(Cross-posted at One America Committee Blog)

I spend a lot of time helping politicians mine for votes, and sometimes I wonder if that is part of the problem with politics in our country today. When I’m not out vote-mining, I’m spending time with my family. Today, we will have Fiona’s birthday party, a contra dance. The vote mining and the contra dancing perhaps shape my reaction to an article in today’s Hartford Courant.

Steven Goode and Colin Poitras have written an article about Sherry Amico, “a self-taught guitarist with a powerful voice”. On August 9th, “she was found dead of a methadone overdose in a friend's apartment.” They quote a posting she had on MySpace, "My dream = to have a family and be happy ... Outcome = feeling like [expletive] because DCF won't leave me ... alone ... I don't mean to be annoying. I just want help. I want to live a drama free life for at least a month ... I just really want a hug."

Maybe it is time for a seismic shift in politics away from this mining for votes, the name calling, or at best policy statements that seem hollow in the wake of a suicide like Sherry’s. Maybe it is time for us to gather around campaigns of candidates that will use their contests not only to find voters, but to change people into the sort of Americans I grew up believing in, American’s that care for their neighbors and work hard to help those around them.