“I support the left, tho’ I’m leanin’ to the right… but I’m just not there when, when it’s coming to a fight. I’m a political man and I practice what I preach, but I’m just not there when you’re in my reach.” From Politician, written by Oscar Chavez Fernandez and Jose De La Vega Leija.

Every even-numbered year since at least 1970, I have taken to whatever media were paying my rent to encourage people to vote. Broadcast, print, internet… I even got my message into Superman comics.

This final pre-election plea to vote has been bi-partisan. In order to make democracy work, you’ve got to choose between two people (sad but true) and neither one is going to support all of your views. One-issue voters are completely missing the point; it’s nothing more than the electoral version of pouting. Each and every one of us has our own agendas and, hopefully, we are openminded enough to follow the facts and change our minds when necessary… or at least tweak them a bit.

Well, I hate being in a rut so this year I’m going to tweak my biannual polemic a bit. This year, in order to keep democracy working we’ve actually got to vote to keep our democracy. One candidate is in favor of that, the other is strongly and openly opposed to democracy. He wants to be a full-blown dictator — and he’s said so many, many times.

That alone should offer voters a clear choice. Either you are in favor of the rule of the people and the rule of law, or you are not. Yet, as of this writing nearly half the electorate still appear to be supporting the avowed dictator. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo: The Never Ending Finish” →