By DR. LARRY MOSES
No one asked me but… With the 2012 election closing in I have heard much discussion as to who one should vote for the various offices. As a politic junkie, I love the discussions as long as they remain civil.
The polarization of people is what I find disturbing during election times. People have a tendency to believe that if you disagree with someone, you have to dislike them. I find that some of the people I like the most are willing to let me know they think I am an idiot. It must be comfortable to find a political party that one could vote for without consideration, I find myself too schizophrenic for any one party to fill my political needs.
The real dilemma I have, on the national level, is while I believe the Republicans have declared war on public employees, I cannot bring myself to support the Democrat Party candidate. I know Republicans love teachers, that is until they have to pay them or protect their pensions. On the other hand, the Democrat party supports laws that fine an American $250,000 dollars for destroying the embryo of a bald eagle while allowing the destruction of the human embryo on demand and they ask me to help pay for it with my taxes.
Even with the danger to my personal economics, I will have to support Mitt Romney for President.
Since Republicans and Democrats no longer play well together, it is important that whoever wins the Presidency have his party in control of the House and Senate. There was a day when a balance of power was desirable. However, that was a time when statesmen who had the country’s interest at heart filled Congress.
In the past, both parties had strong leaders who worked out compromises that benefitted the American people. Today we have leaders like Harry Reid and John Boehner, political hacks, whose only interest is pursuing the wishes of their party at the expense of the American people.
There is an attractive option for United States Senate: None of These Candidates. While it is very tempting to vote for Mr. None of These, if one supports Romney I suppose one should vote for Dean Heller.
I must admit I was a little disappointed when I saw there was not a place to vote for None of These Candidates in the Representative in Congress District 4 race. I think Mr. None of These could have won this election.
I was undecided until Harry Reid came out with his nasty comments supporting Steven Horsford. Harry turned on the Tarkanian family that has been strong supporters of his. Now it is understandable that he would not support a Republican, but the typical vindictive manner in which Reid threw his support to Horsford solidified my vote for Tarkanian.
State Senate District 19 is one of the largest territorial districts in the State. Pete Goicoechea is a cowboy rancher out of Eureka, Nevada. He was the minority leader in the House during the last session.
While he and I will have to argue over PERS, for the most part Pete is what the State of Nevada is all about. He not only wears the hat, he has the cattle. I really believe that he will represent the rural interest of Nevada because he knows what those interests are.
State Assembly District 36 candidate James Oscarson is the nearest thing Logandale and Moapa folks will have to a local to support us in the Assembly. James lived in the valley for a number of years and still has property here. He understands the needs of Moapa Valley and I believe he will be accessible to us during the legislature; therefore, I will be voting for James.
Our school board trustee Chris Garvey is running for re-election and I will be supporting her. She earned the support of this community for a number of reasons. But the last was the role she played in the fight for the upgrade in the physical education facility at Moapa Valley High School. She refused to be bullied by a couple of members of the board and was able to cobble together the four votes needed to carry out the promises the school district had made to this community. Chris is always available to the people of the valley and we need to keep her on the board representing us.
In the local race for Justice of the Peace, I have supported Lanny Waite for years and see no reason not to support him now. When he ran against a friend of mine in the last election, I supported Lanny because he has worked hard to develop an effective local court including a Youth Court. That reason has not changed. Lanny brings many years of experience and the wisdom of institutional memory to the office.
For the Commission race, I would refer you to last week’s column. Nothing has changed. My support remains with Commissioner Tom Collins.
On Question 2, I am voting yes. While our physical education facility will be built, there are still educational facilities needs in the valley. We were supported by the trustees from District C, D, and E. Each of those districts has needs and we should support our friends. Depending on the value of your house, this support will cost you between 30 and 60 cents a day. This is a small price to pay for the upgrade to facilities throughout the district.
No one asked me but… If the Republicans carry the State of Nevada, they get to select the six presidential electors for the State of Nevada.
Do you remember what happened at the Republican Convention? The representatives of the Nevada Republican Party were sent to the Convention to vote for Romney. However, the Libertarians hijacked the party and cast the majority of the votes for Ron Paul.
Unless the leadership of the state Republican Party has changed, these same people would be selecting the six electors to cast votes for the Presidency. Once an elector is selected, he is free to vote for whomever he wants. If the Libertarians still control the State Republican Party, they could select electors who could cast their votes for Gary Johnson the Libertarian Candidate. In a close election, this could cost the Republicans the Presidency.
Is this likely to happen? Probably not, but it would be worth a Romney win in the State just to see if it would play out in this manner.
Thought of the week…We’d all like to vote for the best man, but he’s never a candidate.
– Ken Hubbard
