Vote to change tattletale politics

It's election time again. These elections are important because they determine who controls the balance of political power in the House, the Senate and the governorships. Each party is making sensationalistic claims about the evils that result when their opponents are in power. This partisan ping-pong match has failed to engage young voters in a meaningful way on the issues that matter most.

Here in Massachusetts, the headline is "Romney and O'Brien fault each other on trustworthiness." Shannon O'Brien claims that Mitt Romney is the face of corporate greed, that he slashed jobs, and therefore we cannot trust him to tell the truth. Mitt Romney says Shannon O'Brien is linked to corporate fraud and the "mess on Beacon Hill" and so, of course, we cannot trust her either. While Massachusetts is on the cutting edge, similar personal attacks are under way in New Hampshire, New York, Florida, California, Rhode Island, and countless other states.

If there was an "Innovations in Cynicism Award," these candidates would win. They have sunk below half-truths and distortions and helped invent what some are calling "tattle-tale politics." It is a politics not worthy of the sandbox, let alone the ballot box.

The brazen and unapologetic attacks on each other's trustworthiness, character, and integrity will succeed in one thing _ destroying each other and alienating voters. Sure enough, according to a new poll sponsored by Harvard's Institute of Politics and New England Cable News, both candidates' approval ratings have plummeted as their attacks have intensified.

But there is a larger problem here. In their haste to tear each other down, these tattle-tale candidates are sandblasting away our already eroding faith in politics. We have all heard the statistics _ half of eligible voters cast votes in the disputed 2000 presidential election, and usually only 30 percent or less head to the polls for local and state elections. As students in the 18 to 25 age bracket, we are even more delinquent in performing our most fundamental civic duty; voting participation rates for our age group range between 20 and 30 percent at their highest.

The result is a politics that imitates sports and in which genuine debate and creative problem solving cease. Just as in sports, we ask who is up or down, check batting statistics, and cheer and boo opposing teams. As Monday morning political quarterbacks, we applaud strategy, not substance. Inside the locker room, political parties assume a "bunker mentality." They train for a game of verbal ping-pong, instinctively opposing proposals from the other side. The goal is not solutions, but spinning or slamming the political ping-pong ball for maximum short-term gain.

This is a game that young people are not inclined to play. Distrustful and disinterested, we do not vote. Yet perhaps now more than ever, young people are idealistic. We are volunteering at record rates to help those in need. In fact, 90 percent of students believe volunteering in the community is more productive than political involvement. But ultimately, volunteering to alleviate symptoms will not be enough. Many of us will have to enter political service.

It will take honorable and inspirational leadership to build trust and motivate people of all ages to reengage in political service. We need to raise the level of expectations for our politicians. We should expect them to serve as "united leaders" _ people who enter politics with core convictions, a sense of purpose, and the courage to stand up for the issues they care about. We can stop this cycle of distrust and resist the bunker mentality by raising our standards and supporting ethical candidates who run positive, principled campaigns. We can demand that our politicians adhere to a non-partisan political code of ethics.

A united leader would not run a campaign devoid of issues or one that depresses turnout. That is the full measure of toughness in politics _ not slash and burn, but the courage to explain issues honestly and candidly, fully and forcefully, yielding to no one's conventional wisdom. A campaign that puts important issues front and center without the distraction of gamesmanship will get our attention. Then we will rise from our couches and expect to see progress and problem solving. This kind of trust creates accountability _ rewarding united leaders and punishing games of ping-pong partisanship.

However, if we do not vote, we do not count. To change politics, to snatch it from the jaws of partisanship, we need to become politically engaged. Nothing will change if we remain on the couch, occasionally checking the score, or not even watching the game at all. To demand more from our politicians, we need to become actively involved ourselves. This year, a number of campus groups invited all of the gubernatorial candidates to participate in a youth forum at Tufts. They all declined, fully knowing that students do not vote in large numbers, so they perceived a forum specifically dealing with youth issues as a waste of their time. However, the only way to prove them wrong is to vote and become involved in politics, using it as a means for social change.

Candidates should remember that no one trusts a tattletale in the sandbox. They should stop playing games and get out of the bunker. In these difficult times, people of all ages are willing to trust in politicians who serve as united leaders and have the courage to solve problems. The first step is casting a ballot today. Only by raising our voices above the din of partisanship shouting matches can we ever expect to raise the level of dialogue and encourage more people, especially young people, to be civically as well as politically engaged.

Allison Goldsberry is the President of the Tufts chapter of United Leaders. Jack Schnirman is the Communications Director of United Leaders.