Cynthia A. Janak
Who should we be voting for on Election Day?
By Cynthia A. Janak
I normally do not write an opinion article but electing a person for the post of President of the United States is just that. It is the opinion of the person that is at the voting booth.
One of the first things that I do in an election year is go to Vote Smart. http://www.vote-smart.org/index.htm What this site has is an overall bio about every individual running for office. The information, in my opinion, is really a good place to start because these individuals have done all the work for you. They have taken the time to research every individual running for office down to their voting record. The main page for Presidential candidates has just the Democrats and the Republicans but you can find all the other candidates by selecting "All Presidential Candidates" at the bottom of the list.
What I am going to do first is give you the list of Democrat and Republican candidates. My favorites are going to be at the top of each list. All names after that will not be in any specific order. I will not give you all because there are 257 names total.
Democrat
Maurice Robert 'Mike' Gravel
Hillary Clinton
John Edwards
Dennis J. Kucinich
Barack Hussein Obama
Bill Richardson
Republican
Alan L. Keyes
Rudolph W. Giuliani
Michael D. 'Mike' Huckabee
Duncan L. Hunter
John Sidney McCain
Ronald Ernest 'Ron' Paul
Willard Mitt Romney
Fred Dalton Thompson
Vote Smart has an excellent document called the Political Courage Test. The candidates are asked to fill out a questionnaire as to what issues they will support if "We The People" decide to hire them. This is the first thing that I look at because I want to know the candidates thoughts. The majority of candidates refused to answer the questions for 2008. This tells me that they are reluctant to let the voter know their true feelings.
Democrat
Maurice Robert 'Mike' Gravel — Answered every question, some with a little detail.
Hillary Clinton — Repeatedly Refused
John Edwards — Gave a very detailed answer for every question.
Dennis J. Kucinich — 2008 Repeatedly Refused, 2004 is available
Barack Hussein Obama — 2008 Repeatedly Refused, 1998 is available
Bill Richardson — 2008 Repeatedly Refused, 1996 is available
Republican
Alan L. Keyes — 2008 Repeatedly Refused, 2000 is available
Rudolph W. Giuliani — Repeatedly Refused
Michael D. 'Mike' Huckabee — 2008 Repeatedly Refused, 2002 is available
Duncan L. Hunter — 2008 Repeatedly Refused, 2004 is available
John Sidney McCain — 2008 Repeatedly Refused, 2004 is available
Ronald Ernest 'Ron' Paul — 2008 Repeatedly Refused, 1996 is available
Willard Mitt Romney — Repeatedly Refused
Fred Dalton Thompson — 2008 Repeatedly Refused, 1994 is available
My personal opinion is that I disregard anything that is pre 2000 because values will change. As to the people that have never filled out the form, shame on you. I totally ignore those people because they are trying to hide their true selves from the United States voter, in my opinion.
The next thing that I look at is their voting record. This will tell me their views even though they did not fill out a questionnaire. Let's see how they voted in brief.
Vote Key
Y = Yea
N = Nay
NV = Not Voting, Excused, Absent, or Present
PY = Pair Yea
PN = Pair Nay
Democrat
Maurice Robert 'Mike' Gravel — No voting records for this candidate.
Hillary Clinton — Voted Yea for the majority of Appropriations bills. As to the rest, I did not agree with quite a bit of her voting record but that is my opinion.
John Edwards — I did not agree with the way he voted in a few instances but he followed true to his statements in the Political Courage Test. At least he is honest in what he says he stands for.
Dennis J. Kucinich — I did not agree with a lot of his voting record. He voted against H Con Res 31, Display of the Ten Commandments. I believe this to be a constitutional right.
Barack Hussein Obama — I did not care for the fact that NV showed up, in my opinion, quite a bit in his voting record. It makes me wonder if he will be NV during important decisions as President.
Bill Richardson — I did not care for his voting record at all especially on the Abortion issue.
Republican
Alan L. Keyes — No voting records for this candidate.
Rudolph W. Giuliani — No voting records for this candidate.
Michael D. 'Mike' Huckabee — No voting records for this candidate.
Duncan L. Hunter — I agreed with him on a few issues but he voted heavily Yea in Appropriations.
John Sidney McCain — Voted about 50/50 in Appropriations but his voting record for '07 is horrible — NV most of the time, in my opinion.
Ronald Ernest 'Ron' Paul — I am not happy at all with his voting record. He voted N or NV on issues that, I consider, being of major importance. In fact, most of the time he voted N or NV. My opinion is that he just didn't like much of anything.
Willard Mitt Romney — No voting records for this candidate.
Fred Dalton Thompson — On many issues that I considered important he voted contrary to what I would have wanted. He voted Yea about 95% of the time for Appropriations.
Any one that voted heavily for appropriations causes me to worry that they will increase the deficit of this country and raise taxes. We need to decrease that deficit, not increase it. We need to decrease the taxes by going to a flat tax, not increase the burden on the United States citizen.
I have been following to the best of my ability all of the Republican and Democratic candidates. It is not going to be an easy choice because of the politicking that is going on today. It is surprising to me that so many candidates are talking out of both sides of their mouths or they are too radical in their views.
What you need to do is stop watching all the garbage on television and look at what these people are really doing in real life. My opinion of all the ads that you see on television is no more than a used car salesman trying to sell you a car you do not want.
Educate yourself to the candidates. Go to their web sites and read what they say. Search their name to see what is being said by other people. I, also, recommend highly that you go to Vote Smart and do your own due diligence. Selecting the right person to lead this country is of paramount importance in this election year. You need to ask yourself these questions of all candidates, local and federal.
Will this person give in to international and corporate interests?
Will this person work to restore our Constitutional values?
Will this person do what is best to regain our sovereignty?
Will this person protect us from terrorism on our shores by protecting our borders?
Will this person bring back the United States to the point of being a positive influence in the world?
My opinion of the candidates is that I like Edwards and Huckabee but I do not feel in my heart that they would be the best choice for President.
On the other hand, if you look at Gravel and Keyes you will see two leaders that have the potential to bring the United States back to where it should be in the world. We need strong leadership and resolve and I just do not see it with any of the other candidates. What I see in the other candidates is that they have their own personal agenda and it does not necessarily pertain to the United States citizen.
All I am going to ask you is to, please, check out all the candidates for yourself and make an honest and educated decision. The choices that you make are going to shape the United States forever. Let this be a positive shaping instead of one where we are under the thumb of international and business interests.
Go to Vote Smart first to get the basics of every individual. http://www.vote-smart.org/index.htm Then go to their personal web pages to see if the way they voted reflects what they are stating. I would then suggest that you get together with some friends and family to have a healthy debate on the candidates.
After you have done all that, go to the web and pull up any news story that dates pre-2006. I suggest this because these candidates would not have been on the campaign trail yet and you might get some insight as to their personality.
Lastly and most important is to register to vote, if you have not done so already, and when you go to the voting booth to cast your vote please vote from the heart. I know that if you have taken all the steps to educate yourself to the candidates you will make the choice that is right for you and this country.
To find out the guidelines for your state Vote Smart has a link at the top of their page "Voter Registration." Follow the steps and you will see the contact information that you need to register.
Note: I selected Alan Keyes for the Republican candidate because in my opinion after much research I have decided that he is the best candidate from the Republican Party. I did not select him for any other reason.
My prayers are with you and may your God bless you.
© Cynthia A. Janak
I normally do not write an opinion article but electing a person for the post of President of the United States is just that. It is the opinion of the person that is at the voting booth.
One of the first things that I do in an election year is go to Vote Smart. http://www.vote-smart.org/index.htm What this site has is an overall bio about every individual running for office. The information, in my opinion, is really a good place to start because these individuals have done all the work for you. They have taken the time to research every individual running for office down to their voting record. The main page for Presidential candidates has just the Democrats and the Republicans but you can find all the other candidates by selecting "All Presidential Candidates" at the bottom of the list.
What I am going to do first is give you the list of Democrat and Republican candidates. My favorites are going to be at the top of each list. All names after that will not be in any specific order. I will not give you all because there are 257 names total.
Democrat
Maurice Robert 'Mike' Gravel
Hillary Clinton
John Edwards
Dennis J. Kucinich
Barack Hussein Obama
Bill Richardson
Republican
Alan L. Keyes
Rudolph W. Giuliani
Michael D. 'Mike' Huckabee
Duncan L. Hunter
John Sidney McCain
Ronald Ernest 'Ron' Paul
Willard Mitt Romney
Fred Dalton Thompson
Vote Smart has an excellent document called the Political Courage Test. The candidates are asked to fill out a questionnaire as to what issues they will support if "We The People" decide to hire them. This is the first thing that I look at because I want to know the candidates thoughts. The majority of candidates refused to answer the questions for 2008. This tells me that they are reluctant to let the voter know their true feelings.
Democrat
Maurice Robert 'Mike' Gravel — Answered every question, some with a little detail.
Hillary Clinton — Repeatedly Refused
John Edwards — Gave a very detailed answer for every question.
Dennis J. Kucinich — 2008 Repeatedly Refused, 2004 is available
Barack Hussein Obama — 2008 Repeatedly Refused, 1998 is available
Bill Richardson — 2008 Repeatedly Refused, 1996 is available
Republican
Alan L. Keyes — 2008 Repeatedly Refused, 2000 is available
Rudolph W. Giuliani — Repeatedly Refused
Michael D. 'Mike' Huckabee — 2008 Repeatedly Refused, 2002 is available
Duncan L. Hunter — 2008 Repeatedly Refused, 2004 is available
John Sidney McCain — 2008 Repeatedly Refused, 2004 is available
Ronald Ernest 'Ron' Paul — 2008 Repeatedly Refused, 1996 is available
Willard Mitt Romney — Repeatedly Refused
Fred Dalton Thompson — 2008 Repeatedly Refused, 1994 is available
My personal opinion is that I disregard anything that is pre 2000 because values will change. As to the people that have never filled out the form, shame on you. I totally ignore those people because they are trying to hide their true selves from the United States voter, in my opinion.
The next thing that I look at is their voting record. This will tell me their views even though they did not fill out a questionnaire. Let's see how they voted in brief.
Vote Key
Y = Yea
N = Nay
NV = Not Voting, Excused, Absent, or Present
PY = Pair Yea
PN = Pair Nay
Democrat
Maurice Robert 'Mike' Gravel — No voting records for this candidate.
Hillary Clinton — Voted Yea for the majority of Appropriations bills. As to the rest, I did not agree with quite a bit of her voting record but that is my opinion.
John Edwards — I did not agree with the way he voted in a few instances but he followed true to his statements in the Political Courage Test. At least he is honest in what he says he stands for.
Dennis J. Kucinich — I did not agree with a lot of his voting record. He voted against H Con Res 31, Display of the Ten Commandments. I believe this to be a constitutional right.
Barack Hussein Obama — I did not care for the fact that NV showed up, in my opinion, quite a bit in his voting record. It makes me wonder if he will be NV during important decisions as President.
Bill Richardson — I did not care for his voting record at all especially on the Abortion issue.
Republican
Alan L. Keyes — No voting records for this candidate.
Rudolph W. Giuliani — No voting records for this candidate.
Michael D. 'Mike' Huckabee — No voting records for this candidate.
Duncan L. Hunter — I agreed with him on a few issues but he voted heavily Yea in Appropriations.
John Sidney McCain — Voted about 50/50 in Appropriations but his voting record for '07 is horrible — NV most of the time, in my opinion.
Ronald Ernest 'Ron' Paul — I am not happy at all with his voting record. He voted N or NV on issues that, I consider, being of major importance. In fact, most of the time he voted N or NV. My opinion is that he just didn't like much of anything.
Willard Mitt Romney — No voting records for this candidate.
Fred Dalton Thompson — On many issues that I considered important he voted contrary to what I would have wanted. He voted Yea about 95% of the time for Appropriations.
Any one that voted heavily for appropriations causes me to worry that they will increase the deficit of this country and raise taxes. We need to decrease that deficit, not increase it. We need to decrease the taxes by going to a flat tax, not increase the burden on the United States citizen.
I have been following to the best of my ability all of the Republican and Democratic candidates. It is not going to be an easy choice because of the politicking that is going on today. It is surprising to me that so many candidates are talking out of both sides of their mouths or they are too radical in their views.
What you need to do is stop watching all the garbage on television and look at what these people are really doing in real life. My opinion of all the ads that you see on television is no more than a used car salesman trying to sell you a car you do not want.
Educate yourself to the candidates. Go to their web sites and read what they say. Search their name to see what is being said by other people. I, also, recommend highly that you go to Vote Smart and do your own due diligence. Selecting the right person to lead this country is of paramount importance in this election year. You need to ask yourself these questions of all candidates, local and federal.
Will this person give in to international and corporate interests?
Will this person work to restore our Constitutional values?
Will this person do what is best to regain our sovereignty?
Will this person protect us from terrorism on our shores by protecting our borders?
Will this person bring back the United States to the point of being a positive influence in the world?
My opinion of the candidates is that I like Edwards and Huckabee but I do not feel in my heart that they would be the best choice for President.
On the other hand, if you look at Gravel and Keyes you will see two leaders that have the potential to bring the United States back to where it should be in the world. We need strong leadership and resolve and I just do not see it with any of the other candidates. What I see in the other candidates is that they have their own personal agenda and it does not necessarily pertain to the United States citizen.
All I am going to ask you is to, please, check out all the candidates for yourself and make an honest and educated decision. The choices that you make are going to shape the United States forever. Let this be a positive shaping instead of one where we are under the thumb of international and business interests.
Go to Vote Smart first to get the basics of every individual. http://www.vote-smart.org/index.htm Then go to their personal web pages to see if the way they voted reflects what they are stating. I would then suggest that you get together with some friends and family to have a healthy debate on the candidates.
After you have done all that, go to the web and pull up any news story that dates pre-2006. I suggest this because these candidates would not have been on the campaign trail yet and you might get some insight as to their personality.
Lastly and most important is to register to vote, if you have not done so already, and when you go to the voting booth to cast your vote please vote from the heart. I know that if you have taken all the steps to educate yourself to the candidates you will make the choice that is right for you and this country.
To find out the guidelines for your state Vote Smart has a link at the top of their page "Voter Registration." Follow the steps and you will see the contact information that you need to register.
Note: I selected Alan Keyes for the Republican candidate because in my opinion after much research I have decided that he is the best candidate from the Republican Party. I did not select him for any other reason.
My prayers are with you and may your God bless you.
© Cynthia A. Janak
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
