I have a plan for voting in the coming elections. It's simple. It has three steps of evaluation. I'll outline it here for you.
Step One: Is the candidate an incumbent? Of any party? If so, go on to Step Two. If not, examine their record, THEN go to step two.
Step Two: While campaigning, or in public life preceding the campaign, has the candidate (of any party) told even ONE lie in aid of their campaign (or previous office, etc)? If so, they do not get my vote. If not, go to Step Three.
Step Three: One of three things will happen now. First, the incumbents have all been eliminated, either in Step Two (there are DAMN few incumbents who've NOT told lies in support of their campaigns) or by the natural choice of a more honest candidate (of any party). Second, the candidates have now been sorted out by their integrity, which should be the natural thing, but was weaned out of politics after the Great Depression. Third, your choice of who to vote for should be obvious now, as there will either be a candidate of integrity or there will be none such.
Background:
Eighty or more years ago, political parties meant less, and the integrity of the politicians meant more. The exception was in the ghettos of the large Eastern cities, where machine politics took root early, before Civil War One. In the towns and villages and hinterlands, true representation was the rule, and those representatives were men of integrity (sorry ladies, you didn't have the opportunity back then). Of course, a REAL work ethic was held by almost the entire population, because the Constitution didn't include alms like some have interpreted it to in recent times, and if you didn't work hard you starved. Starvation is not pretty. To be a true representative of your little corner of the Nation, your first requirement was integrity. If you did not have it, and have it to the maximum, you usually didn't earn the vote of your peers (except in the aforesaid Eastern city ghettos).
ALL OF THE GOOD THINGS ABOUT YOUR COUNTRY THAT YOU HAVE READ ABOUT IN THE HISTORY BOOKS OR HEARD AT YOUR GRANDPARENTS' KNEE, HAPPENED BECAUSE OF INTEGRITY.
Integrity is the key ingredient to Democracy. The lack of integrity introduces the possibility (probability as time goes on) of tyranny.
So, there you have it, readers. It's all about Integrity. We will never restore the proper role of the Constitution to it's proper place in the governance of our society without requiring that our Representatives be people of Integrity.
I've already been hollered at by a close friend and advisor for even thinking of not voting GOP, because (horrors!) it will allow the (D)emocrats to rule the nation with an absolute majority, and have their way with us AND the Constitution. Yes they will, and as they do, they will be seen as people who lack integrity. That lack of integrity will, soon enough, severely gall those of us who believe that our leadership MUST have integrity.
When we have been galled badly enough, we WILL rise and rid ourselves of those who lack integrity.
It won't take all that many folk of integrity to toss out those without that quality, because, with few exceptions, those who lack integrity also lack the spine for a fight.
Some have even affixed a percentage of people of integrity that it will take to prevail over the corrupt ones:
III.