Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Who To Vote For

The primaries are behind us, and the 2010 mid-term elections are only weeks away. In most instances, you will have the choice to vote for a Republican or a Democrat. In some instances, there will be an Independent, a Libertarian, or perhaps some other obscure party represented. It will be great if there is a candidate on the ballot whose beliefs and platform meld perfectly with your plan for America and your social and spiritual beliefs. Of course, that candidate needs to be just about perfect so that no one will be able to sling any "mud" his or her way. However, that will not be the case.

No one is perfect. Everyone has made mistakes. Not only are your fingerprints unique to you, so is your vision of the perfect candidate. You will not find a candidate with whom you agree on every issue. Instead, you must determine the key issues that are the most important to you, rate them in importance, and then find the candidate who will best represent you. Here are my "platform" issues, ranked in importance to me. Hopefully you will agree with some. I am sure you will have others. What is number one on my list may be number ten on yours. That is OK.

Uphold the Constitution as written by our founding fathers and interpreted in their writings
Limit Federal Government as demanded and outlined in the Constitution/Return power to the States
Promote Free-Market Capitalism
Fiscal Responsibility/Reduce Spending
Reduce Taxes/Abolish the IRS/Implement the Fair Tax
Reduce Federal Regulation/Abolish most Cabinet Level Departments (move them back to the states)
Maintain a strong National Defense/Reduce foreign deployments
Protect our Borders/Enforce current Immigration Law

Although I am a Christian, you will notice that I do not mention any moral issues or abortion. You will also notice that I do not mention roads, energy, national parks or farm subsidies. Once power is returned to the individual states and our laws are brought back into compliance with the Constitution, each state will be able to pass the laws its residents desire. If you want to smoke dope and marry your "partner", move to California. If you want to live in a dry county in the Bible Belt, move to Alabama. If you want mandatory recycling, move to Vermont. I believe in a United States where the states compete for residents by passing laws and providing the services that its citizens want and are willing to pay for. Mississippi's schools may not be as good as Florida's, but they are not now. If the citizens of Mississippi want better schools, they can vote to raise taxes, reduce spending elsewhere, or get more involved in the process. It is not Oregon's or Ohio's responsibility to improve the schools in Mississippi. The states should be able to compete for business and for their population. It is not the Federal Government's job to "level the playing field" or to redistribute the wealth of America among the states (as has been the case for the last 100 years) or among their people (as has been the case since FDR.) If the citizens of Connecticut want to give free health-care and early retirement to its citizens, then they can expect an influx of immigrants (both foreign and domestic.)

I believe in personal responsibility. Then community responsibility. Then State responsibility. And lastly, Federal responsibility. Luckily, the Constitution clearly outlines what the Federal Government's responsibility is to its citizens. Read it, and then vote for the candidates who most closely represent your views and beliefs.

1 comment:

  1. That last statement is key. Starting with personal responsibility and working down the line with the last line of defense being federal responsibility. Well said!

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