FOR vs AGAINST

Yesterday afternoon, as I sat on my back porch drinking a beer and enjoying what little sunshine there was to enjoy, I began pondering deep thoughts about the upcoming 2022 elections, and why, in my humble opinion, the primary elections are more important than the general election in November.

After a couple of more beers to stimulate the brain juices it finally became clear to me why the primary elections are so important – it is during the primary that I get to vote FOR the candidates that I want to represent me. If I wait until the general election to vote, then my choice is limited to Democrat or Republican, and far too often I find myself voting AGAINST the Democrat candidate instead of FOR the Republican candidate.

When your only choices are “Bad” and “Worse”, it is easier to vote AGAINST “Worse” than FOR “Bad”. Sadly, it seems that for most of my voting career those are the only two choices I’ve had. And It’s is hard to get excited about an election when those are your only two choices.

Looking back over my voting career, which began with the 1972 election, I realized that there were only two Republican presidential candidates that I truly voted FOR – Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump. In all of the other elections I voted AGAINST the Democrat candidate.

And I don’t think it’s just me that feels this way, I’m pretty sure there are a lot of other voters that feel the same way. And I don’t believe that this feeling is limited to Republicans. I’m pretty sure that there are just as many Democrats that feel the same way, and maybe even more.

Think about it. Do you think any Republican voted FOR John McCain? He elicited about as much excitement as a chess tournament. I’m pretty sure that most Republicans voted AGAINST Barack Obama in that election. And do you really think 80 million (OK, I don’t believe that number either) Democrats really voted FOR Sleepy Joe Biden in the 2020 election? No, they voted AGAINST Donald Trump.

Excited voters tend to turn out in mass to vote FOR their candidate. Voters that are not excited, voters that intend to vote AGAINST the opposing candidate rather than vote FOR their candidate are far less motivated and therefore much less likely to actually vote.

And that is why the primary elections are so important. It is during the primary elections that you get to pick who will be the candidates in the general election. It is during the primaries that you, as a voter, have a real say in who will represent you. It is during the primaries that you get to vote FOR the candidate of “your” choice, not the choice of the establishment who represents lobbyists and special interest groups.

And I’m not talking about just candidates for national or state elected offices. I’m talking about candidates at every level of government - local, county, state and federal. I’m talking about elected officials who make decisions every day that affect you and your family.

Albert Einstein said “The Definition of Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” If you are unhappy with the status quo, if you are tired of voting for the same do-nothing career-politician incumbents who do everything but represent you, this is your chance to make a change, to elect new candidates who more closely represents your beliefs and core values.

Some elected officials will tell you that the primaries are NOT important, that it doesn’t matter who the candidate is, that as long as he/she has an R or a D after their name you should support them during the general election. They will also tell you that if you go against the establishment, you are a radical extremist, that you will harm your political party.

To that I say “Bulls**t”! But that is a topic for another blog.

I’m tired of the same old political crap that I have to constantly sift through to get to the truth. I’m tired of not being represented by those who purport to represent me. I’m tired of having to choose between “Bad” and “Worse”. I’m tired of voting AGAINST the other candidate instead of FOR my candidate.

And if you’re like me, you will understand that it is the primaries that are the most important elections of all, that it is during the primaries that you will get to decide if you are going to vote FOR your candidate or AGAINST the other candidate in the general election, that it is during the primaries that you can make real change.

And if you’re like me, you will exercise your right to vote during the primaries to ensure that that you have done everything you can do to elect the best candidates possible.

The Primary Elections will be held on March 1. Early voting begins on February 14. Please vote!