Submitted editorial to Superior Telegram August 5, 2014
 
Election season is upon us and there are only two ways to participate. You either vote informed or uniformed. Informed can include knowing which candidates are running, what are some of each of their stances, deciding which candidate suits your needs, and deciding which candidate is best for the nation. Being uninformed can mean finding out there are other candidates when you receive a ballot, voting party line only, not knowing anything about the candidate you vote for, or worse being told who to vote for.

Just to test yourself to see where you may fall, I'll ask "How many candidates qualified for the Gubernatorial ballot or the Congressional ballot? If you don't know, then your foot is in the doorway of being a uninformed voter. How can a person even make a valid decision without knowing what candidates stand for? The answer is you can't. It can be very disheartening and frustrating to make voting a worthwhile endeavor. It does take some time to understand, but you should validate and understand some aspects of the political differences each party is trying to lead this country before you decide to vote.

Most hard working Democrats have grit their teeth when they discuss where the president is leading this country. I think things are down right horrible and it seems to get worse by the day. Republicans have it even worse. Not only do they not care for where the President is leading the nation, but they have to suffer through John Boehner and his do nothing and challenge nothing House leadership. Why is half of the Republican's pain and suffering coming from its own party? Ask Sean Duffy, he's voted for him twice now. Ask yourself, "Do we even have representation if the Speaker doesn't bring votes to the House floor?" It's time for the political gamesmanship to end. Please go to www.votefordon.com for more information and thank you for your time and consideration.

By the way, the answer is there are five candidates in each race. I hope it stays like that until finally people start breaking away from the outside money that funds your front running choices. If you do vote this year, please settle for nothing less than complete clarity in what your candidate stands for.

Don Raihala
Superior, WI