What's on your Ballot? -by Mitchell Crane

By Mitchell Crane

As citizens of this great country, it is OUR responsibility to elect officials into office that will represent us and abide by the Constitution of the United States. Not just the office of the president, but all elected offices. It is easy to get swept away by all the hoopla the presidential campaign creates. Just remember, the leaders we vote into our local governments could be our leaders in the senate or presidency tomorrow. It is just as important, if not MORE important to do your due diligence and choose your local candidates not on party affiliation, but by their ability to stand by the Constitution. Voting by party affiliation should be considered HIGH TREASON! Glenn Beck put it best in a recent commentary...

The best advice I can give you is to stop thinking in terms of left and right and start thinking in terms of right and wrong. Demand the best leaders possible, and then demand the best out of them.

I have provided links to all the officials up for election in Michigan, and the proposals on the ballot. It is your civil responsibility to do your research before you vote! Voting all Republican or all Democrat is a CRIME! There are good candidates on all sides of the spectrum, including 3rd party options!!

2008 Official Michigan General Candidate Listing -- from www.michigan.gov
www.ballot.org -- This provides you with info you need to know about proposals.

In closing, I really encourage you to do your research. It is important now more than ever. America is at a crossroads, a tipping point, and if we don't take responsibility we could lost everything this country was founded on! If you forgot why it is so important to vote... read the Declaration of Independence, I swear it's a short read, but in their it lists the crimes that the Kingdom of Great Britain committed against us. The same crimes they committed against us, our OWN government is now committing against us.

Please, if these blogs have any impact on you, whether it's negative or positive, leave feedback! I will not be offended, and would be open to discussing these topics at any time!

The End is in Sight

Read this, and tell me America survives the next four years.
Talk me down off the wall.
America does not come out the other side of this four years a Representative Republic with a Constitutional basis. With this man in the Oval Office, and people just as radical running the House and Senate we are in for a wild socialist ride.
I know McCain is a neo-con, but he is no where close to Obama on this stuff. There's a good chance that getting a third party into position in four years won't even be an option.

Party Time by Phil

Sorry this is late:

This year more than any other I’m leaning towards a third party. My stance is not solid though. Sorry Adam.

Of the ‘third parties,’ I find I agree with the Constitution Party’s platform, but I think Barr has a lot more name recognition. I think some of these third parties need to look into merging together. I know the Libertarians and the Constitution Party would never do that, but look at the Tax Payers party, practically the same thing as the Constitution.

I don’t think a vote for a third party is a wasted vote. I get that all the time when I suggest that option to people. Heck, I used to be that guy. Actually the third-party argument is the one I use on those people don’t really want to vote for Obama, but won’t vote for McCain. I would love to send a message to the Republican Party, but I’m not sure this is the year to do it. I look at Obama, and I see a nightmare situation for the country.

I’ve never been a McCain supporter. There was no way I was going to vote for him, until several things happened. 1) He picked Palin as a running-mate. No, I haven’t drunk the Kool-Aid, but I like the woman. 2) I read this article on Obama’s pro-abortion stance. Coupled with his horrendous tax & spend philosophy, the fact that the courts will be lost for two generations, and his inexperience on foreign policy (or really anything executive), I find myself swinging back for a McCain vote.

Until I’m in the booth (I wish they still had curtains) with the pen in my hand, I won’t know what I’m going to do. Where’s Ross Perot when you need him? I think that a third party with some money could have made a dent this year. Maybe even in some select House and Senate seats.

We should start now on the next election, regardless of who wins. I don’t know what needs to be done. Obviously funding is a big thing for these guys to be taken seriously. They need poll numbers to get into debates. They need TV time to get poll numbers. And TV time is not cheap.

My one hope (excepting God above) is the Constitution; the knowledge that whatever these idiots do in the next for years can be undone if We the People can get motivated.

RETRACTION

So, I was disappointed last night. I will not be voting for Erwin Haas. Sadly, he didn't live up to my hopes, and neither did the libertarian party of Grand Rapids. That being said, I did meet a great candidate named Dan Johnson. He's running against Pete Hoekstra. I wish I could vote for him.

I still stand by the fact that we won't see change continuing to vote for more of the same. I guess here is my point: I am going to vote for a candidate outside of party... I will vote for candidates on the individual basis. So, if a blue dog democrat is most constitutional, I'll vote him... if a Republican is like Ron Paul or BJ Lawson, I'll vote for him. If a third party candidate, whether that be Libertarian, Constitutional, Independent, or Green follows the constitution, I'll vote for him.

I haven't lost faith in third parties... I just need to try before I buy a little more.

Sheep may go to heaven... but they create bad governments - by Adam

"This is the most important election of our time!"

I can't tell you how many times I've heard these words in the last three elections, and sadly, I followed right along. Both sides say it, and both sides say it because they know their constituents are sick to death of their parties, and they fear a revolt.

While it's not easy to vote for a third party candidate, it's the right thing to do when there is no candidate who seeks to preserve the constitution. There are so many disenfranchised democrats and republicans, that if people actually voted their principle, we would see a huge voting block for third parties.

I love how we will show our disdain for our current nominee by... voting for him. That'll teach him. I think McCain is dangerous as well as Obama. McCain, like Obama has a bad history, a la the Keating five, but I'm most concerned with policy. The fact is that McCain, like Bush, is a Neocon. In the past number of years, the Neocons have inflated the dollar to unprecedented amounts, trampled on the 4th ammendment, began talks on the North American Union (and the Amero), went to war unconstitutionally, betrayed our border guards Campeon and Ramos, did nothing to quell illegal immigration, expanded federal bureaucracies, expanded the fed, bought stock in private companies (Socialism!)... etc. (there's more... a lot more, sadly)

I understand that my vote may contribute to one evil being elected... but that's not the point. Whether I take arsenic or drano... I'm still dead. Pick your poison. To think that we will prevent the rapid unprecedented expansion of federal power (the one thing both parties agree on) by doing the same thing we've been doing is insane. It's time to vote principle. If we all vote principle, I think we'd see a drastically changed government. If we don't begin to vote principle... I promise, we will see a government without liberty, without representation, without any sort of leash by the people.

But this doesn't just apply to presidential politics. I'm voting against my federal representative, Vern Ehlers, as well. He voted for a socialistic bailout despite the overwhelming outcry of his constituents. While I don't agree with other stances he's taken, I think that this one unrepentant act is enough reason to throw him out. There's a saying... if a dog bites once, put him down, because he will surely bite again. When a representative politician betrays the constitution and his constituents once, he'll do it again. It's time we fire him.

That's why I am voting for Erwin Haas, Libertarian for congress. If we want actual change, let me tell you, it will not come from the two corporate parties. The best friend of the Republican is the Democrat, and the best friend of the Democrat is the Republican.

Vote your principle, and vote the constitution. A novelle thought, no?

Three's a Crowd...

By: Nate Asper

In his farewell address, President George Washington warned the nation about the dangers of the party system in politics. His prediction has indeed come true as America today is a country divided. Democrat vs. Republican. No middle ground. Two large umbrellas under which all Americans are expected to fit.

While I whole heartedly agree with our first president, the situation in America in 2008 presents many of us with an interesting dilemma. I, among many others, am a strong conservative who would have once considered themselves in alignment with the Republican party. While I currently lay claim to no party membership whatsoever, my voting record would indicate a strong lean towards the Republicans. This year, conservatives were given John McCain, a moderate Republican who brags about how close he walks to the line separating Democrats and Republicans, and how he will even step over it once in a while. Senator McCain was not a man I was eager to throw my support behind. Looking across the aisle, we see the other choice Americans have, Senator Barack Obama. Senator Obama can often be found in the far back, dark corners of the Democrat party. A radical liberal and European style socialist, he is the last candidate a conservative like myself would ever vote for.

I know many conservatives like myself who see two candidates that they do not particularly like. The dilemma we face is this: do we vote for John McCain, a man who does not represent our views in many critical areas, or do we turn to a third party candidate such as Bob Barr, who aligns much closer with our views but has absolutely no chance to win this election.

My advice to conservatives struggling with this same issue is simple. Vote for John McCain. Doesn't that make me a sellout for not voting for the person that most closely aligns with my beliefs? It doesn't and I will tell you why. This election is unlike any other in our country's history. Barack Obama is NOT the greater of two evils. He is an evil unmatched by anything American politics has ever seen. He is not merely pro-choice, he is the most progressively pro-abortion candidate in history, going so far as to vote against a bill preventing infanticide. He is not merely weak on defense, he has past relationships to radical terrorists who have attacked America. His political career began in the living room of Bill Ayers, a member of the Weather Underground terrorist organization. Obama and Ayers also shared an office for three years while working with ACORN. Obama blurbed Bill Ayers book filled with radical views. He is not merely for raising taxes, he is a pure European style socialist who has been caught on tape saying Americans need to "spread the wealth." His economic views threaten to take our country from crisis to bankrupt. Barack Obama transcends anything we have ever seen in this country. I do not like John McCain, but I don't fear him.

The bottom line is that either McCain or Obama will be our next president. Under most circumstances, I would lean towards voting for a third party candidate over a "conservative" candidate that does not align very closely with my beliefs. 2008 is not most circumstances. I am an American first and foremost and when necessary I will vote to protect America. I will vote to protect my country from the purely radical dangerous figures like Barack Obama. For those conservatives who are considering voting third party, remember one very important thing about your vote. It will benefit one of the two major party candidates. It absolutely will. Barack Obama would be thrilled to know that you are voting third party.

This country needs a revolution. A Constitutional Revolution. A conservative revolution. Such a revolution will take a giant step backwards if Barack Obama becomes our next president. The most liberal and radical president ever, working alongside the most liberal Congress ever threatens to damage America in unprecedented ways. Revolutionize this country we must, and the first step is ensuring that this radical does not assume the presidency.

Show Me Your Friends

And I'll show you your future.

by Phil Lowe

Franklin Raines
ex-Chariman and CEO of Fannie Mae. Walked away from Fannie Mae with $90-Million golden parachute. Raines is currently an advisor the Obama campaign.

Tim Howard
ex-CEO of Fannie Mae. Walked away from Fannie Mae with $20-Million golden parachute. Howard is now a Cheif Economic Advisor to Obama.

Jim Johnson
ex-CEO of Fannie Mae. Walked away from Fannie Mae with $28-Million golden parachute. Johnson is Senior Obama Finance Advisor and ran Obama's Vice Presidential Search Committee.