“I can't vote for a Democrat.” “I'll never vote for another Republican.” I've heard both of those comments or very close to them over the past several weeks as we head into Tuesday's General Election. It always makes me scratch my head.
I personally think voting simply along party lines is for lazy people who don't want to look at the candidates individually. The national media has brained washed us to thinking all Republicans are right -wing conservatives and all Democrats are are left-wing liberals. If you believe that you've been watching too much biased news that tries to group all people together and you are too lazy to see how they really feel about issues.
I ran into a guy a few weeks ago who said he would never vote for a Democrat, he actually said “I'll never vote for another damn Democrat.” I didn't know the guy, but he knew my name. So I asked him about the sheriff's race between Republican Heath Jackson and Democrat Mike Lambert. He said he was voting for Jackson. I asked him if Lambert was the Republican and Jackson was the Democrat who he would vote for. He said he'd vote for Lambert. I scratched my head again. They are the same people, simply running on different party labels.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Die Hard Republicans and Yellow Dog Democrats would vote for Hitler over Jesus based on their party affiliation alone.
What little I know about history tells me that political parties were designed back in the day when people didn't get to know their candidates individually. So parties adopted platforms. If a candidate of a certain party fell within a platform that you agreed with, you voted for them regardless of not knowing anything about them.
Why can't we just put names on the ballot like we do in municipal elections and let the people vote for the person and not the party?
I've long advocated that we take partisan politics out of the courthouse. What difference does it make if the sheriff, probate judge, tax collector or tax assessor is a Republican or a Democrat. The difference is nothing.
I always use the tax collector as my poster child for taking politics out of the courthouse. If you owe $500 in taxes it doesn't matter if the tax collector is a Republican, Democrat or a communist Nazi. You still owe $500 and the collector can't increase or decrease your bill.
The circuit clerk is another good example. He or she has strict rules and guidelines approved by the Legislature as to what his or her duties are. If you get a speeding ticket that costs you $368 a Republican clerk can't lower it and a Democratic clerk can't raise it.
When you go to the polls Tuesday (and I hope it's when and not if) that you will look at all the candidates individually and not by their party affiliation.
But we will have many who vote straight Democrat and straight Republican. That's your right, but if you do I still say you are lazy.
I've never voted a straight ticket in my life and I probably never will. I look at each race and decide on the individual I feel will best represent me in the respective office he or she is seeking.
One thing you need to understand is that individual votes override a straight party vote. As an example: if you line up with the majority of Democratic candidates, but there are a few Republicans you'd like to vote for, you can mark the straight party Democrat and then go down and vote for as many Republicans as you wish. Those individual votes will override your straight party voting. Vice versa, if you like most Republicans but want to vote for a few Democrats who can vote straight party Republican and cast individual votes for Democratic candidates.
I also heard someone tell me they couldn't vote for a Democrat because they were a registered Republican. I explained we don't have party registration in Alabama and even if we did (like in Florida) that would only apply in the primaries, not the General Election.
Tuesday's ballot will be full of Democrats and Republicans. Don't let party affiliation blindly lead you down a path. Make your own decision.
The most important thing is to vote.
