The American Franchise - Get Out and Vote!

I cannot remember an election in my lifetime, especially a mid-term race, which was so overwhelming to the casual observer. Even if one did not watch television, the “signs, signs, everywhere signs” are worse than ubiquitous if that is possible.

The basic nastiness is not new, but the level of rancor seems at a new high (or low). Pollsters say that negativity works, but for me, a political ad that clearly is stretching for the truth turns me off to the sponsoring candidate.

All this pessimism has made some feel that it is not worth voting; that if there was a choice they would vote “None of the Above”, which they can actually do in Nevada and maybe other places.

Despite all that, the one franchise we have in this country is the opportunity to be heard though the ballot. Each vote does count, and this is how we get those folks to listen.

I am not urging a vote for any particular party or viewpoint; instead I want to urge every citizen to do a little research and not vote blindly, but to cast an educated ballot. The electorate is a powerful thing as I alluded to in a previous post on the book, “Obama Wars”. If you cannot make it to the polls on November 2 (or just don’t want to) stop by or write your municipal clerk for an absentee ballot. My wife and I did and have already cast our votes two weeks ago. The cash spent on attack ads this week is wasted on us. Our die is already cast.