Vote smart
Not sure what happened, but our ISP was knocked out for an entire day. Then we got socked in by a killer blizzard. Enough excuses. Now for the news:
We’re not a big fan of get-out-the-vote hoopla. If anything, we suspect that far too many people are casting uninformed votes. So, if you really must vote, for crying out loud take a little time to figure out who, what and why. There are all kinds of aids out there to cut the job down to size for the busiest of people. No, we’re not talking about Nancy Pelosi and her ability to scare the pants off of anybody remotely tempted to vote for Ds.
We’re talking about the proliferation of voters’ guides by people who’ve done the homework you don’t have time for. One of our favorites, when it comes to Congress is a joint effort of Focus on the Family Action and FRC Action, called the 2006 Vote Scorecard. Using votes on family-values issues including abortion, marriage and embryonic stem cell research, the Scorecard rates each congressman and senator on a scale of zero (such as Rep. Nancy Pelosi) to 100 (Sen. Rick Santorum).
With a little checking, you can avail yourself of similar tools for state candidates for office—which is no less important. It’s a little-known fact that abortion in this country is being rolled back and tamped down state by state by incremental legislation, such as parental notification and parental consent laws. Unfortunately, legislators can pass all the laws in the world, and if the governors refuse to sign them, it’s all for naught. And, yes, there are a number of governorships in the balance this election.
Another thing we've found useful and handy: Get an absentee ballot. Many states allow this for any reason (or no reason). Our reason is we hate getting into the voting booth and finding out when it's too late that there's a candidate or an issue that's a total surprise and our vote becomes an uninformed coin toss. If that happens with the absentee ballot, you can interrupt the process until you can get the information to vote in an informed manner.
So, as they say: Vote early and often. But only if you know what the heck it is you’re doing. Please.
We’re not a big fan of get-out-the-vote hoopla. If anything, we suspect that far too many people are casting uninformed votes. So, if you really must vote, for crying out loud take a little time to figure out who, what and why. There are all kinds of aids out there to cut the job down to size for the busiest of people. No, we’re not talking about Nancy Pelosi and her ability to scare the pants off of anybody remotely tempted to vote for Ds.
We’re talking about the proliferation of voters’ guides by people who’ve done the homework you don’t have time for. One of our favorites, when it comes to Congress is a joint effort of Focus on the Family Action and FRC Action, called the 2006 Vote Scorecard. Using votes on family-values issues including abortion, marriage and embryonic stem cell research, the Scorecard rates each congressman and senator on a scale of zero (such as Rep. Nancy Pelosi) to 100 (Sen. Rick Santorum).
With a little checking, you can avail yourself of similar tools for state candidates for office—which is no less important. It’s a little-known fact that abortion in this country is being rolled back and tamped down state by state by incremental legislation, such as parental notification and parental consent laws. Unfortunately, legislators can pass all the laws in the world, and if the governors refuse to sign them, it’s all for naught. And, yes, there are a number of governorships in the balance this election.
Another thing we've found useful and handy: Get an absentee ballot. Many states allow this for any reason (or no reason). Our reason is we hate getting into the voting booth and finding out when it's too late that there's a candidate or an issue that's a total surprise and our vote becomes an uninformed coin toss. If that happens with the absentee ballot, you can interrupt the process until you can get the information to vote in an informed manner.
So, as they say: Vote early and often. But only if you know what the heck it is you’re doing. Please.
posted by Roscoe Daley at 9:44 PM
1 Comments:
Thanks for the heads up on the scorecard Roscoe. I highly recommend using it along with the ACLU scorecard. An educated voter is the Dems worst nightmare!
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