Now that’s a shocker, isn’t it? Anyone who has read more than ten of my posts is likely waiting for some sort of twist to take it all away. It’s not coming. I mean it. Your vote means nothing. No, I haven’t turned into a raving lunatic champing at the bit to wipe the slate clean and start from scratch. I’m still the same raving lunatic I’ve always been. It’s just that I had this thought that opened up a different perspective. Bear with me.
Once again I found myself at that pool of thoughts that reflects my past back at me. Okay, I got to thinking about my life – all right? Mostly I got to thinking about my journeys into the world of politics. On occasion I’ve attended caucuses, political events, and yes, even board meetings. I was part of the “Young Republicans” once, though I wasn’t all that young at the time. I even nominated a friend for office and ran for an office myself (TownClerk). At the time I believed I could help shape things from the inside. Said illusions were shattered without mercy. The Party wasn’t interested in my thoughts, only how they could control them and me. I was never one to tame easily. Then life kicked in and I moved on. The one thing I’ve consistently practiced over the years is voting.
Whatever else I might have done, I cannot say voting has ever been a mistake. This doesn’t mean I’ve always voted for the “right” person but I’ve consistently voted for the person who is most likely aligned with the same principles as myself. While I’ve always taken voting seriously I realized voting alone has never been enough and my entire perspective on it is warped.
Your Vote Means Nothing – The Proof
How can I even think this? Taken alone, one vote means nothing. If you doubt this, the next time you are at the polls, try this: instead of checking the box for one of the listed candidates, move down to the blank space and write in your own name. There. You’ve voted. The problem is you don’t stand a chance in hell of being sworn into that office. Your one vote just became meaningless. Chances are it won’t even be listed in the final tally.
For your vote to count, really count, for anything, it must be “e pluribus unum” – one, out of many. Herein lies the power of our Constitutional Republic. This is also the reason and justification for political parties. Any elected official must have the support of a majority of those citizens voting for that position, however misconstrued. Parties are organized to elect and support individuals who have the same goals and want the same things. At some point they all lose their way. Why? Any organization eventually grows to a point where the organization itself becomes more important than the purpose it was organized to serve.
While I have stated as much many times over the years, I cannot say whether this statement is original or if I’ve absconded with it from someone else. For the time being I’ll take full credit or blame for what I can only term as a general principle of organizations.
Moreover, organizations in general and our two premier political parties specifically no longer reflect the interests of their members. Instead they’ve become inbred and corrupt. This is glaringly evident in recent revelations of the money spent in this current Congressional election cycle. Depending on who one asks, anywhere from about $2 billion to over $9 billion dollars has been spent to elect (or re-elect) all 435 of the House of Representatives and 34 U.S. Senators for a total of 469 representative positions. The cumulative salaries of both houses of Congress, all 535 seats, is less than $100,000 million per year. This is insanity.
Where is the justification for this? Why should so much money be spent to elect any Congressional representative? Where is this money coming from? Indeed. Follow the money and you are sure to discover who owns what… or whom. This is not to say every member of Congress serves special interests but the mere avalanche of money dumped into the Swamp daily has to be almost impossible to resist. Harry Truman is quoted as saying “Show me a man that gets rich by being a politician and I’ll show you a crook”. How many poor career politicians can you name?
Yet The Parties want us all to believe they are all snow white, honest, trustworthy servants of the people. Each Party posts lofty ideals. Here is the Virginia Republican Creed:
That the free enterprise system is the most productive supplier of human needs and economic justice.
That all individuals are entitled to equal rights, justice, and opportunities and should assume their responsibilities as citizens in a free society.
That fiscal responsibility and budgetary restraints must be exercised at all levels of government.
That the Federal Government must preserve individual liberty by observing Constitutional limitations.
That peace is best preserved through a strong national defense.
That faith in God. as recognized by our Founding Fathers is essential to the moral fiber of the Nation
Nice huh? The problem I see here is that while at least a good number, maybe even most candidates affirm the creed, some may even be able to recite it verbatim, in the end their assertions are only lip service. How can I say this? Consider the preponderance of the evidence of their actions.
Rather than a limited government we are burdened with government without limitations. Ronald Reagan stated it succinctly:
“As government expands, liberty contracts.”
Free enterprise is hobbled by regulations and taxation. Individual liberties are tolerated only when they do not inconvenience government agendas. God has been all but eradicated from society with the blessing of our representatives. Like regulation and taxation, government budgets know no bounds. Need I continue? I expect the Democrats sport something similar to the Virginia Republican creed above but it is just as much a false front. The promises are empty. Only The Party matters. It no longer matters which Party you refer to. Is there a better way?
Suppose instead of opposing candidates for any elected position spending absurd amounts of money battling things out in the media and littering the land with signs, buttons and bumper stickers, they all had to speak to interested voters who actually had a dog in the fight?
Since there is no statewide race here in Virginia this cycle, lets consider the contest between, Dr. Oz and John Fetterman in the Pennsylvania Senate race. Wouldn’t it be wonderful (fantasy as it may be) if ALL the citizens of Pennsylvania took an interest in this race and, having access to say, a website where they could see for themselves what each candidate stood for, watch them speak on video, respond to questions in a forum and even see them participate in a truly even-handed debate? Wouldn’t it be something if whoever was elected to office was actually held accountable to every citizen they are charged with representing?
Sure I said this postulation is fantasy. Today it is but does it have to remain so? Can we not, as sovereign citizens expect, yea, demand better? Yes. We can. And we should. I’ll tell you up front this is never likely to happen at the federal or even the state level unless we take charge of our elected offices at the county level. Look at it this way.
Remember the example above where I demonstrated how your single vote means nothing? As true as this is at the county level, it is even more accurate at the state and federal level. Why? Because so many more citizens are involved. In any Congressional district a Congressman represents, on average, nearly three quarter of a million citizens. It would be impossible to try to listen to so many voices. What is possible is to meet with representatives from each county in a district. Even more efficient would be several counties in a district banded together to make themselves heard on some of the more critical issues. And if this is possible on the federal level, it would also be effective on the state level. The underlying principle here is if enough voices speak as one they can be heard.
Not Voting is the Worst Option
While those occasions where I did not vote in an election are few, I’d say they might be among the most significant. To the best of my knowledge, I have never refrained from voting in a presidential or congressional election. Thus the only times I neglected to cast my ballot, election-wise, is for a local election. Considering my treatise above, I’d say this carries some significance. However, my neglect runs far deeper than this. In fact, I’d say those times I failed to vote, or even show up where a vote was held is far more damning as to my responsibilities as a citizen.
How many times has someone been selected to represent me or other decisions have been made directly effecting me where I wasn’t even present? How many times might my voice have swayed such decisions? I might as well face reality. I’ll never know. Worse, I have very little understanding on how and when I could at least lend my voice to such decisions. Now I’m not talking about “public hearings”. I’ve been to a number of these and from those experiences I can tell you, our “representatives” typically endure those events secure in the knowledge their minds are already made up. In other words, nothing you or I can say is going to have any impact whatsoever. No, the time to have one’s say and make it count comes long before any issue reaches the floor. This is true whether the subject matter is a proposed law, an expenditure or filling some appointed position.
It is also true when it comes to Party decisions but, I fear, much less so. Why? Because it is apparent that most political parties are run from the top down rather than the bottom up. Anyone wishing for their Party’s blessing typically requires the assent of the “leadership” rather than the will of rank and file. We are seeing this during the current election cycle. Certain Republican candidates at the national level are disfavored by those at the top – House Minority Leader Keven McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to be exact. Those candidates they don’t personally like (or politically agree with) are not being supported. To what end? Well let’s see, in a two-party system, if one party doesn’t win then the other one does.
So effectively, these two “Republican Leaders” are supporting the opposing party. Considering some of the bills they’ve allowed to pass, particularly in the Senate, one must wonder exactly who they are representing.
Even so, local party decisions still fall under the realm of local members to some extent. As it has been a long time since I’ve participated in party politics and never where I now live, my understanding should be taken with a grain of salt. Realistically, no one can really know about this unless they are personally involved.
All said, I do believe I am opinionated enough, vocal enough and even persuasive enough to possibly make a small difference in those arenas I would participate to any great extent. While I might come across as overbearing in this blog, rest assured my own sense of fair play forces me to consider any dissenting opinions. Damned straight I want to be heard but you have just as much right as I do and I’ll fight for your rights with just as much vigor as I do my own.
Overall I see the need to set aside my personal objections and work toward becoming much more involved as a citizen in local affairs. I can no longer justify not voting. I’m not exactly sure how I will make my voice heard, but I cannot in good conscience keep silent.
My Voice Means Nothing
If one vote means nothing then doesn’t it follow that one voice is also meaningless? While one could make a case for a single voice ringing out to make a clear impact, I contend that unless someone hears it and it moves them, it is all for naught. To be effective the one voice must resonate with others and together we can be heard.
To this end, I have yet to determine whether trying once again to work within the party system is worth the effort, or if I should, by principle, abandon Party Politics altogether in favor of encouraging individuals. Ideally, I’d like to see the two-party system come crashing down. I find it ironic that certain individuals within the Republican party vie for the same thing, even if they don’t realize it or overtly state it. For example, Steve Bannon recently predicted the end of the Democrat party. Okay, so… does he envision the Republican party to be the only choice? Such is doomed to end just as badly. Even if another group takes up where the Democrats left off, we are still faced with the same inherent problem – two groups vying for control. To gain control, a group must gain power and such is only gained by growing government. Bang! Here we go again. This too, is insane.
If we are going to really fix the underlying problems we need to understand the underlying cause. As I see it, the underlying cause is the struggle for control. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan:
“As control expands, liberty contracts.”
The fix centers around decentralization. Return the power to the people, or rather, WE, the People, need to step up, step in and lay claim to what is already ours to begin with. It won’t happen all at once but it can happen. Perhaps the first baby step would be to target a local election and gather supporters for a write-in vote. Is this nuts? I don’t think so. Consider the numbers involved.
In the last election, the current county supervisor in my district was elected by 350 votes. This number does not seem insurmountable. Whether I toss my hat in and win or not isn’t nearly as important as exploring the idea of a no-party system. We naturally tend to think such ideas are unreachable but is persuading 351 people to vote for one person all that daunting?
The globalists would have us think they have it all under control. It’s their
game and they’ve already won. Like most everything with the globalists, their presumptions are based on smoke, mirrors and outright lies. WE have control. We always have. It is our birthright. Even IF the voting numbers were entirely stacked against us, those numbers consist of citizens who voted. And just because they voted for one party or another doesn’t mean they have to vote that way again. The fact is, as the 2021 election as well as this coming election should prove out, voters have far more in common with their neighbors than their parties when it comes to ideals.
Here in Virginia, the battle was over our children and the parent’s won. Why? Because most of us parents are not about to concede our children to state control. (No matter how bratty they might be today.) WE citizens generally want the same things. We want to live our lives in peace and safety, raise our children, and enjoy ourselves. Given enough facts about any situation, I think we citizens can come to an agreement on most issues easily. It is the politicians who like to twist things up to get their way. Too often their way is a far cry from what is the best interests of their constituents. This is how we end up with things like “Daylight Savings Time”, banned incandescent light bulbs, and electric cars shoved down our throats.
It’s time we citizens stop whining for “somebody” to do “something” and be the adults in the room. We need to cut up our legislator’s credit cards and restore liberty and sanity. We can do this.