Political environmental trashing

I hate this time of year for one reason: all those damn political campaigning signs. (I'm not even going to start on the lame ass commercials we must put up with for state candidates.) Is it really necessary to pollute the streets, fences, telephone poles, lawns, etc. with all these stupid candidate and proposition posters? I'm curious how many people vote for someone simply because the candidate's name has become ingrained into the brain due to all the signs that have been plastered around the neighborhood. Honestly, if your voting decisions are made based on who advertises more, then you shouldn't be voting. Read the voting brochure that comes in the mail where you can actually learn something about the candidates' backgrounds and platforms. Better yet, try reading the newspaper, researching online, or going to a community lecture to find out more about each candidate. Isn't that what an informed constituency should do? For everyone's sake, please don't make your vote a popularity vote, which is what the signs are. I vented in the car today to Shawn, and he made a great point. He said it reminds him of high school when kids running for student government put signs up all over campus. You know the kid who has the most money and is most popular based on how many detailed, expensive signs he puts up. I once ran for student government in junior high. Guess what, my dad made all 10 of my signs and they looked cool, but they were no match for the tons of signs some kids' parents must have spent a fortune on. Imagine how much money the candidates spend on all these stupid signs that plague us during political campaigning season. Why not put that money to better use? It's gotten out of control. If you're going to pollute the landscape, at least do it with a spray can and paint a cool mural that makes some sort of social or political statement. I'd much rather there be graffitti art on the fenced up empty lot than all those damn campaign signs.