My First Elections Primaries Post
Alright Georgia voters, the early elections have been open now, but next Tuesday is the day you should all make a point to go to the polls and elect the representatives to go on the ballot this November.
Traditionally, the primary elections are among the lowest attended ever, and primaries during non-presidential races even more so. It is easy to see why, and it is also disappointing. If anything, the primaries are where your own views and opinions on our government matter most. Have you ever looked at the ballot and just seen nothing but the lesser of two evils? Perhaps a better turnout at the primaries may have made that election decision a lot easier.
Our primary system is a closed primary, meaning that you declare what party ballot you will be selecting from when you get to the booth. Don’t confuse that with a party affiliation of your own - meaning if you are a registered Democrat, you can still opt to vote on the Republican ticket. To my Libertarian friends, I suggest you declare Republican, as there is only 1 candidate in each race for your party, so your party nominations are set and in all honesty, the slightly similar but largely flawed GOP could use the help.
With that said, I need to explain that I have done very little research on the Democratic candidates. I just have had no love for the populist party since I started actually paying taxes and realizing the political games they played were not something I wanted to support any longer. However, I find the Republican party on its front to be completely hypocritical. You cannot say with one face that you support limited government and then with the other say you want government to dictate what two consenting adults can or cannot do in the privacy of our taxpaying homes. With all due respect, fuck off. And that leaves the fringe third parties… and I was a Libertarian for a while there, despite my own objections to their isolationist foreign policy position. Then I took a few Political Science classes. And if you haven’t, I suggest you at least read some of the basic books. The third parties have a purpose, but their purpose isn’t to win elections (though some parties do manage to gain wins in small seats locally or even in the House for a term or two). They function as measuring points for either of the big two to borrow from as the parties adapt and change to fit the times, albeit slowly. And so the votes you cast for third parties in the larger elections really don’t do squat other than take key numbers away from the similarly aligned major party (NOTE - the small seats count A LOT though. Like County Commission seats are a great example, so elect those into office so you can have your cake and eat it too).
To continue on my soap box, if you’ve read this far, I don’t need to explain the importance of civic involvement with our elected officials. I also shouldn’t need to say that local government, i.e. the state races of this upcoming elections, matter SO MUCH more than the over-hyped federal elections. While it is easy to see the House and Senate campaigns as meaningful, and to some extent they are, your State House and Senate representatives are your own advocates for your day to day life. And even more importantly, we also finally get to replace our current Governor. About bloody time. Sorry, but I have not seen much leadership out of Purdue at all. So yeah, your vote is more important now than it was in 2008 to be honest.
With that said, here’s what I’ve compiled to help you make informed decisions:
THIS LINK takes you to Politics1, an easy portal for you to see who all is on the ballot and can link directly to their campaign websites from there.
THIS LINK takes you to a voter interface that can allow you to see the candidates and their answers to various questions. It’s run by WSB and the League of Women Voters, and is a pretty good tool to get a look at who all is on the ballot and why.
Are you seeing TV spots or hearing radio ads that raise an eyebrow? VERIFY IT using Politifact. However I would note that while they make a party-neutral claim, don’t ignore the “Half-True” values. Their full disclosures help out a lot on deciding who’s full of bull.
For those who like really well done political blogs to get some news, I recommend the following sites:
galiberal.com, the local liberal line, which while I get angry at it more often than not, does make some good, clear, logical points from time to time.
peachpundit.com, the conservative connection, though it is very moderate leaning, hence why I give it the thumbs up.
OK. I hope this has helped some of you with your decisions. Now be sure to VOTE on Tuesday!
Traditionally, the primary elections are among the lowest attended ever, and primaries during non-presidential races even more so. It is easy to see why, and it is also disappointing. If anything, the primaries are where your own views and opinions on our government matter most. Have you ever looked at the ballot and just seen nothing but the lesser of two evils? Perhaps a better turnout at the primaries may have made that election decision a lot easier.
Our primary system is a closed primary, meaning that you declare what party ballot you will be selecting from when you get to the booth. Don’t confuse that with a party affiliation of your own - meaning if you are a registered Democrat, you can still opt to vote on the Republican ticket. To my Libertarian friends, I suggest you declare Republican, as there is only 1 candidate in each race for your party, so your party nominations are set and in all honesty, the slightly similar but largely flawed GOP could use the help.
With that said, I need to explain that I have done very little research on the Democratic candidates. I just have had no love for the populist party since I started actually paying taxes and realizing the political games they played were not something I wanted to support any longer. However, I find the Republican party on its front to be completely hypocritical. You cannot say with one face that you support limited government and then with the other say you want government to dictate what two consenting adults can or cannot do in the privacy of our taxpaying homes. With all due respect, fuck off. And that leaves the fringe third parties… and I was a Libertarian for a while there, despite my own objections to their isolationist foreign policy position. Then I took a few Political Science classes. And if you haven’t, I suggest you at least read some of the basic books. The third parties have a purpose, but their purpose isn’t to win elections (though some parties do manage to gain wins in small seats locally or even in the House for a term or two). They function as measuring points for either of the big two to borrow from as the parties adapt and change to fit the times, albeit slowly. And so the votes you cast for third parties in the larger elections really don’t do squat other than take key numbers away from the similarly aligned major party (NOTE - the small seats count A LOT though. Like County Commission seats are a great example, so elect those into office so you can have your cake and eat it too).
To continue on my soap box, if you’ve read this far, I don’t need to explain the importance of civic involvement with our elected officials. I also shouldn’t need to say that local government, i.e. the state races of this upcoming elections, matter SO MUCH more than the over-hyped federal elections. While it is easy to see the House and Senate campaigns as meaningful, and to some extent they are, your State House and Senate representatives are your own advocates for your day to day life. And even more importantly, we also finally get to replace our current Governor. About bloody time. Sorry, but I have not seen much leadership out of Purdue at all. So yeah, your vote is more important now than it was in 2008 to be honest.
With that said, here’s what I’ve compiled to help you make informed decisions:
THIS LINK takes you to Politics1, an easy portal for you to see who all is on the ballot and can link directly to their campaign websites from there.
THIS LINK takes you to a voter interface that can allow you to see the candidates and their answers to various questions. It’s run by WSB and the League of Women Voters, and is a pretty good tool to get a look at who all is on the ballot and why.
Are you seeing TV spots or hearing radio ads that raise an eyebrow? VERIFY IT using Politifact. However I would note that while they make a party-neutral claim, don’t ignore the “Half-True” values. Their full disclosures help out a lot on deciding who’s full of bull.
For those who like really well done political blogs to get some news, I recommend the following sites:
galiberal.com, the local liberal line, which while I get angry at it more often than not, does make some good, clear, logical points from time to time.
peachpundit.com, the conservative connection, though it is very moderate leaning, hence why I give it the thumbs up.
OK. I hope this has helped some of you with your decisions. Now be sure to VOTE on Tuesday!