I voted early

I have a confession to make.  For many years now, I have prided myself that I never voted a “straight ticket” in any election.  I mean this seriously, not like a former professor back in Oklahoma who used to brag that he always voted for the Republican candidate for Assistant Mine Inspector.

 No, I have always considered the person, and ignored the party label.  In many cases, down at the county or township level, a party label didn't mean anything.  Integrity and honesty were the compelling factors.

I have voted early. This year, I broke with my long-established policy.  There is no way I could vote for a Republican candidate for any office at any level.  Democrats, Libertarians, Progressive, what have you, could get my vote, but no Republicans.

I did not make this decision lightly.  But among the many sins a politician can commit, lying to me is right at the top of the no-no list.  Over the past four years, I have been bombarded with lies, half-truths, statements taken totally out of context, skewed facts, or just plain stupidly incorrect allegations. 

The barrage is unending.  Each day, in the mail, I receive 2-3 fliers from the Republican Party.  Every one contains at least one blatant lie. It is an insult to my intelligence.  I read, I listen, I watch.  I know what is going on in the world.  My anger gets cranked up when some dingbat politician stand in front of the TV cameras and states something totally wrong, but when challenged with facts, just continues with the same lie.  The Republican Party philosophy seems to be “tell a lie enough times and the public will eventually believe it.”

Think back to 2009.  Then we had the “birthers”, who refuse to go away.  Then, a year later, we had the “deathers.” This year we had the “jobbers.”  These people just can’t give up.  Everything must be the result of a vast conspiracy. And all their complicated arguments are but lies.

The Republican Party sold out to the Religious Right many years back.  Now they are even further driven by the Tea Baggers, big oil, big coal, Wall Street and several other true fanatics.  These people have convinced me that they are not interested in solving America’s problems.  They are interested only in furthering their own narrow interests, to hell with the people. It is not only at the national level that we see these self-centered interests. No, it is also at the state, county and even city level that we see Republican politicians who answer only to their masters, and ignore the people.  Enough is enough!

One note about the VP debate.  While watching it occurred to me that we are but one catastrophe away from having one of these men assume the office of President, and Commander-in-Chief.  Which one would you trust to lead America?