Post-mortem politics: Candidate endorsements from beyond the grave

Are we the only ones creeped out by the idea of using obituaries to lobby mourners for their votes?

A recent Washington Post column reprinted in Saturday’s Tribune reported on this “trend” in obits: Including a line that asks readers to vote for or against a particular candidate.

To which we say, isn’t there enough partisanship in this life? Do we really have to carry it over to the next? Or is the harangue to “vote for Trump” or “don’t vote for Trump” supposed to carry extra weight because it comes from beyond the grave?

Call us old-fashioned, but we believe in keeping certain occasions apolitical. Otherwise, we’ll wind up with birth announcements asking that we honor the new arrival by voting for (or against) Hillary Clinton, wedding toasts that carry the admonition that we reject Ted Cruz for Marco Rubio (or vice versa), and birthday party invites suggesting the best “gift” would be to vote Republican (or Democratic) in the next election.

Enough! When paying respects to the recently departed, we vote for sticking with the traditional: a sympathy card, a donation to a favorite charity and/or a tasteful bouquet.

This story was originally published February 4, 2016 at 2:08 PM with the headline "Post-mortem politics: Candidate endorsements from beyond the grave."