I agree that Fletcher is the only candidate who has chosen to respond. Unfortunately, he doesn't know who he crawled in bed with when he accepted those political mailers and that's a problem....for him and for voters.
I think most of us want answers.
Misty, I just posted a lengthy reply to your and others complaints and concerns about the nonprofit ads for Bill and Melanie on the other forum, and I'll respond a bit differently here, though in a similar vein.
I think you are a mite off base attacking Bill for crawling into bed when he accepted those mailers. The mailers largely state known facts about the candidates, not rumors. They list some goals of the candidates. Nothing reprehensible or underhanded there. Bill has stated he's happy that some group has chosen to spread his message. Since he can't do anything about it even if he knew where to start, I fail to see that as crawling into bed with "them". You seem to be conflating the idea of people ( the advocacy group doing the mailing) exercising their Constitutional right to privacy with nefarious intent. You're obviously an intelligent person, and your anger seems to have blinded you here. How, in precise terms, is it a problem for voters for a group to send out a mailer stating some pretty innocuous but verifiable true facts about candidates when what they are doing is both legal and commonplace?
Bill did not accept their mailers any more than you did. He got one in the mail, just as tens of thousands of others did. I don't know if Bill knows you or knows any of the thousands of others who voted for him last time and who, then or now, might have advocated publicly for him without identifying themselves to each and every person hearing or reading their message. Should he or any other candidate disavow those friendly voices or is he just crawling into bed with them (perhaps you?), too?
You want answers to which you are not legally entitled and which the group in question has no obligation to provide. While that law may stick in your craw, that is not the fault of Bill or Melanie. You unfairly imply nefariousness of their part when the simple application of Occam's Razor would give you the answer. This group believes Bill and Melanie will give better service to Walton County than the incumbents or the other candidates in those races. While not part of that group, I happen to agree with them. I want open, honest, competent, impartial fair and restrained government, be it local, state, or national. Nothing more, nothing less, and I feel Bill and Melanie offer a good opportunity at that. They are not the only good people in their races. I just happens to think they are the best.
You mentioned the Machiavellian possibility that this might be an underhanded reverse psychology play by backers of Mrs. Jones. I raised that same possibility in my post on the other board a few minutes ago, a post that would have better gone here.
And as respects Mike Huckabee, his support or lack thereof for Bill, Melanie or anyone else should not be a serious consideration in a decision for or against a particular candidate, in my view, at least. Each candidate should stand on his or her merits. Bill and Melanie have a great deal of merit. If Mike supports them, that is all well and good, but it does not change who they are, what their accomplishments are, or what their promise is as prospective Commissioners for this county. They both have records of honor, of accomplishment, of selflessness, of intelligence and the ability to lead others under difficult circumstances, and they both have records of serving the public good, not special interests of any ilk. I'll go with their records. You could do worse that to judge them on similar grounds. Mike may be wrong on some or a lot of things, but a stopped clock is right twice a day, like the clock or hate it