Vote 2012

Thanks to ABC News for the Graphic

The reality of the situation is that the fact that you vote is more important that you vote than who you vote for; we have become a complacent society that while not participating in the election process spend the years between elections complaining about the results.

That is not to say that you (or I) do not have the right to complain if we are not satisfied with the performance of our elected officials.  Quite the contrary, we must hold our elected officials accountable for the promises they make and for the mandate we give them.

The presidential campaigns have shared a common theme in the campaign messaging thus far in 2012, “we the people” have a choice to make

Obama & Biden (Democrat)

Romney –& Ryan (Republican)

Stein & Honkala (Green)

Johnson   & Gray (Libertarian)

 As a master of the obvious, I am confident in saying that there each of these tickets offers a distinct and different agenda, platform and vision for the country going forward.

I am confident that supporters of each of these tickets can and will point out the attributes that differentiate each from the others and why their ticket is the right solution for what ails the country and how electing anyone else will be a harbinger of doom for the American Dream and the country itself.

I personally know avid supporters of each of these tickets and they are articulate and passionate in talking about why I and others should join them in supporting the presidential ticket that will return the U.S. to greatness and revive and strengthen the American Dream for generations to come.

I have dinner and drinks with this politically diverse group of folks every Thursday night and as you can imagine we talk about little else but politics, because well the Indians stink, OSU is under NCAA sanctions, Lebron left for Miami and the Browns prospects are suspect to say the least.  We are all middle and lower middle class from an income standpoint, are about split in half between villagers and farmers, are all veterans and most have lived elsewhere for some portion of their lives.

Political analysts and experts would say that we should have similar political leanings as a group, but nothing could be further from the truth – Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, and a single Green make up our group.  We hammer each other unmercifully about issues, candidates, broken promises and misguided visions for the country, but it is not personal and we are and remain close friends.

There is one thing that we all agree on.

Everyone eligible citizen should register and vote in the 2012 election and in every election from local village and county contests to presidential elections.

We firmly believe that voting is not only the right of every citizen, but also a solemn and civic responsibility of each citizen.  We must hold our elected officials accountable and the primary way in which we can do that is with our ballot.

So from our little group to all of you – vote for whomever you feel best represents your interests and that you support (we all certainly will) but please make sure you get out there and vote in November and if you can find someone who needs a ride or help in getting to the polls and lend a hand.

All of us want our preferred candidate to win, but wouldn’t a 70% or 80% voter turnout in November 2012 clearly erase any doubt as to the will of the people of the United States?

I think it would so let’s all do whatever we can to get out the vote, regardless of who the person will be voting for in November.