Obligatory Political Blog Post

Of the many important things that go on in this country and around the world, there are very few that you, the individual have any kind of say in. The most important of any is your role in local, state, and federal elections. With so little that you can actually do in most cases, it's important to aggressively be involved in the things that you do. Now, if you're not registered to vote by now, it is most likely that the opportunity to do so for this upcoming election has come and gone. But you shouldn't have waited until the last minute to register. Why the government doesn't have automatic registration yet, I don't know, but registering is so easy that everyone should do it on or around their 18th birthday. Some places even allow you to pre-register as young as 16, so your registration will kick in when you turn 18 automatically. I first voted in the 2004 elections at the age of 18 and I'll be voting once again in November. It may sound corny, but there's an extremely gratifying feeling that comes from handing in a ballot for something more important than the homecoming queen.

I don't want to make a post presenting my own political opinions because, frankly, they shouldn't matter to anyone but me. I've been known to discuss politics from time to time and I'm an ardent consumer of political news, talk radio, and television outlets, but for the most part, I keep to myself. It's my opinion that everyone should have their own opinion and do their best to get educated about candidates, policies, and whatnot. This is vital because you're going to find that no candidate satisfies you on every level. It's in the best interest to go towards an election with a mind of an Independent. That's not to say that you need to vote for a third-party candidate, but that you need to keep yourself from being mired in bipartisanship. George Washington warned against bipartisanship in his farewell address (Sec. 20-25) 212 years ago and still, 212 years later, nothing has changed but the party names (bring back the Whigs!). Bipartisanship still sucks big time to this day. It's the reason that very little gets done in the federal government. In every senator and representative's mind, their main job is to get re-elected. Even though we're told that the Senate term is 6 years so they don't have to bow to the fluctuating whims of their constituency, a Republican senator is voted in by Republican voters (mostly) and the same for a Democrat senator. So the bane of the Legislative Branch is party-line voting. And it will never stop. There was big news recently that this election could potentially give democrats the "Magic 60" in the Senate. Read the whole article and consider that the Democrats want 60 senators simply to make sure all of their legislation goes through and as little Republican legislation gets through as possible. It's ridiculous. Groin-grabbingly ridiculous. So few Congressmen vote against their party line that John F. Kennedy wrote a book about it before he was elected president. It's actually a really good book if you're into politics and it did win a Pulitzer Prize, after all.

The most basic thing that you have to understand about elections is that politicians suck. All of them do. One may suck for a different reason than another guy, but they all suck just the same. Every public election is essentially a lesser-of-two-evils situation. You have to find the guy or gal that sucks the least, vote for them, and hope they don't suck it up too bad in office. The people running this year suck. McCain sucks because he's old enough to be my grandfather and admits that he doesn't use the internet. Who the hell doesn't use the internet?! It's nearly the equivalent of a person running for president 20 years after indoor plumbing was invented who doesn't use toilets and prefers an outhouse. Barack Obama sucks because he's a terrorist and he hates America. Wait, no, that's not it. Sometimes I catch myself repeating opinions I hear on conservative talk radio a facts, because that's how they present them on the air. Actually, I personally find Obama to come off as a bit arrogant, which makes him suck. And both their wives suck. No one cares to listen to what a potential first lady has to say about anything. And Cindy McCain looks like the Cryptkeeper and Michelle Obama has horse teeth. Joe Biden and Sarah Palin suck because...well, did you watch the exceedingly pointless VP debate? Both of these parties have to be holding their breath every time one of them opens their mouth. And one note to Sarah (and every other gun-toter, military-rah-raher, and girlfriend of a soldier) foreign wars do not uphold my constitutional rights. The only people who can threaten those are elected officials in Washington.

So your next question must be, "Well, gee-golly-shucks. Who am I supposed to vote for amongst all these sucky candidates?" The point is that no one candidate is the saint or the devil that the various media outlets make them to be. If you note above, nothing I said had to do with any of the candidates' policies, which is what the media does to them as well. They try to tell you why Barack Obama's humble upbringings make him a good candidate or how McCain's years in congress make him a good candidate, while disregarding what their actual policies are. Or they misconstrue quotes or plans to make them seem like a bad candidate. You have to look past all that crap and get down to the bare bones of the candidates' proposed plans. It's your job as a voter to make an informed decision. The simplest way to do that is to get a piece of paper and write a list of the 10 or so issues that are most important to you in this upcoming election (try to get as many issues as possible on the paper, because only ignorant people vote based on one issue). Then do reasearch into what each candidate's stance or plan for that issue is. Then decide which one is more appealing to you and write that person's name down next to it. Go down the list and see which candidate's name appears more times. Consider third-party candidates as well. None of them will ever win, but at least you can cast your vote for who you want.

So go forth and be an informed voter.