So, I’ve done the math and I realize that I’ve been eligible to vote in 10 presidential elections.  I voted in all ten, but not along party lines.  Seriously, I voted for a Bush or two, Obama and even Ross Perot that one fateful year.

At this point, I don’t know who I will vote for in 2016.  But notice the structure of that sentence: “will vote for.”

Sadly, we’ve gotten to the point where Americans are more anti-someone than actually for the candidate they end up supporting.  Because negative works, each candidate and the troll-like party PACs sling the mud and it usually sticks.

Now, this is hardly new in our presidential election system. It’s just that now, information travels so fast, even the most incredible rumor can make the rounds with passion before someone points out it’s not true, or an exaggeration.

Gosh, just in my lifetime, I’ve heard scare stories about multiple candidates. “If Kennedy is elected, he’s going to have the whole country praying to Mary!”  “If Goldwater gets in, he’ll blow us all up!” One worked, one didn’t.

I know a lot of people who vote party, not person.  That’s too bad.  I frankly don’t understand it, especially since the parties have changed so much over the years.  In 1872, there were actually three major parties—the Republicans, the Liberal Republicans and the Democrats.  When Susan B. Anthony asked for each party to include something about women’s rights in their platform, the only ones to respond?  The Republicans.

Yet, the G.O.P. also gave us some pretty slick dirty tricks back in the day.  Like going into a predominantly black area, putting up posters for a free picnic to support the democratic presidential candidate and then, of course, there would be no picnic.  Yeah, ain’t America great?

Basically, I’m just sitting back until November, watching the circus and seeing where this all takes us.  And what a lot of my liberal friends don’t understand—I’m not concerned about Donald Trump.  He’ll either get elected or not.  That’s beyond my control.

If you’re concerned that a rich guy will get in office and make it easier for businesses to thrive, yes, I do believe that is a possibility.  It’s the on-going conflict—let’s hate Wall Street and everything that big business represents until they take a hit and our 401k’s begin to crash.  Then we complain about that.

Until this year, the wealthiest man ever elected president?  John F. Kennedy.  I don’t think he did such a bad job for a rich guy.

Trump is no Kennedy, but he’s also not a Hitler.  He’s a non-politician that is running for our country’s highest office.  He’s saying popularist blah-blah so that he can get enough voters to give him a shot at being the first CEO of our country.

Yes, Tim, as he slipped into third person, but Trump never held public office!  If I asked you if a candidate was qualified to be president after only two years of being elected to public office, what would your answer be?”

I’ll let you answer that with this helpful chart.

Here’s the deal—let’s say Trump is elected.  The guy who Democrats fear and who the Republican establishment resents for taking over their party.  How exactly is he going to get anything done with a congress that wants to see him fail?  To that end, unless there’s a major shift in congress, President Hillary or President Bernie would face the same thing.  Ted Cruz, I’ve heard, isn’t very well-liked in the Senate.

So we’ve got a real mess on our hands.

My main point is that I encourage you to the best of your ability to vote FOR someone. You can wait until the dust settles and the candidates have been chosen, or get on board now.  But don’t let negative TV ads or ridiculous comparisons or rumors help decide who we’ll have running the country for the next four years. That just reinforces that negative works.

As we’ve done many times before, America will survive regardless of who gets in and we’ll either advance or learn something that makes us a better nation.

But only if you vote.

Ushers, you may pass the plate now.

Tim Hunter