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Being a big fan of the Cook County News Herald, I was dismayed to see that in a recent (April 15, 2023) edition, the paper published a full-page attack ad on our district’s state senator, Grant Hauschild. The ad was disturbingly dark and ominous, suggesting — without any evidence that it’s actually true — that Hauschild just might be about to act against the public interest and sell out his constituents to big business, big pharma, big insurance, etc. So, the ad implies, Hauschild is untrustworthy and we should all be very afraid of what he might do next.
This is complete nonsense, of course — anyone who knows Grant Hauschild can tell you that he is a very competent, intelligent, thoughtful, well-intentioned and trustworthy person who puts his community first. But that aside, why should the Cook County News Herald be publishing attack ads at all? Why should the paper be subjecting its readers to dark, underhandedly-accusative character attacks generated by faceless well-funded outsiders (the ad was paid for by a vaguely-named organization based in St. Paul) who don’t even have the courage or decency to stand up and say who they really are?
If someone wants to pay to advertise himself or herself as an excellent candidate for public office, the paper should be glad to accept money for that purpose. But in the interest of transparency, honesty, and the public good, could the Cook County News Herald adopt a policy that it will not publish attack ads, and will not accept ads from dark money groups?
Charles Hathaway, Grand Marais
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