a sign in his front yard declaring, “My dog is more trustworthy than Hillary Clinton.”
Bell, a retired airline pilot and U.S. Air Force veteran, said he ordered the sign online, and since he put it up, many people have stopped by to ask where they can get one.
“It wasn’t pro-Hillary or pro-Trump, but it pretty much expressed my feelings about one of the candidates,” said Bell.
A sign on the fence in front of Mary Kitchen’s North Strabane Township home reads, “Mary Kitchen for President. A Better Choice than the Clowns.”
Kitchen’s husband, John, a professional photographer, made the sign after an exasperated Kitchen declared a few weeks ago she didn’t like either candidate and could probably do a better job than either Democrat Clinton or Republican Donald Trump.
“I said something like, ‘There are 318.9 million people in this country and that’s the best we can do? I’ll run,'” said Kitchen, a certified public accountant.
Kitchen said people honk as they drive by, and several have told her it’s “funny as heck.”
Joked John Kitchen, “She has more than 30 votes. She is giving (Libertarian candidate) Gary Johnson a run for his money.”
Dr. Joseph DiSarro, a professor of political science at Washington & Jefferson College, said he has seen a variety of humorous, nasty and angst-filled signs.
A homemade sign near Route 19 in Peters Township states, “Yes, she’s horrible. But he’s despicable, and I just can’t vote for him. Vote your conscience.”
“As a political scientist, I observe these signs, campaign materials, yard signs and major billboards on the turnpike and the interstates,” DiSarro said. “I can tell you, I’ve been watching presidential elections since 1960 and I have never seen anything remotely like this particular election. The comments being made verbally or in print, or on yard signs or on the internet, there are high emotions.
“People are so concerned about this election. It is indeed the first election in modern American history that seems the voters feel, ‘If my candidate loses, it’s going to be Armageddon.'”
And if you think you’re seeing a lack of yard signs supporting either major party candidate, there could be a couple reasons.
Republican state committee member Sonia Stopperich Sulc said, “One of the purposes of yard signs is name recognition. In a high profile election like the presidential election, everyone knows who the candidates are.”
DiSarro theorizes that divisive rhetoric has created an atmosphere that makes people less likely to publicly show their support for a candidate.
“I think there is a fear on both sides to be identified as a Hillary or Donald supporter, so you will see fewer signs,” DiSarro said.
Annie Shaner of Peters Township said she placed a sign supporting her candidate on her chimney and stapled signs to trees in her yard after four Hillary Clinton signs were stolen from her yard.
Trump supporters also have reported signs stolen from their lawns.
“It’s always been a hard-and-fast rule in the political arena in this country that we do not destroy the opponent’s message. I think this campaign is unusual,” said DiSarro. “When you destroy opponents’ political signs and messages, that’s a very bad thing for democracy.”
Bell, for one, looks forward to the election being over.
“I hope we can all go back to just being Americans after this is over,” said Bell. “We are all Americans, and if we don’t remember that, who are we?”