PURELY POLITICAL Voting

November 5 will be here soon enough; it may be too early to vote but it's time to begin thinking about how to win.

What You are Voting For and Against

It’s a long time between now (Monday April 1) and Election Day (Tuesday November 5) but it’s not too early to begin to think about what and who you will be voting for.

It is, however, much too soon to determine a winner and/or loser at virtually any level of government.

And one thing you cannot, must not, don’t even think about it, do, is to either get giddy when a poll predicts your candidate will win by 30 points. Or, conversely, become depressed when a poll indicates your candidate will be crushed by the opposition.

Polls this far out from an election mean nothing.

Zero.

Zilch.

Zippo.

Nada.

Rien du tout (my wife is French, and I speak it a little, so I had to throw this in)

As of now – depending upon which TV channels or websites you watch – you believe the Democrats will not only retain the White House but will also hold a substantial advantage in the House of Representatives. The Senate, maybe not so much.

Or you think it’ll be a sweep and that Republicans are in a good position to control all three branches of government and you’re ready to party like it’s 2016 all over again.

Three billion dollars (probably more) and perhaps as many as 170 million “votes” will be cast between then and now. Biden will stumble, maybe even fall; Trump will say something to scare the bejeesus out of independent voters and soccer moms (and the press will ensure his statement is twisted and then covered well). Apologies will be made, along with promises and threats from both sides that “the end of democracy is nigh.” And, heck, it may be. It’s certainly closer to “nigh” than it was four years ago.

In any case, only one of the two candidates representing the two most powerful political parties will be elected President of the United States. And only one of the two parties will control the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Just as an aside, some may object that the word “votes” is in quotes in the preceding paragraph and, well, you may think that by sending out an army of 20-somethings to colleges, frat houses, sororities, beach freak-outs, and whatever, to gather participants’ “votes,” maybe even help them fill out their ballots, then compile what’s been harvested, perhaps even throwing out the “spoiled” (read: Republican) ballots before delivering them to some anonymous drop box is the American Way.

I don’t.

I also don’t think that is what the framers had in mind when they established what they believed would be a “self-governing” Republic.

To really make things happen in the best of all possible worlds, now that Democrats have chucked the 60-vote Senate filibuster for a number of things, one party holding power in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, along with the Presidency, is what is needed. Otherwise, it’ll be the same old, same old, with legislative deadlock, a continuation of budget-busting spending and borrowing, and the avoidance of dealing with the rest of America’s most pressing problems.

According to Gallup, Americans rate the following as the most important issues facing the country:

1)    Immigration

2)    Government

3)    Economy in General

4)    Inflation

5)    Poverty-Hunger/Homelessness

6)    Unifying the Country

7)    Race Relations/Racism

8)    Federal Budget Deficit

9)    Crime/Violence

10) Elections/Election Reform/Democracy,

Lack of respect for each other, Ethical/Moral/Religious decline, Judicial system/Court/Laws, Foreign policy/Foreign aid/Focus overseas, and Healthcare bring up the bottom with at least 3% of mentions in a Gallup February 2024 poll.

This week, we’ll examine the top four.

Here we go:

Immigration

This has vaulted to the top of most Americans’ field of angst, and it deserves its number-one status. Republicans have groused about Biden’s “Open Border” policy from day one of his administration, and even before he invited one and all from around the world to “come on in.” Democrats and their mainstream media enablers, however, haven’t shown their viewers the daily cavalcade of thousands of “invitees” – or as the Biden crowd now refers to them, “newcomers” – pouring across the southern border. Fox Cable News and NewsMax have been chronicling those crowds for the past four years. And even though Democrats, CNN viewers, and mainstream press, are latecomers to the party, they now too understand – at least a little – what is and has been going on at the southern border, which Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has declared “secure.”

He even swore to it under oath.

According to Gallup, nearly 90% of Republicans believe illegal immigration poses a “critical threat” to the U.S. 54% of independents agree, and now even 29% of Democrats believe that is the case. How anyone viewing footage of what’s going on at the border could be okay with it is a mystery, but apparently 71% of Democrats see no problem with the chaos it has caused in U.S. school systems, hospitals, and elsewhere.

Here are the pros of voting for Biden and the Democrat Party: another 10 million “newcomers” crossing the border between January 2025 and January 2029, paid for by you. If you are not bothered that Mr. Biden and his Democrat Party have already invited more than 10 million “immigrants” to walk into the United States – unvetted – with just their backpacks and/or suitcases, and being handed living/sleeping quarters, three meals a day, pocket money, iPhones, medical assistance, schooling, and the cornucopia of benefits Biden and his party have arranged, then you assuredly will vote for Biden and the Democrats.

If you, however, feel that people should earn a place in line to cross the border into the United States as legal immigrants, that they should have enough of their own money to sustain themselves for a reasonable period of time, that they are willing and able to learn the English language, to study our Constitution, and accept the idea that the U.S. is a “melting pot” of various cultures and the goal of every immigrant should be to melt into that pot, then you’ll probably vote for Mr. Trump and for a Republican Senate and House.

Government, Economy in General, Inflation

These three concerns should be wrapped up into one overarching problem. By voting for Biden, you’ll be voting for more government, bigger government, additional government employees, and more government interference in your life, which will dramatically affect the economy, interest rates, and the price of household items.

Biden and the Democrats do not have even a small group of Senators or Representatives pushing for fiscal restraint. I do believe Mr. Trump and his team have zeroed in on over-spending and growth of government as problems they will work to resolve or at least improve. Within the Republican Party, there is a growing cadre of deficit hawks and the same can be said of Republicans in the House. I believe also that Mr. Trump is likely to at least tackle the issue and or work with those who will.

If you believe there should be more government, bigger government, that government should do even more for its citizens (and non-citizen “newcomers”), then you’ll be voting for Biden and Democrats.

If you believe there ought to be at least an effort to rein in government growth and spending, and that government should do less, you’ll vote for Trump and the Republicans.

Speaking of which, if you are Republican and for some reason you don’t want to vote for Trump, or a Senate or House candidate and feel that splitting your ballot is the right thing to do. Think again. We are going to need every Senator, every Representative, and the president, to do anything worthwhile.

So don’t pick and choose candidates; select one party; stay with it.

It’s time to go for it all.

•••

Next week, we’ll tackle Poverty-Hunger/Homelessness, Unifying the Country, Race Relations/Racism, Federal Budget Deficit, Crime/Violence, and Elections/Election Reform and Democracy.

Or at least we’ll try.