July 25, 2018
I always enjoy perusing the Post Office bulletin board. Occasionally a citizen will make their views on politics known before it is swiftly removed either by Post Office personnel or someone who disagrees.
Generally these political expressions are aimed at local governance. Milton Poulos has been gone for awhile now, but he was usually good for posting items regarding national issues as seen through a socialist lens. McCleary folks from all parts of the political spectrum have made their opinions known in this fashion over the years.
Here are the results of the Nov. 2016 presidential election in McCleary precinct 501 not counting write-ins:
663 votes
Trump, Republican: 344 - 51.88%
Clinton, Democrat: 252 - 38%
Johnson, Libertarian: 45 - 6.78%
Stein, Green: 14 - 2.11%
Castle, Constitution: 5 - 0.75%
Kennedy, Socialist Workers: 2 - 0.30%
La Riva, Party for Socialism and Liberation: 1 - 0.15%
What I found fascinating about McCleary and the 2016 election was the fact that as I walked around town I never saw one single yard sign for Trump, although I did spot a couple bumper stickers. There was only one yard sign I saw for Clinton. Jill Stein (Green) and Gary Johnson (Libertarian), on the other hand, had plenty of signs up in public intersections.
When it comes to third parties, I regard anything 5% or over as impressive, so the Libertarians did pretty well in McCleary.
