Let me begin this post by saying that I am in no way endorsing any political party or individual candidate for any public office. I am simply writing these words to point out the absurdity of some of the political ads that I am seeing this election season in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Also, I am super excited that Election Day is a week away. Which means it’ll be some time before we see these ridiculous commercials again.

Specifically, I would like to discuss the candidates running for Attorney General in Virginia: Mark Herring (Democrat) and John Adams (Republican). We’ll start with a negative ad being run by Adams.

In it, we hear about James and Janet Ramsey, a couple in Virginia Beach who had their land taken away from them by the Virginia Department of Transportation. The ad states that, as attorney general, Herring helped VDOT to bully the Ramseys off their land, providing them with an incredibly cheap settlement.

I looked up an old news report, and yeah, the Ramseys got screwed. There’s no way to dispute that.

My problem with the ad comes when Adams claims that he would not do that if he were in office. As attorney general, he’s gonna look out for Virginia’s citizens first and foremost. Which sounds great.

But I can’t help but think about the Mountain Valley Pipeline and the effect that it’s had on southwest Virginia. I’ll be honest, I don’t know much about the pipeline fiasco. I’m generally ignorant of it, because it’s not something that’s gonna affect my life. I understand people’s complaints when they complain on the news about having this giant pipeline coming through their property.

However, from what I understand, the pipeline is something that the GOP is firmly behind. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s the general idea I’ve gotten from watching the news in recent years.

Now, the Ramseys lost their property to the Department of Transportation because of eminent domain. Recently, I’ve heard that the pipeline people are looking to invoke the same kind of deal.

Are you telling me, if the Mountain Valley Pipeline begins taking property away from people because of eminent domain, that John Adams will stand against his party in order to fight for Virginia citizens’ property? Adams is all about saying that he’s “not a politician.” But would he really go against the party that puts him in office when the situation arises?

Seriously, y’all… I’m mostly ignorant when it comes to politics. Mostly because I think the people in office and/or running for office are mostly despicable and couldn’t care less about the people that vote for them. If you ask me, a politician’s job isn’t to make our city, state, or country a better place to live. It’s to make sure they can get re-elected. Or get the next guy in their party elected.

Which means I probably shouldn’t vote. Because I complain about people who vote without knowing who or what they’re voting for.

But I’m gonna vote. I refuse to completely lose faith in how our system works. And I know enough about the men and women on the ballot to know how I want to vote. I just had to laugh when I saw that commercial this morning. I just feel like, if given the chance, it’s gonna be a pot calling the kettle black situation.