If you're going to the polls today because you like the direction your country, your state, your local municipality is going, then by all means, you should vote for the incumbent or the party of your incumbent, especially if it's the majority.
Me - I don't. I deeply fear for the direction in which our country is going. I also deeply fear for the direction in which Illinois is going. We're broke. There is no more money except for whatever the Fed can print, and the more it prints, the less value our savings will have in the future. Our economy is in horrible shape. Don't let the bastards tell you this is a "jobless recovery": without jobs, there IS no recovery. Jobs = productivity, and without productivity we have no economy, no growth and no future. The Obamacare abomination has very few redeeming qualities, but a whole lot of crippling provisions designed, intentionally or not, to break the backs of the insurance companies, take discretion away from your doctors, saddle businesses and individuals with burdensome taxes and mandates and red tape. Much has nothing to do with health care at all (like the 1099 mandate). It takes our choices away (men, ask yourselves - do you really need maternity benefits? You're forced to pay for them now). If Cap and Trade is passed, can you afford it when your energy bills "necessarily skyrocket," as Obama said? I can't.
So, I'm voting for two things, in this order: 1.) to stop the president's agenda and 2.) to reverse the growth of government intrusion and reduce the size of government and our tax burden.
As a conservative, I have felt for a long time that I have little representation in government. In Illinois, we have perhaps the worst parade of RINOs in the GOP outside of California. And the choices I have this year for certain offices are pitiful. It would be very easy for me to vote for some very worthy 3rd party candidates - Libertarian and Constitution party or even independents in protest. But I have to consider what that would accomplish.
To stop the president's agenda, and to stop the governor's agenda, my most important objective must be to unseat every sitting Democrat I can. And much as I hate to say it, the only way I can see to achieve that goal is to vote Republican, even if that Republican is a despicable RINO. In the congress, majority party matters, even if individual congressmen vote with the opposing party. The third party candidates might fulfill my second objective, but would do nothing to achieve my primary objective.
A VOTE FOR A THIRD PARTY CANDIDATE IS A VOTE FOR A DEMOCRAT. At least, it is for now. Things may be different in two years if they GOP lets us down again, but for now, it's true.
I've always been a straight Republican voter, with minor exceptions. 2008 was the first time in my life I really felt that I was holding my nose when I voted. This year, my stomach is turning. I very much want to vote Libertarian or Constitution, but that will not achieve my primary objective - to unseat Democrats. In this state, there's no question that the party machine is corrupt and rotten to the core - I'm hoping that we can either fix that, or at least improve that, within the next two years. If the Tea party doesn't go away, which it won't if I can help it, 2012 will be the year the GOP dies, and it will be a bloodbath.
I won't fall into the "character" trap, especially in the house and senate. Character counts, but not nearly so much as party.
At a Republican political function on Saturday, I introduced myself as being from the Tea Party. Someone who had been speaking with GOP muckity-mucks recently, said to me, "Oh, my God, they're scared to death of you!"
My instantaneous reaction was, "Good! They should be." This is the way at least some of our founding fathers intended our government to be.
"When the government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny." -- Thomas Jefferson
I do not want to tell you how to vote. You have to vote your conscience. But whatever you do, whatever your political beliefs, by all means VOTE!
How I'm voting:
If I want to fire Harry Reid (assuming he'll pull his ass from the fire), I must vote for a Republican for Senate, even if it's the slimy Mark Kirk. I detest Kirk, and his constant harassment of endless robo-calls and negative campaign ads have done nothing to endear me to him. But as I did with McCain, I'm going to hold my nose and vote for him. Yes, we'll be stuck with him for six years, but all I can hope for is that we'll have a good shot at Durbin in a couple of years. Some that I've talked to expect Kirk will go with the flow to represent his constituency. I have no reason to believe that, but they may be right. I can hope. And if the Tea Party continues to be a force in politics, perhaps we can pressure him enough to stay on the conservative side of things.
For governor and Lt. Governor, I'm going for Bill Brady and Jason Plummer, although neither of them set me on fire. Brady is so busy sucking up to the machine, I'm losing hope already that he'll be conservative, but this is a vote against Quinn as much as anything else. My objective is to unseat Quinn, period.
I wish to hell the Republicans had come up with someone qualified to run against AG Lisa Madigan. I might vote a 3rd party there. Who the hell is Steve Kim? I don't think he's ever prosecuted a case before and that's a real problem. Oh, but he promises to be sensitive to minorities and the elderly. HUH? The AG should be sensitive to one thing - THE LAW.
Secretary of State - I really haven't been able to come up with any real dirt on Jesse White. Personally, I like Roberto Enriquez, but he has spent too much time wooing the Hispanic vote and ignoring the rest of us. I have to wonder about his agenda. Being a Dem is not enough for me to want to fire White. The previous Secretary of State was Republican George Ryan. He's still in prison.
Comptroller - Judy Baar Topinka has been marginal, and we didn't get into this financial mess without her complicity. I might go for the Libertarian here, Judy Fox. She's the only CPA in the race! Having spent a good 7 years of my life in accounting, IT MATTERS.
Treasurer - I do wish Rutherford had an accounting background as well. Party isn't so much a consideration here, but he looks like a party loyalist.
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