DADvocate

When he's running for Congress. I received a flier in the mail from Surya Yalamanchili, who is running for Congress in my district. I have heard his "Vote for Chili" ads on the radio. The one thing I noted is that he makes no mention of party affiliation.

Even the fine print on the flier doesn't mention party. I assumed he wasn't Republican as he's running against Republican incumbent Jean Schmidt. Maybe he's an independent, I'll visit his website and find out.

On the sidebar, towards the bottom of the page there's a clue, "Cincinnati Enquirer comments on Democratic Candidates" it says. Hmmm, is Yalamanchili one of the Democratic candidates or is this a link to something critical of the Democratic candidates?

The only other clues I find at votechili.com are in an email address on his volunteer page, "@ohiodems". The bumper stickers and yard signs carry no indication of party.

The text of the blurb at the link, which is within the votechili.com domain, doesn't erase all doubt. The headlines mentions Democrats but the text doesn't clearly state if Yalamanchili is Dem or something else.

Next I find a Cincinnati Enquirer article with the headline, "Surya Yalamanchili (D)." Is that "D" for Democrat or Desperate? Finally, within that article, assuming the Enquirer is correct, I find the answer. "The East End Democrat...."

What's is mean when a Democratic candidate for Congress hides his party affiliation? Is it shame, embarrassment or knowing you must fool voters into thinking you're not what you are?