Not Who to Vote for, but WHAT to Vote For

The Constitution of the United States is the political standard for America. It is written in English. It is not a living document. The words mean what they say. The basis for interpreting the Constitution are the Articles of Confederation, the original state Constitutions, the comments of the original colonies as they debated ratification of the Constitution, the Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776), the Federalist Papers, the various antifederalist papers and the European documents these came from such as the treaties of Augsburg and Westphalia and the Magna Carta. While there are other documents and books, they should all come from the time period the Constitution was written or before. Amendments will have documentation from the time period the amendment was written.

The purpose of the courts is to apply the law to the facts of the case. America does not have a system of common law where courts make up law where none exists. Court costs should be low enough to allow justice to be available to all. Courts should not reference other courts as if that is law. Precedent is not law. Since justice is applying the law to the facts of the situation, no ruling should establish legal precedent for another court case. Constitutionality has no relation to precedence.

The Constitution is to limit government, not for the government to limit the rights of the people. The only powers the federal government has are listed (enumerated) in Article One Section 8. Many government agencies, such as the Departments of Energy and Education and the Environmental Protection Agency, are clearly forbidden by the Constitution. Other agencies, while not clearly forbidden, are extremely unwise and should be scaled way back, such as the Department of Transportation and Centers for Disease Control. While these are clearly constitutional agencies, they obviously do a great deal more harm than good.

The primary tool for helping our economy is shrinking the size of the federal government. Reduce government spending by massive government layoffs, shutting down at least half the government departments.

Congress should have no fringe benefits. None zero, zip, nothing. Housing should be an apartment near the capital. No housing allowance. Congress should not be paid until a budget is passed. Without a budget, no government checks should be issued, including and especially the congressional paychecks

Voting is a right and a privilege for citizens. Voters should have to show some form of ID to vote. All government meetings should be conducted in English. Any government employee who issues any type of government ID to anyone who has no legal standing to be in the US is committing a felony.

The second amendment states that, “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” The militia was every male from 18 years old to 55. The age limits varied over time. The difference between a regular military man and a militiaman was that the regular military were paid from the federal government and swore allegiance to the President. The militia swore allegiance to the governor of the state and was paid by the state or went unpaid. Militiamen were to own their own weapons. Service in the militia was a type of taxation. Service in the militia normally did not cross state borders, though it could if both governors agreed.

Though this is not a comprehensive list, it provides a “ready reference” guide as to what to look for in any candidate.

By the Numbers

The popular vote in 2008 was [Barack Obama] 69,456,897 to [John McCain] 59,934,814, respectively, according to Wikipedia. As we travel back and forth, up and down, we have talked to thousands who testify that they voted for Barack Obama in 2008 but will not vote for him again. This time around they just will not vote for anyone. Some of them will change their minds and vote for him in 2012. The issue is how many is “some.” The 2008 election saw a record turnout, which will not happen in 2012 unless something drastic happens. Since the out of power party usually makes a small gain, slightly over 60 million Republican votes are likely. It is very doubtful that Barack Obama will have even 55 million legitimate votes. Ron Paul is very likely correct that whoever wins the Republican nomination will win the general election.

The 2012 Republican Convention requires 1143 delegates to win the nomination. The state of Virginia has 49 delegates for this convention and only Mitt Romney and Ron Paul are on the VA primary ballot. These 49 delegates are almost 5% of the total needed. With so many candidates and no candidate having even 30% this gives Mitt Romney and Ron Paul a tremendous advantage over the other candidates.

 

President Herman Cain

An unidentified man won a bet on the St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series with 999 to l odds. Long shots can win whatever the odds. This also applies to elections. It’s not over until the last vote is counted. At this point anything can still happen. But the outcome of the 2012 Presidential election is already almost certain.

Gambling houses exist because the odds favor the house. The odds in politics heavily favor the status quo. Our son has asked in despair what he could do to end political corruption, but he didn’t like the answer. If you really want to make a difference, learn accounting and stay out of debt. Follow the money trail to find out who the real good guys and bad guys are. Then learn the system to understand how to make the bad guys pay and help the good guys win.

This would take a lifetime of effort, which is why bad guys often win. It’s too much trouble to stop them. The best example I know of this is the original TV Series Law and Order, Season 8, Episode 21, “Bad Girl.” The DA’s office has decided not to ask for the death penalty in this particular case. Robert Vaughn plays a representative of the police union. He meets with D.A. Adam Schiff in a closed-door meeting and tells Adam that they want this girl, who killed a police officer, executed. Regardless of the rest of the storyline, this is how the real world works. The rich and powerful call a closed-door meeting where they tell others what to do. This is what the current Occupy Movement claims to hate, yet their very tactics support that system. It is this very lack of understanding of the system that will allow Herman Cain to become our next President.

In a grossly oversimplified view, there are three basic types of primaries. Caucuses have party members who have earned the right to vote (usually by just showing up). They vote in a closed meeting. Though the average nonparticipating voter can vote for a representative, he does not directly vote for the candidates. Next are closed primaries. In a closed primary, only voters who register for the party holding the primary can vote. Last are open primaries where anyone can vote, just like a general election.

In states with a caucus system, you campaign to a small number who will vote. In states with a closed primary, you campaign to your party’s base. In states with an open primary, you campaign like a general election, emphasizing your party’s issues.

In the 2012 election, if Obama wins the Democratic nomination, he will almost certainly lose the general election. Yes, the St. Louis Cardinals beat 999 to 1 odds and something could cause Obama to win re-election. But the house usually wins and the house is against Obama. So the Republican nominee will probably win the general election. The odds are massively in his or her favor.

The Republican Party is split between conservatives, generally known as the TEA party movement, and more liberal members. Within the Republican Party, conservatives have more votes and liberals have more money. Several strong conservatives on principal have split the conservative vote. Rick Perry, Michelle Bachmann, Herman Cain and Rick Santorum and Ron Paul are vying for the same voters. Normally, that would leave the only strong liberal candidate, Mitt Romney, with the nomination.

In spite of what the liberal news pundits keep telling us, there are several reasons why Romney is not gaining support and pulling ahead. One is Ron Paul’s campaign. Even if Ron Paul is not the nominee, and his nomination is very doubtful, many of his policies will become part of the party platform. These policies are anathema to Mitt Romney and liberals like him. As various campaigns run out of money and collapse, the votes pledged to those candidates forced out of the running will be transferred to someone else. Historically, those votes go the candidate with the best chance of winning whose views are closest the candidate who dropped out. Of the conservative candidates, Herman Cain has the most support and the most money. Without any support from Mitt Romney and his followers, if Herman Cain picks up the votes pledged to Michelle Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry, he will have a majority.

The major reason I believe Herman Cain will win is that he is the most liberal of the conservative candidates. His economic program is to simplify the tax code, but keep it “revenue neutral.” That is, no massive reduction in the bloated federal government. Though he says that he is pro-life, he wants to end Roe v Wade and let the individual states decide on abortion. He wants to stop illegals from coming into the US, but he has not spelled out how. Herman Cain is the only conservative that can take votes away from Mitt Romney.

Herman Cain is also likable and honest. His lack of political experience, at least for now, is a plus. The only other candidate that comes across as completely honest is Ron Paul. People are horrified by Ron Paul’s attempts to legalize drugs and close all foreign military bases, but they respect his honesty. Even Rick Santorum and Michelle Bachmann hedge their statements, which Republican voters are tired of. Even when I disagree with Herman Cain, I know why. Neither of the Bush presidents could claim as much honesty or clarity in their statements.

But in the end it is a numbers game. In the 2008 general election John McCain had 59,934,814 votes and Barack Obama had 69,456,897 votes. About 18 million voted in the Republican primaries, but most states had only a few thousand who controlled the delegate selection process. Probably the most telling sign is in the polls which show Herman Cain ahead of Rick Perry in Perry’s home state of Texas.