This was written entirely by my father, Terry Szudajski. It’s long but very pertinent. Read as much as you can, part or all, I think you’ll learn a lot.

I almost do not know where to start when talking about voting and politics.

There are so many issues.....with so many details associated with them.

I am writing these notes in an effort to help promote voting.  My focus is to express my thoughts and ideas about voting to the everyday person so they have a more "down to earth" understanding with reference to voting and the issues of the day.

My plan is to offer advice.  Not so much from an "intellectual" standpoint but from a "common sense" position. A small part of this will include a brief explanation of our government structure for those of you who are unfamiliar with it (as I was all my life).

First a little about me so you know where I am coming from:

I have selected 9 topics to review.  As I go through the ones that relate directly to politics.....I have done my best to be "non-partisan" in my assessment. If some of my bias does slip through.....just ignore it.  I truly want you to vote for the person of your choice and for the reasons that mean the most to you.  Democrat, Republican, Independent, Green or whatever. Does not matter to me except that you vote.

Just a quick note here. It is reasonable for you or I to be "Bias" in terms of who we want to vote for and what our positions are on any of the issues. That’s the whole point in voting. The majority opinion wins. The key is to really understand what you are voting for and in my opinion, having the best interest of the country as the priority (not the best interest of the politician or the party).

Therein lies the problem.

With all the information available these days you really need to listen to all sides and make some common sense decisions. Don’t let yourself get influenced too soon or caught up in the "hype". Listen for a while to both sides of the issues. There are always reasons each side is promoting their view of the situation. You need to vote for those that most reflect your morals and standards.

I will offer as much basic info to you as I can so you can have confidence you will be able to make an informed decision when the time comes.

It is clear that many of the "everyday" people in America do not vote.  I believe some of this is due to "ignorance". 
I have been in that category for most of my life.  Ignorance is not stupidity.  It is simply not knowing (or in my case, not caring) about the subject matter. 

My goal is to provide you with some insight into the world of politics from an everyday person’s perspective (mine). 

My hope is that these notes will provide you with a perspective of politics and politicians that is real. These thoughts and opinions come straight from the heart and from a very basic perspective.

Because it is your privilege. Some would say it is your duty.

I call it a choice. I have only done it once in my life. So I am planning on practicing what I preach now.

Many people choose not to vote (like me in the past). Many people who do vote say if you don’t vote you cannot complain. I do not accept that premise. You’re still an American. You still contribute to society. You still pay taxes. You still have values and moral positions.

Having said that, if you don’t vote…..you are not in as strong a position to argue one side or the other on an issue.

Voting does not take much time. It does, however, take a little effort. To vote responsibly you need to understand the basics of issues and candidates. This can be overwhelming sometimes for the everyday person who has to deal with real life everyday. You usually do not have time to investigate, evaluate and study the issues at hand. You are at the mercy of the commercials and "sound bites" of the various campaigns.

So, some effort must be extended on your part. Not a huge amount but some. You can just vote the "party line". Republican, Democrat, Independent, Green etc. And if that is the best you can do….do it. Not the worst thing that could happen. At least you would feel comfortable with the overall philosophy of the party you have chosen. Hopefully, they will reflect most of your values and positions on the big issues.

Nationally or locally, it is very difficult to keep track of all the candidates and issues. Too many facts and figures to study. So to some extent, you need to have faith in the party you most associate with.

All I can say is listen to what is said on both sides of any issue. I like mostly to watch the various talk shows on TV. Not always easy to do but you get a pretty wide range of ideas if you selectively watch. For me, the contrast is best watching Fox News and then watching the same subject matter on CNN or MSNBC. Pretty different ways each of them view the topics.
Make up your own mind. Don’t be fooled by their double talk or their "talking points". You need to read between the lines these days. And it does not matter if you are listening to the commentator or the politician. Each seem to reflect some sort of "agenda".
The good thing is once you start seeing and hearing and understanding some of the issues, you can apply your logic and common sense to it. Most of the candidates and commentators do not seem to have that ability. I often think "how can such smart people be so dumb"? But I digress….

Not enough people. Only about 50% to 60% did so in the last presidential election. Would we have a different result if more people voted?? Don’t know. Only way to know is to get more people interested.

I am guessing if a larger percentage voted….you would force more politicians to be more honest and forthcoming in their routines. More people scrutinizing them would force more accountability.

Right now, they can "predict" how things will go for them pretty accurately because they have a good feel for the number and the types of people who will be voting.

Rest assured, they do their homework on this issue. I wish sometimes they would spend as much effort on the major issues of the day in the same way. But that’s another story. From my perspective, 60% of people making the decisions for 100% of the people just does not seem right.

If I am not mistaken, even in Iraq where they were getting shot at, the percentage was higher. Anyway, these days it seems everything is more serious and it would be in your best interest (and your kid’s best interest) to vote and try to make a difference.

Register and go to the polling place on voting day. Just that simple.

Go to your local DMV to register or go on line to do it, or go to a "service" that will do that for you. Just go somewhere. Ask someone you know who votes how to register. If you want to do this….you will. It’s not rocket science.

I know I could provide much more info on this part of the discussion. But, it gets down to an individual responsibility. If you don’t have the desire to do this…..all my notes and web sites and advice is useless.

Each of us need to do our part to get our butts out and vote. Go have a beer afterwards (assuming you are of age). Usually, people like us have to vote after work anyway.

Basically, consists of the Executive Branch (The President and his people), the Judicial Branch (Supreme Court) and the Legislative Branch (the Senate and the House of Representatives). I will only try to provide a brief "overview" of this. Only so you have a better feel for the overall routine.

For me, I never knew much about the branches of government or their functions. After watching and listening for the past 6 or 7 years, I still do not understand much of what goes on with our government.

Sad to say but true. From my perspective it is a very convoluted process. But, you need to at least know generally what these groups do. Many of you probably already do but this is targeted for those who are not so well informed. So here you go.

The President.

As you know, he runs the place. Sometimes he can do things on his own, and sometimes he needs to get approvals from the Congress (the Senate and the House of Representatives). Powerful position but in our Democracy, it has its limitations. Seems to work for the most part.

Starts with the "Supreme Court".

These men and women have "lifetime" positions. They are appointed by the President. Most politicians see this as a very critical issue. Obviously, a Republican will nominate a person that reflects a Republican view of life, the same is true of the Democrats. They all will say they want to nominate a person who is very "fair and non-partisan". Probably true. But they naturally lean towards people that most associate themselves with the same general view of the world that they share.

From my perspective, not a bad thing. You decide how important that is for you when voting for the president.

The House of Representatives (they represent "districts" in the state) and The Senate (they represent the entire state)

It is comprised of people voted in from each state. Based on the population of your state will determine how many representatives you will have. Representatives are elected for 2 year terms.

I have been listening and watching things about the house and senate for a number of years now on cable (C SPAN, CNN, FOX, and MSNBC etc). Still has me a bit perplexed? They deal with a lot of issues. No one person can possibly be on top of all of it. They each have "staff" that help and I assume do much of the reading of the "bills" before them. Let’s hope the staffs are well informed and pass that knowledge along to our representatives.

Unfortunately, the representatives seem to spend a fair amount of time just getting re-elected. That has to keep them sometimes from attending to some of the issues directly.
It’s just the way it is. They can’t change it. We can’t change it.

The best thing you can do is try to elect people with "Character" that will do their best despite the "politics’ of it.

The Senate is comprised of 2 elected people from each state. They are elected to 6 year terms. Does not make any difference of your population. Each state gets 2 Senators. The Senate and the House of Representatives make the laws for us. It is a coordinated effort but for the most part it seems like the Senate thinks they are the "top dog" in the end. Because there are fewer of them they seem to be able to make more noise with the media.

Despite all that, the Senate and the House are different "bodies" of government and have different rules. They both have to agree at some point on new laws.

Senators are making around $162,000 a year at this point. Pretty good wage. They should be pretty good at what they do for us to pay them that kind of money. Don’t you think? Doesn’t matter what party they belong to.

Here, as is the case in the House, there seems to be a lot of "career" politicians.
I assume when you elect a senator, you are electing someone who will look out particularly for you and your states needs. Seems to be the way it goes. Not a bad process I guess. Keep in mind they also speak for you in terms of national and international decisions. You need to be comfortable with their positions overall. Like all decisions you make, you need to balance the good with the bad in judging these people. This is a difficult process since you only know what they and the media want you to know (or hear). However, if you pay attention to all the "rhetoric" from all sides…..you should get a good feel for the person and their values and positions.

There is a practice in the House and the Senate that has been going on for quite some time. It is called "Earmarking". This is truly a "non-partisan" practice.

Near as I can tell, a Representative or a Senator can "Earmark" a bill (any bill) at any time. By that I mean he or she can add a little something to the bill that he or she wants.
For example, recently I heard about Senator Obey from Wisconsin "Earmarking" a bill to include 2 million dollars for an airport in his state. The airport was in the middle of no where basically but by improving it would allow for "Corporate" people that have businesses near by to fly in their "Corporate" jets.

Keep in mind, there is no "vote" on these "earmarks". They get approved in some sort of committee and then get attached to the bill at hand. As the bill passes, so do their "earmarks".

Pretty nice deal, huh?

This is just one example. Senator Obey is not alone. These people do this to the tune of "Billions" of dollars. No voting on this stuff. Just stuff they want and get.

I understand how and why it happens. Seems illegal to me. But apparently it is not. Judge it for yourself and draw your own conclusions.

Just seems like an important item for you to know about. It has been in the news a lot lately. It is likely to be an issue in the upcoming elections.
Remember, this is our money. Not theirs.

The issues that seem to dominate each election are determined in many ways.

For this election, we seem to be all over the board. You would think, listening to the news most of the time, Iraq is the main issue. And it certainly is a big one. But then depending on who is talking (again on the news) the biggest issue could be the Economy or Abortion. Or it could be The Supreme Court. Or maybe Immigration. Who knows?

It is a matter of priority depending on who you are talking to. Just remember, most of the time, there is a political advantage that is at stake for whatever side of any issue anyone in the news is talking about.

You need to judge the issues based on what is good for you and your country. Try not to allow yourself to be influenced too quickly until you look at both sides of any issue. As always, "the devil is in the details". Like anything else you do in your life, things are not always as they appear the first time you see them.

The fact is that all the issues are important.
The media and politicians would like to try to define and categorize issues in some sort of order. Not necessarily because they are so concerned (although I am sure some are concerned). Politicians do not want to sound stupid when asked a question. They need to know what the media and the public will be asking them as they roam around the country. Thus, the need to know what the priority is with the public.

Here is a brief summary from my perspective of the current basic issues. Again, remember there are 2 sides to each issue. I will try to be "non-partisan". Judge for yourself.

I know there are a lot of other issues. For me, sometimes it seems overwhelming in terms of knowing who is telling the truth or not and what is most important.

Try to take a common sense approach to them as much as possible. That would probably be your best guide along with judging the "character" of the people you are electing.

I will be trying not to make a decision based only on one issue.

You are getting a package deal when you elect politicians. You may not like their positions on all the issues but hopefully you will elect people who "generally" follow your way of thinking.

If you are a very "idealistic" person and none of the people meet your standards…….I don’t know what you do.

In my case, I compromise. Hate to say it that way, but that is the way it is. No one is perfect and no one (especially in politics) will meet the "idealistic" standard in everything they have to deal with.

If we weren’t human, and did not have to deal with other humans, that would not be a problem.

Listen to them carefully. With only a few exceptions, they are all cut from the same cloth. By that I mean they all follow a pattern. I often call it "deception". Judge for yourself.

In their defense, they have to compete based on existing rules or they won’t survive the ordeal.

Remember, each of them have to try to convince you they are the best. Or the most informed. Or the most qualified. In doing so, they will often only provide that which is most favorable to them in terms of any issue or discussion. They may not "lie" about an issue or some sort of legislation, but they may avoid providing some of the "facts" that you may or may not like about the issue or legislation.

As I continue to say, "Look at both sides of the issues" before making a decision. Ask yourself or them the important questions using your "common sense" approach. Some of them have some common sense but much of the time they seem to be consumed with what they call the "bigger picture" and from my perspective miss the real issues.

This is true of any of them (Democrat, Republican, Green Party etc). Assume they have our best interests at heart but keep them honest. If you find a bad one….let someone else vote for him or her.

This is a system that has been in place since the late 1700s.

It applies only to the Presidential elections. Seems like a crazy process to me but not likely to change anytime soon. You just need to be aware of the process. Helps you to understand the overall system. I used to think that because of it, my vote would be useless (as far as the Presidential election is concerned). Now that I understand it….I see my vote counts but not in a way I want it to. I still don’t like the process but it is what it is and we need to deal with it.

What happens is this:

There are "Electors" designated for each state. You get 2 electoral votes (one for each senator) and one vote each for each "Representative" you have in your state. The number of "Representatives for your state is determined by your population.

So, it is an organized enough process. Electors are decided at each political party’s convention?? Presumably, they (the electors) will vote for president as each states majority vote.

So, it is more a "state" issue than a "national" issue when it comes to your vote for president. Still, if you want a particular candidate to win the presidency, vote for the one you like and help encourage others in your state to do the same for that candidate. You should know that the "electors" are obligated to vote for whoever won the majority in your state only in 48 states. Main and Nebraska do not have the "winner takes all" routine. The info I have seen says that 99% of the time, it goes to the majority but it is not always a law that that happens. Pretty strange system as far as I am concerned.

Here’s the deal on that. The only way to change it would require a constitutional amendment. That requires our politicians pass it by a 2/3 vote in the House and the Senate. Then it would go to each state to be confirmed by at least 75% of the states. There have been over 700 proposals to change the system since it was started (1789). None have gone anywhere. As you probably would guess, the majority of everyday people seem to like the idea of abolishing the system according to the polls.

My guess is that it will never get past the Senate and the House. If it went to the states……people like us would pass it in a minute. We would want to be able to elect our president by a majority of the people saying who they like. Seems like a "no brainier". The Senate and the House have different thoughts on this.

My opinion: it all has to do with power. But what do I know?

In the end, it is possible a candidate could get the most "popular votes" but not enough "Electoral votes and yet not be elected. Has happened 3 times (1876, 1888 and 2000).

Don’t be discouraged with this. Just part of the process. As you can see from the explanation, your vote does make a difference, just applied a little differently than people like us would like to see it done.

And remember, your vote still is necessary on all the other candidates. In all other cases, one vote could make a difference.

So, there you have it in a nutshell. Deal with it. It’s not going to change. Make your vote count in your state as it applies to the presidential vote.

I don’t care what they say……they influence all elections. Technology has influenced that. They "see all" and "hear all". Or so it seems.

If this is the only way you will be educating yourself on the issues and candidates…..take it all with a grain of salt. By that I mean try to listen to a variety of people on a number of channels.

If you watch Cable TV, I would suggest CNN and Fox News. Two different perspectives. If you don’t have cable, you’re stuck with what I would consider a "one sided" argument on most issues. But even in that case, you can watch, listen and make your own judgment. Always remember, there are 2 sides to all the arguments and discussions.

In all cases with the media and in particular those shows that are politically oriented, you have to really think about what people are saying. Sometimes they say the most absurd and ridiculous things and expect you to just accept it. Them saying it does not necessarily make it so.

For example, a host may say the president vetoed the "Stem cell" research bill. They characterize the veto in a way that sounds like he simply does not want to help in the effort to find new ways to cure diseases. In reality, he did it based on his moral values. He has been consistent on that. You may or may not agree but there was a legitimate reason for the veto.

My point is that regardless of how you stand on an issue it is important you get the facts straight and not skewed by someone’s desire to frame it in a way that makes that person look bad. Remember, there are always 2 sides of the story.

The news people might have interpreted wrong, or taken things out of context.

All I am saying is that "veto" could be an example of seeing only one side of the story but the commentator wants you to believe his version. It is up to you to look for the other side of the story. You may in the end agree with the commentators statements. Just don’t’ accept them at face value unless you already have done some investigation on your own. It does not take that much to get the other side of the story. Especially if you have the internet (although even there you need to be careful) as you probably already know.

Bottom line is the more knowledge you have the more likely you will be able to make a more informed decision when you vote. Duh

Note:

Be leery of the Press (they too have an "agenda"). Use your own judgment. I think you will find that you are often times more informed or in touch with reality then the press and politicians are. Sometimes they live in a different world.

As you know, the Democrats and Republicans run the country with only a few exceptions. So, why consider a "third party" candidate?

A few reasons from my perspective:

First, you may feel the need to hold on to your "principals" and align yourself with a particular third party that reflects them more accurately than the 2 major parties do.

Second, you may dislike the other 2 so badly you just don’t want either but still want to vote and contribute to the process.

Third, you may want to vote for a third party candidate in an effort to keep a Democrat or Republican out of office.

This is an interesting approach. By voting for a popular third party candidate, you take away votes from a particular mainstream candidate (Democrat or Republican). This strategy was demonstrated when Ross Perot was running. He got something like 19% of the vote (no electoral votes) but some credit him with keeping George Bush from being elected because of his participation. Took away enough votes to help Bill Clinton win.

If you go that route in voting, you need to study the "field" carefully and be confident you are doing the right thing from your perspective.

Realistically, from my perspective, a third party candidate cannot win.

I tried to find something more positive on third party candidates and found going back to 1832 they have participated in presidential elections but have never come close to winning. Take it for what it is worth.

Some people call it a "wasted vote".

I do not necessarily buy into that. It still has to do with your own morals and values. Again, follow your common sense, values and gut feeling and it is very likely you will make the right decision.

So there you have it. I hope this has not been too boring. Actually, I hope it has been informative and somewhat stimulating.

Here are some parting thoughts: