I’m a political junkie, no doubt about it. I feed off the campaigns from start to finish and never tire of listening to what one candidate or another has to say. I often waffle from one to another as far as support is concerned, but well before the general election I’ll settled on my favorites.

Wife Beverly is like a good many folks when it comes to politics. She’s aware of what’s going on, but doesn’t become keenly interested until the conventions roll around.

This week she’s watched more minute-to-minute than I have — I had to watch a bit of Red River and John Wayne Wednesday evening.

An observation she made toward the end of Gov. Mike Pence’s speech hit home. Why, she asked, do the news people have to be so negative, hang on to any little tidbit that they think might turn controversial.

Good question. Easy answer.

It’s because the 24-hour news channels, from either side of the aisle, are more about show business and ratings than they are about news. A good share of what they broadcast is opinion, fueled by leading questions.

Melania Trump’s faux pas in repeating what Michelle Obama said in similar circumstances certainly should have been reported, but why beat it to death? Some pundit from CNN challenged a Trump operative about it a day or two later. The Trump guy was probably right when he said it meant more to the two of them than anyone else. I was interested to know, but then filed it away as a misstep and not terribly meaningful in the overall scheme of things.

After this coming week’s Democrat convention, we have three months more of campaigning. I won’t hang on to every word, but I’ll listen to many.

An interesting side issue will be how effective the Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson, will be. His polling reached into double digits this week.

LOCALLY, we’ve three GOP races to decide in Aug. 2’s primary. Three incumbents are being challenged: County Commissioner Tom Williams by Ron Ballard; Sheriff Bryan Murphy by Jared Froggatte and Kelly Zellner; County Attorney Jerry Hathaway by Linus Thuston.

Only registered Republicans will decide the races, and each should make a special effort to vote. The races’ outcomes will affect what occurs the next four years.

Advance voting is open and may be done at the county clerk’s office. Carry-out and mailed ballots also may be requested.

Democracy works best when all participate. Don’t be a slackard.

It’s long been the policy of The Register to keep its opinions in check when it comes to local elections. 

Such races typically involve if not friends, at least those we cross paths with from time to time, and we feel uncomfortable putting the qualities of one candidate up against those of another.

Call us chicken, but good neighbors will win out every time over politics.

This election, however, we would be remiss to let the race for Allen County attorney go without comment.

Simply put, Linus Thuston is not a credible candidate by evidence of the fact that he himself can’t stay on the right side of the law. 

During his 1997-2001 tenure as Neosho County attorney, Thuston faced disciplinary action for three separate infractions.  

The first was for accepting bribes; the second for overcharging Neosho County citizens for his services; and the third for misuse of county funds.

The bribery charge involved Thuston accepting  two cell phones, pager equipment (remember, this was in the day before smartphones) as well as nine months of telephone service in exchange for his securing diversion agreements for two Chanute women charged with falsely reporting a crime in 1999.

In his defense before the state’s Board of the Discipline of Attorneys, Thuston said he figured that if community service could be accepted in lieu of being charged with a crime, then his personally profiting by agreeing to drop criminal charges against the women could be viewed in the same manner.

Um no, said the disciplinary board.

In the second case, Thuston billed the county about $34,000, for what commissioners valued at about $9,000, for the handling of three appeals cases.

The disciplinary board agreed with commissioners, saying Thuston’s fees were “unreasonable and excessive” and mandated he repay Neosho County $26,037, including the costs of the disciplinary hearing.

The third case, while not so egregious, is an example of poor judgment.

In 2001, Thuston used county funds to purchase five paintball guns and ammunition for $524. Thuston said the recreational equipment would help him better understand what it is like for law enforcement personnel to be in hostage situations.

For real.

THUSTON lost his bid for re-election in 2000.

Why he was re-elected as Neosho County attorney in 2012 can only be attributed to the short memories of voters. 

A vote for Jerry Hathaway is a vote against Linus Thuston.

— Susan Lynn