It’s got to stop. Political signs placed on private property are an expression of free speech, a guarantee of the First Amendment of the Constitution, regardless of party affiliation. Stealing them is a crime.
Many signs supporting one candidate or another for one office or another are disappearing from yards around Creston and Afton, most of them supporting Republican candidates. What are the thieves trying to accomplish?
As I drive around Creston I see many more signs supporting the Trump-Pence ticket than the Biden-Harris ticket. So I have to conclude that they are stealing the Trump signs to create the impression that fewer people want to reelect the President than want to replace him.
Recently my wife and I took a long drive to enjoy the beautiful weather and do some “leaf-peeping.” We toured through small towns, past many farm fields, Ledges State Park (one of Iowa’s treasures), and the Des Moines area, before returning home to Creston, a total of 282 miles. As we went along, we noticed big political “barn signs” inside fence lines and many smaller yard signs.
What became very apparent was that we were seeing about twenty Trump signs to every one Biden sign. Even within the Des Moines area, in heavily Democratic Polk County, though the ratio was lower, surprisingly, the signs still favored the President.
It was an unscientific poll to be sure, but perhaps more accurate than the ones being reported by the national media.
So to get back to the primary subject of this letter, regardless of who you support, if you are one to the thieves stealing yard signs you are probably not going to change any minds, but you certainly are demonstrating that you are part of the problem this country is experiencing.
