What a straw vote means

The term straw vote was coined to refer to scraps of straw or cut grass that farmers toss into the air to tell which way the wind is blowing. In political circles, a straw poll is a practice vote used to determine trends, or gauge prevailing opinion on a candidate or issue being discussed, before the actual voting on the matter takes place.

In a word, it also shows who your friends and enemies are. That’s one reason why Iowa is so important in US presidential elections. Since that state votes first, the media and political parties use it to extrapolate trends and convince the public they’re winning.

During the war, soldiers would sometimes throw straw, grass or even dirt into the air to tell the wind currents, so they could stay downwind and not be detected. The practice helped them survive.

In the matter of the Philippine Olympic Committee elections, a straw vote will not accomplish anything. Firstly, if it ever happens, it will just show who plans to vote for whom, and that will just generate more animosity in the cases of any perceived betrayal. That runs contrary to the current administration’s statements that they want to stem rising tension. Secondly, straw votes are always used as a pre-emptive measure anyway, but are not a guarantee to success. In other words, it’s just a way of getting the other guys to show their cards.

Besides, in the history of POC elections, most surprises are sprung in the last week coming up to the elections, anyway. So a straw vote wouldn’t really mean anything.

Also, if the national sports association (NSA) heads are the professional managers they claim to be, why would the campaigning bother anyone? If a candidate takes things personally because you have contradictory beliefs, that is simply a further indication of political immaturity on their part.

I would tend to be suspicious of anyone who wants to do things behind closed doors. Actions not done in the light of day are generally dubious. And if there are no witnesses and things break down, it’s simply one man’s word against the other’s. If one side is really confident of victory, why not do it out in the open on the actual day of elections? Why change existing protocol?

And why not discuss plans and programs, since it is the public interest at stake? Are the proponents of the straw vote forgetting that they are sustained by public funds, and that the Philippine Sports Commission itself just came out of a budget hearing in Congress so all of them will have money for training and international exposure? Considering the fact that the NSAs have generally underperformed (and that is a polite understatement), shouldn’t they be more sensitive to the people whose money they spend?

The election should be decided on issues, not backroom dealings and who claims to have more numbers. True, the public is not voting, but the public has a say. The people have been rudely disappointed, not just by the very public incompetence shown by some NSA heads, but by the audacity to challenge their detractors to beat them in an election. It’s just like a beauty contest or a reality show, they’re only banking on the opinion of a handful of people, and not the public, whom they constantly try to fool. All they really have to do is promise enough voters a share of the pie to survive.

Let’s take a look at our sports history in the last four years, and see who we really should vote. If we criticize athletes for being over the hill, or unable to perform, should we treat their leaders any differently? Who manipulated protocol to boot out a particular NSA and cause the country the embarrassment of being suspended from international competition in a favorite sport because of their strong-arming tactics and unwillingness to negotiate? Which side also mishandled the preparation for qualifying tournaments for Beijing in a sport where we always have the best chance of winning medals?

The Beijing Olympics was only weeks ago, and we were adamant about change. We were outraged by being shut out again. And we knew whose heads should roll.

Now the same sports leaders are asking for another chance, and smugly bragging that they have the numbers, no matter how we feel about it.

Such arrogance. Only in the Philippines.