I posted the following, including the above title, on a U.S. News and World Report article republished by Yahoo!Finance, "How Republicans, Too, Can Botch the Economy", Rick Newman, 2010-10-19, http://finance.yahoo.com/news/How-Republicans-Too-Can-Botch-usnews-4118282348.html. I don't know if it will be published.
If you are certain of your choices on November 2, be sure to go to the polls and vote for your choices, even if your choices are down in the polls. The polls don't vote; you do. Remember the Dewey "won" in 1948 while Truman slept. The polls didn't consider that many Truman supporters didn't have telephones. What false assumptions are the polls making now?
If you are uncertain of your choices on November 2, be sure to go to the polls and turn in a vote.
Here are some guidelines for the uncertain.
What kind of message are the candidates giving? If they are more negative about their opponents than positive about themselves, vote for the opponent.
Who is financing the candidates? If large sums are coming from out-of-state to candidates, vote for the candidates who are getting the least from out-of-state. I wish I could say that a few candidates refuse to accept contributions from those who have no right to vote for them, but I haven't heard of any.
If a candidate is putting large amounts of his or her own money in the campaign, consider voting for the opponent. Do you want the best candidates money can buy or the best candidates?
If some mysterious organization is putting out ads criticizing a candidate, consider voting for the opponent. Where is the money for the ads coming from? Do those who provide that money have any right to vote in that election? Again, do we want the best candidates money can buy or do we want the best candidates?
If none of these suggestions provide any satisfaction and if you don't really care for any of the candidates, you still have two choices. You can write somebody in, but that makes a lot of work for the election judges. You can always leave any or all of the choices on the ballot blank.
People do this all the time. How many people cast ballots for each judge position or for the commissioner of whatsit? What's wrong with leaving a blank ballot for governor, representative, senator, or even President?
If you don't show, your choice is NOT counted. If you show and leave a blank ballot your choice is OFFICIALLY counted.
If those of you who don't like any of the choices on the ballot cast blank ballots, consider that a candidate coming in second to "none of the above" will not have a "mandate". That candidate might more carefully consider how he or she governs.
Just think, "Ronald Reagan won in a landslide in 1984 but he won with a low turnout. In fact, only 27% of the eligible voters cast their votes for Reagan. What if the 47% who didn't vote had showed up and cast blank ballots, would there have been a Reagan Revolution?" - "Voting is not a horse race", http://www.cpinternet.com/~mdmagree.voting_2000-10-26.htm.
