Why give so much ink to long-shot Hawkins?
Syracuse Post-Standard
September 21st, 2008
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To the Editor:
Your coverage of Howie Hawkins as a part of the local congressional race is baffling. While I respect Mr. Hawkins' passion for democracy, I'm not sure why someone who has run and lost 13 times should deserve two front-page stories in a week. He is clearly not going to be, and not even interested in being, our next congressman.
Only two candidates have a viable chance to be our next congressman. In such an important election year, The Post-Standard should devote more coverage to solutions those candidates present to the serious problems we face. If The Post-Standard really thinks Mr. Hawkins makes such a valuable contribution to the community, maybe they could give him a column. But for the next two months, the voters of the district deserve better in the coverage of this race.
Eric Giang
Syracuse
Editor's Note: We can find only one front-page article about Howie Hawkins in recent weeks, except for a few digest items about his struggle to stay on the ballot. The Sept. 11 story was the third in a serious about the candidates running for Jim Walsh's seat in Congress. Reflecting Hawkins' long-shot status, his profile was shorter than the other two and ran on the bottom of the page.
True, it is highly unlikely that Hawkins will win, but we are certain he would reject the assertion that he is "not even interested in being our next congressman." At a candidates' forum last week on health care issues, his proposal for a single-payer insurance system funded by cuts in military spending was clearly the most specific.
We will continue to report on Hawkins' views as a candidate, despite his losing record, because we respect his "passion for democracy" and believe he brings a legitimate perspective to the debates. We are confident that including him in our coverage will not steal any ink from the candidates representing the two major parties.
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