Politics is one of those topics that one shouldn’t bring up in polite conversation. People have differing views on political parties, policies, candidates, and how things are being handled here and abroad. I do remember a time when you could debate the subject with people and go on about your lives without ending a friendship. Have we all just gone insane that we can’t see anything beyond our own view, and cut off everyone who doesn’t agree with us? I don’t have to agree or understand your point of view, but I can still respect your opinion. So, forgive me as I venture down this road of topics one should not bring up this week. Who you vote for isn’t anyone’s business except your own. We’re all adults; only adults can vote for who they want to represent them locally and as our President. So why, as adults, are people seemingly going off the rails? It is okay to have opinions that are different.
In the last ten years the division between the parties has driven us to the point of near extinction as a country. We are literally tearing our own country apart pushing ever closer to another civil war, and our leaders are only adding fuel to that fire. Politics has always had a darker side with ads aimed at the pro and cons of each candidate. Commercial after commercial plays on the radio, television, and even streaming networks now telling of the woes of voting for this one or that one. National campaigns all the way down to the small community political figures are pulling each other apart to showcase what? Who’s the meanest, or who can dig up enough dirt on the other? Is that the person I want representing me anywhere? No, I would like the person who has a good head on their shoulders, someone who will fight for what is right, and someone who can do it with some class and dignity. In the past I have picked the candidate that I feels best aligns with me at that moment in time. I have voted both Democrat and Republican over the years. I don’t think that one has to vote strictly by party line because sometimes someone will say or do something that you feel is right or important.
I have a friend who has an extreme case of “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and melts down anytime the name of the former President comes up. He will give you a list of reasons to not vote for the M.A.G.A candidate without giving a single fact to back it up. He, whole heartedly with the upmost sincerity, would vote for the neighbor’s dog before voting Donald Trump back into office. He lists off January 6th, demanding a recount, MAGA and its white supremacy, democracy ending, kids in cages, illegalizing abortion rights, and his dictatorship as obvious reasons to fear the man. Sure, they would all be great reasons to not vote for someone if any of them held any substance.
M.A.G.A which stands for Make America Great Again has become this weaponized symbol of hatred for some people on the extreme left. Researching the phrase, I found the same information on the Washington Post’s page, University of California at Berkeley’s page, and Britannica.com to name a few sources. So I ask, were they afraid of it when during the 1980 presidential race, Ronald Reagan used it as his political rally slogan? How about in 1992 when Bill Clinton also used the phrase during his campaign towards the White House. Hillary used the phrase trying to win the primary vote in 2008. Making America great has been a part of the American spirit since we gained our Independence back in 1776. We’ve done pretty good for ourselves the last almost two hundred and fifty years being great; why not go for another two hundred and fifty?
The contesting of votes is also nothing new and has been happening since we’ve been given the right to vote. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t question it if you weren’t one hundred percent sure you lost. According to ballotpedia.com, “Forty- eight states include a recount provision when it comes to the elections of all political offices held. Twenty-seven states have a statutory provision that automatically calls for a recount when the margin of victory is too close. A recount can be made by request from an individual candidate, voter petition with the required number of signatures, or by a court order in most states within a designated time. Recounts can only be used when the margin of victory is considered too close, there’s accusation of fraud by election officials or an election process, or due to the possibility of administrative or mechanical errors.”
Ballotpedia.com states, “Notable elections that have called for a recount date back all the way to 1884 which at the time came down to an error of only four votes. In 2000 Al Gore and George W. Bush had a contested number of seventeen hundred votes in the state of Florida due to voting system error.” It was the hanging chads left from the punch system they used in their voting boxes at the time. “It went to a recount automatically reducing the lead of George W. Bush to three hundred seventeen votes. Al Gore than requested a manual recount in four counties, which resulted in Bush maintaining his lead. Gore appealed to the higher court for a state wide manual recount but was ultimately denied.” People wanting to question the results isn’t something new, and I’m sure will happen again in the future. People don’t like when the numbers aren’t there to win; nobody likes to lose. “In 2016 the Presidential race was contested in two states, Nevada and Wisconsin. In Wisconsin it was from the Green Party Candidate, Jill Stein who felt the election had been hacked. A full manual recount of the state took place over the next twelve days giving Hillary a loss of one hundred thirty-one votes. In Nevada a manual recount of the state and that of three counties brought Hillary’s loss to nine votes.” If that doesn’t tell you each vote counts, I don’t know what else to say. No matter who you vote for, it’s crucial you get out and vote.
When it comes to the point on dictatorship and the end of democracy I say, “Are you serious?” One, he’s already been in office and stepped down when his term was up. Why would we think he’d change gears and dictator up? Trump wants to make the country great again and with Trump we had the best economy of any sitting President. Everything was cheaper; we weren’t putting things back at the store because we couldn’t afford it, and most people had something saved up in case of an emergency. Where are those emergency funds now? I’ll admit mine has been spent on normal everyday things. We’re all feeling the current strain. Gas prices were at an all-time low and the over-all economy was booming. We were energy independent or at least enroute to be, and the world felt safer for us and our allies, and the border was secure.
Kids in cages and people lined up for miles along the border waiting to be processed. The photographs were sad, the conditions inhumane and with some actual research were all photos from 2014 and the years to follow. The Washington Post headline reads, “It is true, our beloved Barack Obama built the cages along the border.” In fact, the system for detaining immigrants at the border in large chain link holding cells was funded by the Obama/Biden administration. Trump implemented a zero tolerance policy that detained and deported immigrants that were trying to get into the country. If you crossed outside the designated crossings, you were automatically deported back. Let’s look at the numbers. In 1892 the United States Government first started keeping a national record of immigration. According to the Department of Homeland Security’s website, when it comes to immigration, the President with the most deportations while in office is Barack Obama. “While the Commander in Chief, Obama is responsible for over three million people being sent back to their country of origin. The man that comes in second place is George W. Bush with over two million deportations.”
President Joe Biden’s open border policies have led to a complete border crisis. Every state has an influx of immigrants that is draining our resources to the breaking point. When Biden leaves office in January 2025, the illegal immigrants that have made it into the country is estimated to be over ten million during his presidency with one of the lowest deportation records in the last century, a mere three hundred thousand. Since January 2024 border patrol agents have stopped and detained three hundred and forty seven individuals on the terror watch list. That is just the number they’ve detained, and some of them were even released into the country. Lack of information allowed them to be released only to find their true identities after the fact. Numbers aren’t available for the possible people linked to terrorism that have made it across unknown.
Reversing Roe vs. Wade did not strip rights of women. It changed the power from the federal government to the states where the constitution put control in the first place. Who can answer when life begins? That’s not for me to decide. Some states will have more requirements, some more relaxed, but it should never have been given to the federal government to decide.
I’ll end with this. No matter who you vote for, it’s important to educate yourself on all the facts. There are a lot of media outlets that aren’t giving us all the answers, and, in fact, are misleading the public. Locally and nationally ads running for political figures here and elsewhere have become twisted to favor someone in a particular way. We need to take back our right to know who is going to take us forward as a state and as a country. We need leaders who can work with both sides of the aisle and aren’t afraid to do the work. Only then can the economy grow. We do not need politicians that have spent decades in Washington. When you go out and vote this November, it matters that you vote. Each of us has a right in this republic in which we live to voice our opinion. It should matter to you to go exercise your American right to vote. The land of the free and the home of the brave will only remain that if we take the time to make an informed decision!
Justin Choriki writes a periodical column in the Yellowstone County News called “This Just In” that has a unique perspective addressing issues in today’s local conversations whether it be national or local issues.
