It’s really nothing new but the practice of tearing up campaign signs continues. I would like to think that we’ve moved beyond that, on the “moral” right and the “tolerant” left as well. Christine O’Donnell’s campaign reports in an email:

One of [Christine O’Donnell’s] photo campaign signs was maliciously destroyed with a spear driven through her mouth and her heart was cut out. This was no simple act of vandalism. This was a deliberate attack on her faith and strong positions.

WBOC reports that both Obama and McCain signs have been vandalized. First a man’s Obama sign in Caroline County, MD:

“My neighbors up the street, they are displaying McCain and Palin signs and they’re there and nobody touches them. As soon as I put my Obama sign up, I have people coming onto my property and removing property. I’m not able to exercise my right as a citizen of the United States,” said [Roger] McKnight.

Further in Salisbury, MD some McCain signs were damaged along with American flags:

“We noticed that our neighbors McCain signs had been basically stumped and it was laying out in the street and what really bothered me was that their American flag was pulled off the house and thrown in their front yard on the grass,” said Bruce Jones.

As far as I’m concerned, the people doing this should be caught and punished. There is absolutely no excuse for this kind of behavior. I am certain my readers from across the spectrum are angered and outraged when they hear of this. If the vandals want their views expressed, there are many ways to do this without destroying private property. Stick a sign in your yard. Stick a bumper sticker on your car. Wear a button, t-shirt, or one of those small stickers. Make comments on the local paper’s news articles or even post some comments on my blog or other blogs. These folks aren’t treading on your free speech. Don’t tread on theirs.