Know your candidates
OK, so, it’s mid term election time and once again we’re being inundated with everyone purporting
to be the best thing since canned beer and sliced bread. Well, they’re all not and you need to make a decision as to which is the best candidate to vote for, based on your preferences, standards and where you want things to go.
So, here’s a few ideas:
Explore their websites
Face it, every candidate worth voting for has not only a website but chances are a Facebook page, twitter and many more sources of blasting you with their message that finding out what you want to know about them and your issues should be easy.
What have they supported?
Yeah, as you would expect, there’s usually a BIG difference between campaign pledges and what they really do once they get in office. SO, for an incumbent, go to their web page and see what they supported. Also you can see how they voted and what their roles in congress was/were by going to www.congress.gov.
Attend their events
These things are usually good for a free cup of java as well as a good chance to meet and greet these people. There’s nothing looking the candidate in the eye and asking your questions or hearing what other people think of them or their record…or lack of the same in some cases.
Visit their campaign offices
These usually exist somewhere, usually in major government cities that are central to the candidates district and what kind of office they’re running for. You can usually find these from their web page. You can get position
papers, questions answered, and about most anything you should want there.
Check their answers
There’s a website call factcheck.org which is run by the University of Pennsylvania. I attempts to monitor the accuracy of canditate statements. Another site claiming to do the same functions is politifact.com.
Use trustworthy sources
I’m omitting the press from this list as recent events and biased reporting in the press has me really concerned just how much “facts without opinion” is still what’s being presented in the “news”. If you trust someone that’s already in a political office, you may want to ask them for an opinion. Also, ballotpedia.org is a site you may want to review as well.
Good luck and good voting!
I’m Don Rima, and that’s the view from where I stand.