The situation is dicey.
The media is hyping the races, as they always do this season, repeatedly stating that everything's tight, the races are close, what will happen...blah blah blah. The tv stations also make money off tight races and election hype.
Meanwhile among politicians, principles maintained throughout a life/career/campaign are pushed to the limit.
Now you find out what you are made of. Now you discover the reality of applying ideal principles to everyday events and your behavior.
What will you do?
J.C. Watts said, "Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught."
The races that are being fought this midterm election will shape the future of politics for years.
Promises of integrity have been made by politicians, promises to value this great country, promises to respect our traditions and laws, promises to uphold the Constitution, promises to keep promises.
Now that we're are closing in on the finish, we need to look around and see who is willing to sacrifice any pretense of maintaining principles during stressful times.
It doesn't take much to tout high principles when everything's going fine.
True character is revealed in times of stress.
So let's take a look at the some of the things that are happening around the nation.
- Some politicians are modifying their "ethics" pledges on whose money they'll take. Apparently all the rules change when you're behind and you have to do anything to win. Are they ethics pledges if you aren't willing to keep them under pressure? Read at Daily Caller:
Facing unusually stiff competition at the ballot box, at least two Democratic congressmen are cutting corners on the ethics pledges they made regarding whom they’ll accept money from, disclosure records show.
Rep. Barney Frank, Massachusetts Democrat, has accepted nearly $50,000 from individuals employed by companies that received government bailouts under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
- Some politicians are sending out illegal immigrants to rally the vote for them. Washington Post:
SEATTLE -- When Maria Gianni is knocking on voters' doors, she's not bashful about telling people she is in the country illegally. She knows it's a risk to advertise to strangers that she's here illegally - but one worth taking in what she sees as a crucial election.
- Additionally, some politicians are willing to expose illegals to prosecution, throw lies at the opponent and use any kind of argument they can to disqualify the opponent, rather than stand on their own merit. Regardless the documented facts, they accuse the opposition of absurd crimes, hoping the accusations stick.
- Some politicians have created and/or assisted 3rd party candidates to draw votes away from their opponents. They have lied and cheated and financially supported the 3rd party candidates. Rather than wanting people to vote for them based on their own positions and principles, they have engaged in tricking voters to vote for someone falsely associated with the tea party. This is happening in Nevada, California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan.
- Some politicians have taken students out of school, handed them ballots for their own party only, driven them to vote and then rewarded this illegal act with ice cream. Though people aren't even allowed to wear political t-shirts to vote in the voting booth, Cincinnati Public Schools claims this wasn't electioneering.
- Some people want to impeach Chief Justice Roberts over a SCOTUS decision that has damaged, they claim, their campaigns. Apparently it's only the unions that should have access to buckets and buckets of cash to advertise against candidates, rather than the ordinary citizen and other interest groups who have a stake in the elections. Oregon Live.
- Some politicians have created thousands and thousands of fake ballots. Some have sued American citizens who have tried to expose the fraud. Some have had their DNA taken to figure who aided ACORN to submit numerous fake absentee ballots, some even refusing to give up their DNA; it's normal to fake ballots, say some officials in Troy, New York. That's the way we do things in Troy in both parties. (Really?) In fact, one particular party has a long history of voter fraud. Mysteriously, in one case all the voting machines involved in one voter fraud case went up in flames.
- Some politicians are trawling for dirt on their opponents. Though opposition research is sometimes valuable, necessary and effective, some politicians are going back 30 or more years to college prank days, using anonymous sources to defame opponents with suspect testimonies,
- Some politicians have resorted to insulting voters, claiming their constituents are "backward thinking" and living in "rural areas" (unlike the anointed ruling class, who live squeezed by the thousands in a few square miles in big cities.) Others are claiming that voters who reject their ideas aren't "thinking clearly" or "straight" because they're "scared"; of course, voters who do not agree with certain politicians have also been accused of being bitter Bible toting gun clingers.
- Some people criticize organizations that contribute money to opposition candidates while their own party has received MORE money than the opposition candidates of the other party. Though this particular party takes more money from unions than their opponents, the party that gets all the union money (millions and millions more than anybody else) feels itself inconvenienced that even the piddlin' amount the other party gets should be banned. It isn't fair, they reason, because they are anointed.
- Members of one party make sure military ballots are not received, while inmate ballots are hand-delivered. After all, crooks will vote for crooks, right? Imagine a crook voting for a Republican. Not.
Dirty tricks go on in any political environment. No one doubts that. It's wrong, no matter who does it, democrats or Republicans.
Voting for anyone, anyone who cheats is unacceptable and only encourages thievery in this great nation, founded on principles of justice and freedom.
But it simply must be pointed out that, lately, the dirty tricks aren't even being hidden anymore by ONE PARTICULAR PARTY.
That party is the democrat party.
From the very politicized Department of Justice that refuses to enforce voting rights for whites, right down to the illegals who march from door to door demanding their version of "justice."
These politicians have not only gotten caught cheating, but seemed to glory in it, ratcheting up their behavior daily.
Having become accustomed to being the ruling class, even first term politicians like Alan Grayson feel entitled to retain the seat, resorting to any manner of tricksiness to make sure it happens.
This is what desperation looks like.
This is when and where character is revealed.
Character is also revealed by those who reinforce cheaters by voting for them.
Perhaps we need to alter J.C. Watts's quote, ever so slightly.
And then perhaps we need to live by it ourselves and enforce it through our votes.
"Character is doing the right thing when nobody AND EVERYBODY is looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught."
Now go forth and vote.
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