the FBI candidate
Thomas Esposito’s campaign for the Legislature seemed to be following the usual pattern. The longtime Democratic mayor issued press releases, raised money and bought newspaper ads. Signs bearing his name popped up in yards around rural Logan County.
But less than a month before the May 2004 primary election, Esposito dropped out, saying he had to withdraw because of his ailing mother-in-law.
The real reason surfaced only later: The FBI had planted Esposito among the field of candidates to help find evidence of vote-buying in southern West Virginia.
The quest I have now is to find Thomas Esposito’s old campaign website. What was he running on? Was he pretending to be a “New Democrat” or a member of the “Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party”? (Come to think of it, the pretending to be one or the other or something else entirely makes him no different from the “real” candidates for office.) If he were on the ballot and his positions looked better than the other candidate, would it still be worth voting for him?
And to ponder whether this is worth it. What if Thomas Esposito had won? Who is to say that the entire Congress isn’t composed of FBI plants? I think Joseph Lieberman is a plant for some agenda or other.
The people who stuck up Thomas Esposito signs in their yard — are they disappointed?
Maybe the Tennessee Titans were plants — is the purpose of this struggling team simply so that in Week 13 of the NFL season they could dog a game and allow the Indianapolis Colts to continue their undefeated season?
My faith in the system is completely and utterly and irrevocably destroyed.