The Best Way to Select Political Candidates

Have all voters been duped into how to select political candidates at the ballot box? Perhaps. All our adult lives, we’ve been taught to find a candidate that aligns with our positions, particularly those most important to us. The first question voters ask any new candidate is, “what is your position on XYZ issue” and if they don’t like the answer, they immediately discard the candidate from consideration.

But, who truly benefits from this system? The Republican & Democratic Parties. Their goal is to divide people into tribes, so you either believe this is true or it’s false, this is righteous or this is wicked! Your vote is then locked in. It doesn’t matter the issue at hand or any nuance it may require. One side has locked in your support, but does this system make sense for you and the country?

“The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn’t work and then they get elected and prove it.”

― P.J. O’Rourke, Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government

The only person who will entirely agree with your views is you, so it will be tough, if not impossible, to find a cloned version of yourself unless you are the person running for office. The cynical part is you can’t trust what Democrat or Republican candidates say anyway. How often have they voted differently than what they promised on the campaign trail?

What if you voted for candidates you could trust to vote the way most people in their district or state believed?

What difference does it make what the candidates think or believe?

The people are electing them to represent the people’s interests.

The United States is not a true Democracy but the greatest Constitutional Federal Republic ever created. A “Republic” is a form of government where the people hold power but elect representatives to exercise that power on their behalf. You don’t get to vote on every issue or piece of legislation, but your voice should be substantial. Currently politicians are not listening to the people nor are they voting & representing their voters’ interests.

Todd Thornton

Politicians should not vote against the majority of their constituents. They should seek their opinions and exercise the beliefs of their voters. We live in a society where if you visit your doctor or dentist, they send you a text or email asking how they did & what they can do to improve. You buy something online or even in the store; the same processes occur quickly.

When’s the last time a politician asked you for your opinion and how they should vote on a specific issue? A Statistica survey in March 2022 showed Senator Mitch McConnells a “very favorable” rating of 5%. Even if you add the 18% who responded with “somewhat favorable” you only have 23% of Kentuckians who give McConnell a “favorable” rating. Could it be that McConnell’s not listening to average Kentuckians is the reason for such low numbers?

Mitch McConnell’s Favorability Rating- March 2022

Let’s consider any hot-button issue. If representatives truly represented the majority view in their district, and everyone knew that’s how they would vote, and the majority match your own beliefs, the candidate’s position becomes mute. You no longer have to support candidates based on their own beliefs on one topic and are free to vote based on which candidate can negotiate and achieve other items beneficial to the majority in your area.

Isn’t this new way really better and far more beneficial to you and almost all other voters than the current “status quo” way of picking candidates?

Status quo, you know, is Latin for ‘the mess we’re in’.

― Ronald Reagan