During the recent elections in Cambridge, a Boy Scout troop set up stations at polling places to collect goods for troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The items collected would have been bundled into care packages. Somebody complained that the collections were too political, and Cambridge officials made the Boy Scouts leave.

The stage was set for a political ruckus, with the Boy Scouts and the troops as the victims and the hemptastic citizens of Cambridge as the villains. The unnamed individual who complained about the Boy Scout collections is likely an uptight, smug stickler who probably bitches about this sort of thing all the time and smells like compost and patchouli. But how productive is it to complain about Cambridge when people could be sending supplies to the troops?

Cambridge stereotypes aside, that person has a point--the only thing that should be going on within a polling place is voting. Voting is a sacred activity that shouldn't be multitasked by anything, no matter how well intentioned. But Cambridge officials botched everything up so much that they shouldn't be surprised at all the negative attention.

Opinions stated in this post belong solely to this Bostonist. More, including where you can donate money to the Boy Scout troop so they can get care packages, after the jump!

If Cambridge wanted to avoid a PR nightmare, they could have asked the Boy Scouts to join the people standing 150 yards away from the polling place with their signs and banners for the candidates. Then the students could have collected goods that the troops so obviously need, and, if anyone complained, the patchouli-and-compost-scented individual would have had to stuff it.

Those who run elections in Cambridge--particularly Marsha Weinerman, executive director of the Election Commission--are to blame for not thinking about what might have happened. A Cambridge Chronicle editorial pointed out that she was inconsistent about enforcing the 150-yard rule, and the troop leader said she told him twice that it was okay for the Boy Scouts to set up the boxes at the polling stations. Her bungling was the equivalent of tossing dripping red meat into the laps of talk-show types who love calling the city the "People's Republic of Cambridge." The City Manager isn't helping by dismissing the episode as a "non-issue." A "non-issue"? Even if you took out the inflammatory fact that they upset the Boy Scouts, these guys demonstrated that they are sloppy at running elections.

On the bright side, the incident should serve as a reminder--the troops need your stuff, and the guv'mint isn't giving them enough. To send financial donations that will go to care packages, send money to Scouts at Troop 45, P.O. Box 381241, Cambridge, MA 02238. Checks should be made payable to Troop 45.