Elections

Letters to Editors Archive: The Loss of American Neutrality and More.

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A shorter version was originally written in April of 2003 (Quincy Valley Post-Register) Please see Epilogue below for some more recent thoughts in August 2024.

J. Reuben Clark, former US Undersecretary of State and former US Ambassador to Mexico once said, “America, multi-raced and multi-national is, by tradition, by geography, by citizenry, by natural sympathy, and by material interest, the great NEUTRAL nation of the earth.”  

Today America is experiencing the results of casting aside that tradition and has become embroiled in a War that has polarized our nation and the world.  

We have lost the spirit of Lady Liberty, who holds her lamp high to symbolize to the world that there is justice, peace, and mercy available to all who would choose to abide by the principles of the Constitution of the United States of America.  

We have lowered our standard of morality.

We have made citizenship a matter of financial gain rather than of honor.

We have squandered the blood of our young men and women warring in foreign nations, nations which often turn to bite the hands that feed them.  

My solution:

Let us return to our Great Tradition of independence and liberty, of economic freedom and prosperity, of justice and mercy.  

Let us return to the original intent of the Constitution.  Let us teach the principles upon which this nation was founded – that all mankind are created with the un-alienable rights to equality under the law, of economic opportunity, and the untouchable freedoms as enumerated in, but not limited by, the Bill of Rights.

Let us remember that these gifts were bestowed upon us by a benevolent Creator, not a government, that mankind cannot usurp nor deny those rights.  

We can regain our status as the torchbearer of representative government and liberty by remembering the above quote and working towards re-establishing that government through the political process, by voting our conscience, by electing moral and just persons to public office, and by educating ourselves about the issues placed before us each election. 

The End.

EPILOGUE: Whatever our position on the issues in this current election year, we face a critical decision which will affect all our futures — good or bad, easy or hard, war or peace. Rather than taking sides and playing an “I win/you lose” game, perhaps we should try the Principle approach and a “blind test”, that is judging candidates, issues, and national policy by the following standards:

  • Does the (candidate, issue, policy) promote Liberty or Tyranny?
  • What has been the history of each (candidate, issue, policy)? Have their historical and documented actions or results promoted Liberty or Tyranny?
  • Governments do not create wealth, they redistribute the wealth of others, usually taken by threat of force through taxation. Does the (candidate, issue, policy) take more wealth or less wealth?
  • Do the (candidates, issues, or policies) promote a free-market economy (Liberty) or do the regulations exceed that which is necessary to protect the lives and liberty of consumers (Tyranny)?
  • Does the candidate represent the people he or she will serve, or do they represent their financial backers, or their own personal agenda or the agenda of their declared party?

May the candidate with the highest score get your vote and win, without regard for party affiliation or fear of the enemy. It’s the only way to start swinging the pendulum back towards the promise of American Liberty in its purest form.

Ranked Choice Voting and the Constitutionist

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A great experiment is taking place in Alaska this election season. Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) is being promoted as giving a greater voice to all political perspectives. All votes will count, they tell us, but the actual outcome will be no different than the traditional non-ranked voting. Principle will succumb to expediency, and the same fear that the enemy is going to win will determine the outcome.

Winston Churchill said, “You may take the most gallant sailor, the most intrepid airman or the most audacious soldier, put them at a table together – what do you get? The sum of their fears.” 

Elections in America are the same. Two party voters often make choices based on the sum of all their fears:  Republicans fear Democrats taking power, Democrats fear Republicans taking power. Each person self “ranks” his or her own choice in primary election by who they think has the best change of defeating “the enemy,” even if the candidate chosen does not share the same principles as the voter.

Alternative party or independent voters, tend to choose candidates based on principle, in spite of the fact that their chances of winning are greatly diminished by the Fear Factor of the two-party voters.

What is Ranked Choice Voting?

In traditional voting, the voter selects one candidate in each category and whichever candidate get the most votes is then elected to serve a particular office.

Ranked Choice Voting in Alaska provides primaries in which the top four vote getters move on to the general election. The voter ranks the candidates first, second, third, or fourth out of an unknown number of certified candidates. On the first round of voting, if no single candidate has achieved 50% plus one number of votes, then the least vote-getting candidate is eliminated and his or her votes go to the third choice of the individual voter. This creates the second round.  The process continues with the lowest vote getter being eliminated and re-distributed until one candidate eventually achieves a majority.  The hope is that this candidate will have been selected in such a way that will unify the majority of the electorate, as well as opening the door for segments of the population who often feel dis-enfranchised by the current system to feel that they had a voice in the election.

For the Constitutionist voter, however, RCV continues to subdue their voice because it does nothing to correct the unconstitutional two-party election system currently operating in America, nor the mindset of the average voter who has been conditioned to believe that this is how it has always been and will always be.

The Constitutionist Ranked Choice Voting System

Voters, like myself, who support a return to the original intent of the Constitution of the united States of America, have their own version of RCV.  We rank each individual candidate by the principles they espouse rather than party affiliation before we even get to the ballot box.

  1. Is the candidate legally qualified by federal and state law to hold the office in question?
  2. Does the candidate seem to know and understand the principles and guidelines found in the federal Constitution and in their respective state Constitution?
  3. Does the candidate appear to have integrity and honor in his or her personal and professional life?
  4. Does the candidate seem to have the knowledge of how governmental organizations operate? (Robert’s Rules of Order, the legislative process, etc.)
  5. Does the candidate understand that the Constitution restricts and limits the actions of lawmakers to specifically defined powers?
  6. Does the candidate understand that the Constitution protects the rights of the people, who hold all natural rights within their persons, and that the Constitution does not bestow rights because it does not have the power to create rights?
  7. Is the candidate committed to his or her oath of office, that is, to support the Constitution, and are they willing to be held accountable to that oath by their constituents?
  8. Is the candidate willing to defend the Constitutionally protected rights of his or her constituents against encroachment by other elected officers or through the legislative and regulatory processes?

Once these boxes in the Constitutionist’s personal Ranked Choice Voting test is done, then we can look at more specific issues for further refinement of our choice.  Each Constitutionist decides which items are of more importance to his or her conscience and ranks accordingly. The Constitutionist sees his or her vote as a sacred duty and stewardship to preserve liberty for future generations.

Finally, the Constitutionist will choose only the candidates who meet the criteria above. If that is only one per election, then one it is, for it is the principle that matters in the long term. Sometimes the Constitutionist might have to select “None of the Above”, if that is an option, or not cast a vote for any of the candidates. Voting for the lesser of two, or three, or four candidates, will only net the voter lesser candidates, not greater.

Tips

Whatever method you choose to vote or to rank the candidates, don’t forget to check out the official write in candidates, as you may find a great candidate among them.

Voting your conscience will not only help you sleep better knowing you made the best choice you could, it will also lift you up out of the political street battles which rage on social media and television news programs.  You will be able to see the issues more clearly and see what the best solutions might be, when your sight is no longer blurred by the fog of political rhetoric.

Do your homework.  Researching candidates and issues has never been easier in the history of the world.  Take advantage of it.

Support your chosen candidate with a nice note or a contribution. Running for office is difficult and can be expensive.

Finally, remember Fear is not a Factor when Faith and Commitment prevail.

This Constitutionist’s Pre-Ranked Vote Choices for the 2022 Alaska Primaries:

U.S. Representative: Chris Bye, write-in (www.itstimealaska.com)

U.S. Senator: Karl Speights (https://karlspeights4alaskaussenate.com/)

Alaska State Senate, District N: Scott Clayton (https://www.claytonforaksenate.com/)

Alaska State Representative, District 27: David Eastman (https://davideastman.org/)