Who Should I Vote For?

For many of my friends today is the day to vote. I know many of you have made up your mind well in advance of who you are going to vote for, and I hope you've done it for the right reasons.

If you haven't voted yet and don't know who to vote for let me offer up this advise. And this isn't an endorsement of any particular candidate nor is it a direct knock down of any candidate. This is just the thought process I've come up with to determine who I chose to support.

1. Which candidate, more than any other option, support my core values?

I can't speak for any of you. I shouldn't speak for any of you. Only YOU can speak for you. only YOU can answer that question. And only you can do your own research. Don't just listen to the news, or read memes or whatever. Be a well informed voter. Look at voting records. Listen to speeches. Watch the debates. Don't take sound bytes out of context. But this is on you. If you're going in blind it's almost better to not vote. Be a well-informed voter.

And understand that no candidate is perfect. Unless you ARE the candidate there's very little chance that they will echo the whole of your beliefs. That's fine. It can be frustrating but it's fine. Just make sure they are close. Unless those couple of small differences are just so bad that they overshadow the good, in which case find the next closest.

And it is important to do your own research. Crucial. My beliefs are that we short change the education of our future, that corporate lobbyists have damaged the government to near disrepair and that the income inequality has gotten to the point where the poor don't have the bootstraps to pull themselves up by and that we do a REALLY shoddy job of taking care of our veterans when they get home. My personal research has shown me that one particular candidate is my guy. Your research might show you something different. That's okay, the political world isn't as black and white as we're led to believe.

2. Does the candidate behave in a way that I want my children to emulate?

This is one that gets overlooked by just about everyone, but it's an easy one to understand. We tell our children they can be anything. Do anything. Reach for the stars. Heck, you can even be President if you work hard enough at it.

And we're right to tell them that. With hard work they can do anything. We want them to look at the most powerful person in the world and think, "yeah, I want to be like that!" without fearing that they'll take on their less-than desirable aspects.

If your candidate is behaving in such a way that would get your child grounded for weeks then maybe you should find a different candidate. And once again, only you can be the judge of that. I'm not hear to raise your children for you. That's your job.

3. What's the partisan big picture?

Sometimes what's at stake is worth more than personal beliefs. The very nature of partisan politics has create a divide that makes voting down party lines appealing for some and, with great sadness, good reason.

This year two big things factor into the partisan big picture.

The first is the supreme court. If the Mitch McConnell has his way there will be no one to fill judge Antonin Scalia's vacancy in the supreme court until this election cycle is over. That seat is pivotal as it will determine the political make-up of the court. And while the idea of a court having a political make-up is crazy to me, that's just the way it is.

So if that ends up being the case the next president will have a huge role in deciding the direction of the Supreme Court in the foreseeable future. This should weigh some on your choice.

The other partisan big picture issue involves the legislative branch. Both congress and the senate are controlled by the republican party. If there is a Republican president it is likely that a great deal of right leaning legislature would get signed into law including the reversal of many left-leaning policies that President Obama helped put in place.

If the President is a Democrat, then there chances of heavily right leaning legislature to pass will be slim. The chances of left-leaning laws being overturned will also be slim.

This should weigh on your vote.

These are the three things that I think one should look into when you decide who to vote for. There are a few other things to keep in mind at the polls as well.

1. This isn't a bet. Don't vote for the person you think will win, vote for the person who you WANT to win. You don't get any points for getting it right, but you do get bonus points for being true to yourself.

2. Vote third party, if it's what you believe. This doesn't play as much in the primary season but come general election time you will be told by many that voting third party is throwing your vote away. It isn't. In time I'll explain in much greater detail why third party voting matters but for now just take my word for it. Voting third party, even knowing that they will lose, does a great deal of good.

3. Keep a salt shaker handy.

When you do your research you're going to need to take everything you find with a grain of salt. It's tough to find a non-partisan sources these days and while a great deal of accurate information can be gleaned from left and right leaning news sources keep in mind that they are left and right leaning sources and spin is spin.

This really just scratches the surface on what to look for in a candidate, and you are welcome to disagree with me. That's fine. Your process is your process. What works for you might not work for someone else.

Regardless, I implore you to vote your mind, your heart and your soul. You have a voice. Speak!