Political Savvy

By Al Horn

A nationally syndicated columnist wrote last week that people who wait until the closing days before an election to decide who is running and what the issues are essentially do not deserve to vote. To say the least, I disagree with him.

He argued that to make a sound political choice you should be following events months before a decision should be made. My problem with his point of view: many politicians and issues change over time. Public opinion can force politicians to modify if not outright change their minds. Let's face it, to get elected nowadays you not only need money and a good media campaign, you still need to line up with the majority of public opinion.

If you lock in early on a candidate or an issue you might be blind to how changes might affect you personally until after the elections. If you support gun control and early on identify with someone with a strong point of view, you might dismiss any small change in their stance until you find out after they are elected that they didn't really have any strong opinions on the matter.

I am not advocating people wait until the last day to form choices. With all of the media available at local libraries and online, a week before the election should be plenty of time to see if a candidate voices opinions similar to yours nine months ago and if they are still the same today. Using that criteria you could even create a list of things to watch a few days before the elections to see if the candidates reaffirm their stances or slide further away from yours.

Another reason to wait: you can check out the third party candidates to see if this is the year you vote outside of the major party lines. Many people feel they are throwing their votes away by voting for a third party candidate. You would actually be telling Frick and Frack they don't represent your opinions. If a portion of America were to elect Senators and Representatives from third parties then a lack of majority by any party would force a coalition.

A coalition government would force congressmen with different party ideas to work together and create compromises that work for more people. That won't happen if we stay stuck in the rut of only voting for Democrats and Republicans. If you state offers a third (or fourth) choice, take the time to check them out. Investigate their party platforms. You may decide that you have more in common with them.

Another reason to wait is your own opinion on some issues may change over time. It?s easy to read about an issue and form an opinion based on how you feel at the time or based on less than all the facts being available. There is nothing wrong with having strong feelings about a subject. At the same time, if everybody is running to avoid the lava there is no reason to stand your ground.

Waiting to form conclusions can give you a chance to reach one that you can live with after the elections. The only thing worse than waiting is not deciding at all. Wait, I take that back. The only thing worse would be to vote one party or one slate of issues based on a single party platform.