How I'm Voting in November

Politics is such a touchy subject so I figure I should offend just about everyone to be fair. The state of our economy is bad and our prospects are getting worse no matter what anyone tells you. Take a look at Japan for a sneak preview of where we could end up if you think this election isn’t important enough for you to cast your vote. So consider it a life priority for you, your family and generations to come that you get out there and vote no matter what your political ideology might be.

The jobs prospects couldn’t look worse than right now because we have an ever widening gap between the shrinking number of high income people and then the rest of the people whose income is shrinking before their eyes. At the end of each month, the vast majority of American families are in worse shape than they were the month before, whether they are working or not. The easy answer is to blame Obama or Bush or Democrats or the Republicans and then just vote the other way. That isn’t going to change anything. If you are going to vote then force a change. Here are some of my guidelines in how I am voting in November:

1. FACTS: Any candidates who does not know the facts or who refuses to answer factual questions that are relevant should not get a vote from anyone and certainly won’t get mine.
2. BANKS AND FORECLOSURES: Anyone who refers to borrowers that bought homes they couldn’t afford does not get my vote. That isn’t what happened.
3. When the Democrats controlled congress they lacked the courage to actually do anything that would correct the systemic societal and economic problems in our economy. When the Republicans were in control they had courage, but they used it to promote the interests of individuals and companies whose outsourcing of jobs and massive manipulation of money in our country hastened our own demise. So an automatic vote for a candidate based upon party affiliation is probably a vote for status quo. I won’t do it.
4. When a candidate is backed by anonymous donations, you can bet they are anonymous because the agenda is horrendous. A little research on any candidates or action groups that are backed by anonymous donors will help you to avoid horrendous agendas and add-ons to bills that nobody reads and everyone votes on in congress. I won’t vote for these candidates.
   
5. The Tea Party concept is good but it contains a defect that should make anyone wary. The good part is that they want to throw the bums out and they want to  change the spending habits in Washington or so they say. The bad thing is that they backed by anonymous donors or when confronted with their massive support of the Tea Party deny it as well as the “leaders” of the Tea Party. That’s a lie and I don’t like it. But that said, there are a number of candidates that deserve closer scrutiny despite their association with the Tea Party. The biggest problem is that nearly all candidates who identity themselves with the Tea Party are in fact registered Republicans. So to me that looks like a stalking horse for Republicans. They capture the anger of voters and then send people to congress who will caucus exclusively with the Republicans. For me the tipping point is I like that the Tea Party exists but I wouldn’t vote for anyone just because they Say they are associated.
   
6. I know, so far it seems like there is no reason to vote and no candidates to vote for.
7. Incumbency: Somebody who is already in office has already failed us, for the most part. So I’m voting for people who are long shots, because those are the people NOT getting big money from the groups of big business anonymous interests. In some cases that could mean voting for an incumbent like Blanche Lincoln, whose politics I mostly disagree with, but her party and the Washington establishment don’t like her. That makes me like her but I can’t vote in Arkansas.
8. Women: Just because a candidate is a woman doesn’t mean she won’t vote like a man, so they is no automatic button here. But that said, since women are in the majority of those graduating with degrees in higher education, it is inevitable that they will evolve into he controlling force in American politics. I figure it will take a while before the women get as corrupt as the male dominated government we have had since the revolution. So I’m voting for the female candidate if she is palatable or tolerable.
   
9. Age: This is a tricky one. By and large the white haired people have a very closed agenda, but they have their good and bad points. The younger candidates are not saddled with many of the biases and prejudices the older people have on race, religion and politics, but they are more susceptible to some “mentor” or who will bankroll their ambitions. On balance I think the tipping point is with the younger ones but I am being careful about that.
10. Race: I don’t have any problem with this. I think racial bias has deprived us of what could have been the finest minds and contributions of the century in the last 100 years and is a continuing impediment to the growth and innovation in our country. Besides we now have more minority babies being born that white babies anyway so, like the women, the outcome is already predetermined. Voting against it is like voting against water when it’s raining. That said, the deprivation of education in minority districts has produced some very poorly educated candidates. So just because they are black or Latino doesn’t mean that we owe them a vote. But experience tells me that racial minorities are more likely to address income inequality than the usual white candidate. So unless they are spouting the white agenda of big business and continuing taxpayer subsidies for big business, they MIGHT be someone to watch.
11. Ideology: Anyone who clings to an ideology as a substitute for rational thought should be banned from public office. They are dangerous, two-faced, and will lie about anything in order to pander to people who are too lazy to think and just want an easy pick.
12. Humor: Any candidate with a good sense of humor has an inquiring mind and a way of looking at the world from different angles. I like these people and especially when their humor is self-deprecating — showing they don’t take themselves too seriously. So in the rare instances when I see good humor, I’ll vote for them even if I disagree with with them on some issues.

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