Vote next Tuesday…This Election is Critical!

This will be my last article before next Tuesday's election, and my last as a writers group member. Many thanks to the Spectrum newspaper for providing this forum enabling citizens like my self to express ourselves on topics of interest.

Next week's election could very well be the most important of our lifetime and I urge all registered voters to perform your civic duty regardless of political persuasion. To those of you that sit on the sidelines and let others choose who represents your interests and make the decisions that impact your future, I say… shame on you.

The old refrain; "my one vote doesn't matter", is not true. The richest man in America, the President and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court all have only one vote and your one vote can cancel any of theirs. All those single votes combine for a potential majority and can change the course of history.

In 2010 only 51% of Utah's registered voters went to the polls. In this 2012 presidential cycle, the percentage is likely to exceed 75%. The interest is high and so too are the stakes. The differences in the Republicans and Democrats and their presidential candidates are stark so it is easy to compare and make a choice…let's do so.

In the past four years, the Democratic team led by President Obama and his gaffe prone Vice President has brought our nation its first ever credit downgrade, record debt (now exceeding $16 trillion), record numbers of welfare and food stamp recipients and several scandals that include the incompetence that led to the deaths of our Ambassador and three other Americans at the Benghazi consulate. The Democratic team has also brought us higher gas and food prices, a lower standard of living, and a huge bureaucratic government.

The Democrats are the pander party. They pander to the poor using class warfare in promising to re-distribute the wealth. They pander to homosexuals by advocating for gays in the military and same-sex marriage. They pander to the environmentalists by cutting drilling permits off-shore and on public lands, by wasting taxpayer's money on failed solar enterprises and by stopping the job and energy producing XL pipeline. Democrats also pander big time to the labor unions, minorities, atheists and abortionists.

The Republican team has a different vision for America and has asked for an opportunity to restore our country's fiscal and moral integrity. This team is led by a proven and successful "fix it" businessman who knows how to balance a budget and running mate known for his expertise in all areas of fiscal and economic responsibility.

Be wary of a lame duck Obama Administration. Remember what Obama whispered to Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev that was meant for his ears only, "After my election, I will have more flexibility". What did he share with the Russians that he did not want to share with the American people? And what is he whispering to other world leaders?

Make sure you vote next Tuesday.

Billy Tedreck