Jim, who would you vote for and why?

Though I’m not pleased with any of the candidates, I will vote for the one that I decide will best serve our country. For most of my life I was a registered Republican and tended to support the Republican candidate for President though I never voted a straight ticket. I study the candidates and the issues at the federal, state and local levels and try to make informed choices.

After Reagan, I began favoring the Democratic ticket partly because I have changed in some of my beliefs and values, but more because I felt like and continue to feel that the Republican Party has radicalized and has long since abandoned the values that I hold. I want fiscal responsibility but not based upon a 30-60-90 view, but a long term view. I believe that social justice and social responsibility are very high priorities. I believe that special interests, lobbyists, super PAC’s and wealthy donors have completely corrupted our political system. I believe that our representatives at the federal and state levels do not seriously represent their constituencies and do not serve the best interests of those they are elected to represent. On the other hand, I believe that a significant portion of the American population do not have the intelligence, perspective and knowledge to make informed decisions on the issues that affect them. So the dilemma becomes whether our elected officials should assume the role of representative or of caretaker.

If you look at the history of voting rights, they were defined primarily by each state until after the Civil War when amendments were made to our constitution affecting who could vote. Until then, voters were almost exclusively white male landowners. Before the Civil War, it was left to each state limit voters by enforcing poll taxes, literacy tests,  religious tests and to define voting age restrictions. Redistricting every ten  years was not established until 1972 and gerrymandering which exists even today significantly skew the choosing of representatives which in turn affects the presidential selection.

A democratic republic must be a representative one. I conclude from all the above that our current government is not representative of it’s people. I further assert that an effective government requires informed, educated and involved citizens. Until both of these criteria are met, our government cannot function as intended.

I believe that both parties are drunk on power, prestige, influence and to some extent, greed. I believe that we are ruled by an oligarchy of big business, special interests and wealthy individuals to whom our elected representatives are pawns to do their bidding. I’m convinced that a large portion of our population is ruled by it’s fears and not by it’s mind. Both major parties pander to and inflame those fears, but far and away the greater offender is the Republican Party. It has become anti-education, anti-science and anti-reason. It is becoming increasingly xenophobic, isolationist, intolerant, bigoted, discriminatory, irrational and all those things that stem from them. Democrats lack the resolve to press their social agenda and are too idealistic to be realistic about what can be accomplished.

The economic theory of the GOP does not and cannot work. Unbridled capitalism works for the wealthy, but not for the rest of the people and not for the environment. The economic approach of the Democratic Party seems to work better but is too broad. The belligerent policies of the Presidents Bush and advocated by the current GOP presidential contenders are wrong on every level.

So domestically and abroad, I consider the GOP solutions to be untenable to my value system, to reason and in the light of history. I find the Democratic solutions to be more consistent with my value system at present.

Now we come to the other part of the equation. Policy and intentions are one thing, but the ability to carry out one’s policy and intentions is another. I’m not so wedded to any single issue to allow it to overrule all other considerations. So once all the contenders of both parties have discredited, bitten and devoured each other, I will consider who is still standing in both camps and decide who will get my vote. None of the current GOP contenders would get my vote though a dark horse may come to the fore whom I might consider.  I consider Hillary to be divisive, corrosive and I don’t know what she is really thinking.  I really like what Bernie is saying and I like that his political career has been  consistent with what he is advocating today.  Though I like what he is saying, I am not convinced that he can actually achieve them.   First, there are many issues that he is not addressing.  I want to see his comprehensive agenda.  Second, is his agenda realistic?  I’m not convinced.  Last, even if he develops a comprehensive and realistic agenda, I don’t see him getting the support of Congress to achieve them.  On the other hand, though I’ve never liked nor trusted Hillary, I believe that she would be more effective in Washington. So will I vote on principle or expediency?  I don’t know yet.