Was Greg Bassett Fast Asleep This Summer and Fall?

Or has starting a newspaper been a distraction? Whatever the reason, the Salisbury Independent's headline – CONWAY, POLLITT STUNNED – in big, bold type is seriously misleading because it suggests that their defeat came as a shocking surprise last week. Anyone familiar with the pulse of Wicomico County should realize that's not the case.

People are fed up with the tax and spend style of government that those and other Democrat politicians have embraced for far too long. This year, discontent went beyond the boiling point, and for the first time Conway and Pollitt faced competent political opponents with sound conservative credentials who had broad, bipartisan support from the get-go.

The strong showing by the Republicans in the primary election last summer did not register with Pollitt or Conway, who failed to actively campaign or to change their respective tune, either before or afterwards, believing that history would repeat itself.

That proved to be a major mistake that could not be cured by last minute mailings and commercials. And they both failed to divest from affiliation with O’Malley-Brown.

By Labor Day it had become obvious that the fat was in the fire, and by mid-October it was clear that change was in the air. When the early voting totals (by party) were announced it became clear to anyone who was paying attention that Carl Anderton and Bob Culver would prevail when the final vote was held on November 4.

If Pollitt and Conway were "stunned" by the outcome, that’s because they were out-of-touch with the electorate, which may be the case with Mr. Bassett. And, then, there’s the Daily Times.