Each week I end this broadcast with the phrase “this government is your government, and your input does make a difference”. Next week one of the easiest ways to provide input begins; it’s the start of early voting. It’s your chance to choose the people who will make the laws that you have to live under. As you can imagine, not voting in our house is not an option. We see it as the bare minimum; it’s a small price to pay for the freedoms we enjoy. Is our system perfect? No, not by any means.
As Winston Churchill once said, “democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others that have been tried”. It works marginally well when people participate and not at all when they don’t.
And as for reasons not to vote, I’ve heard them all. And I might be somewhat sympathetic, except that I‘ve been to many countries where people either don’t have the right to vote, or where they have to walk forever and stand in endless lines just for the privilege of doing so. In a word, it’s sobering. In many of these counties, the people have fought so long for the right to vote that they can’t comprehend why anyone with that right would not exercise it. I’ve tried to explain that we are busy, or that our vote really doesn’t make a difference, or that we don’t want to serve on jury duty and they just look at me like I’m from another planet. None of these are good excuses. They know it, and truth be told, we know it too.
So why is it that so few of people vote? Why is it that we would let someone else chart the destiny of our nation when we get to have a say?
As for the claim that our vote doesn’t make a difference, nothing could be further from the truth. Several years ago, Representative Krayton Kerns of Laurel was elected by three votes. His election changed the balance of power in the Montana Legislature, and resulted in the death of dozens of anti-family/anti-Christian bills. That session, and ultimately the face of Montana, changed dramatically because of three votes from the small town of Laurel. Your vote DOES make a difference, especially this election.
So what’s at stake? The United States Senate for one. If the majority in the Senate swings from Democrat to Republican, it will have an enormous impact on the makeup of the United States Supreme Court. And this in turn will directly impact the definition of marriage, protections for the unborn, and religious liberty. In Montana, control of the State Senate hangs in the balance, as does the balance on the State Supreme Court. And with cases pending on life and marriage, it’s crucial that the right justices be elected. One of the State Supreme Court races is a donnybrook, with Lawrence VanDyke challenging sitting Justice Mike Wheat. According to the Kalispell Daily Inter Lake, the two candidates could not be more different. An article posted on September 16th said that Lawrence VanDyke, a Harvard Law graduate and former Solicitor General for Montana, is a newcomer to politics, having never run for office before. Mike Wheat, on the other hand, is a former State Senator heavily involved in the Democrat Party. With the two dead even in fundraising, this race may go down to the wire, and that’s where you come in. Every vote counts—just ask Emily Eaton, the candidate who lost by three votes to Krayton Kerns in Laurel. If you need help registering to vote, please call our office, we’ll point you in the right direction.
Remember, politics is a winner-take-all game. Let’s make sure it’s your candidates who get elected on November 4th.
