How Elections (Should) Work

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When people are busy they don't pay attention. When they don't pay attention they lack understanding. Such is the current status of our election process. Now, to be fair, the electorate is more involved than I have seen in my lifetime. The Constitution has likely been read more in the last ten years than in the previous 90. That being said, many in the electorate lack a fundamental understanding of how elections within our two-Party system should work. Briefly, in the primary you vote FOR someone while in the general you vote AGAINST someone.

What does that mean? Simply this; in a primary all of the candidates are from your side and presumably are better than whoever the opposition has to offer. This is more true than ever with the current polarization of the two major Parties. Therefore, one is presumably free to vote their heart and conscious, knowing that even if they lose they win. Why? For the following reasons:

• All voters choosing their most principled candidate ensures that the core principles of the Party as a whole are confirmed and promoted
• Cheap political posturing, identity politics, personal attacks and low character are exposed
• Traditional media hype is minimized
• Because of the delegate structure, a candidate that does well, but does not win, can bargain with the leaders to endorse. This allows a 3rd or 4th place candidate to extract concessions from one of the top two, often to the betterment of the Party base.
• Primaries are often the only time that a Party has the chance to reaffirm it's collective conscious and demand conformity to core principles. In the case of the GOP it is to insist that they actually act as a second party and refute the Marxism that has wholly absorbed the Democrat Party.

Sadly, too many voters lack this basic understanding of how the primaries should be used to focus the Party candidates on the core beliefs of it's voters. They are too busy with the day to day grind of life to research candidates before the campaign gets into full swing. They fall into the trap of media hype and drama which focuses on candidate disputes rather than character, patriotism and policy. They view the contest as a sports tournament and they deeply desire to be on the 'winning' side. The new Social media phenomena only exacerbates this innate desire to 'pick the winner'. This allows the most honest, decent, smartest and most patriotic candidate to fight for single digits while the boisterous showman reaps 35% approval while extolling nothing but braggadocio and perceived toughness through instantaneous attack on perceived rejection.

In the current election cycle this phenomena has caused a paradoxical conundrum. While rejecting the principled conservative in the race, and instead backing the showman; the race is likely to come down to two candidates. One, the showman, clearly not conservative but tough and decidedly politically incorrect. The other, a once bright light that has succumbed to the Siren's call of the establishment. Somewhat conservative but obviously pro-immigration and pro-big business. The result will be disastrous regardless of outcome.

If the mask of the showman should be removed and the electorate should have that heart-stopping moment of insight that they have hitched their wagon to a bottle rocket, there will be only one place to go; the lobbyist and establishment puppet. The principled conservative will no longer be available. All because the voter listened to the hype instead of their heart. The smartest, most honest, most relatable and most America-loving candidate doesn't get the votes because of the manufactured perception that he 'cannot win'. He only loses if you don't vote for him. And now, you'll be stuck with the showman...for four years...and all of his faults will be amplified and impugned by the very same media that forced him upon you. Your shame will be little consolation to all of us who have to live with your sports bet.

The greatest opportunity to right the republican ship is being squandered on a media whore...and we are his John. I hope you wear a condom when you vote.

by: Keith D. Rodebush