Reclining Right

Can you make a difference? The election is only six weeks away.

Needless to say, both parties are presenting their candidates in the best possible light. So are the allegedly neutral press and TV commentators.

A lot of spin and taking things out of context will happen over the next six weeks. It requires a little critical thinking on your part to discern the truth.

My wife has always told me that we get the government we deserve. I have always responded, “No, many times we get the government that the uninformed are conned into voting for due to slick advertisements and media promotion.”

It is obvious that we face an economic situation that is the direct result of the majority of the voters not having the economic knowledge or interest concerning how our government’s policies affect our economic livelihood, that is, until it begins to affect us personally.  It is time to learn and do something about it.

One way to find accurate information is to check the newspapers and/or do a search on the internet to find out where and when candidates are appearing. Go to candidates appearances and ask the questions most important to you. Check to see if a candidate has a web site, email address, office or number or other way he can be reached. If they are an incumbent, check to see their voting record on the internet, e.g., www.clubforgrowth.org or elsewhere.

A few weeks ago, I went to an event where my congressman invited military veterans to lunch. Later I learned the lunch was paid for out of his Congressional expense account. In other words, we, the taxpayers, paid for the lunch and he got good publicity.

I got to ask the two questions most important to me and he answered truthfully. (1) He refuses to have a Townhall meeting with his constituents because he did want to give them a chance to complain to him. (2) He voted for virtually all other Congressman’s earmarks (pork) because he believes that is the only way for him to get funds for his District.

After our conversation I wrote letters to the editor on it and got them published in about a dozen newspapers and on the internet. I think I made a difference.

Naturally, someone wrote a letter to the editor suggesting that I be ignored because it was not mentioned that I was the Party chairman of the opposition party. A thinking person would note that the writer did not challenge what the Congressman or I said, only that because I asked the question, it should be dismissed.

I first realized that each of us could make a difference 30 years ago when I wrote my Congressman on an issue of which I had knowledge. He invited me to breakfast to discuss it. Afterward he changed his vote.

You can do a similar thing and make a difference. All you have to do is try.  I hope you will.