Punching Above Our Weight

A not uncommon wisdom of the day advocates that frustrated Americans cast their vote for a third or independent party candidate.

They say that is a way to make your personal protest known. That it would deliver your message loud and clear.

If they are talking the presidential election, they are woefully wrong about sending a message loud and clear. Because of the Electoral College, there is no hope of any candidate other than the Republicans’ McCain and the Democrats’ Obama.

The notion that both candidates are equally bad is mistaken. The foolish idea that a vote for either party results in the same policies is naive.

The fact that Barack Obama pulled up stakes at statewide offices almost as fast as he opened them was curious to say the least. There is a prevailing mindset that North Dakotans are utterly incapable of voting Blue in a presidential race. The Dems have all but thrown in the towel, or so it would appear.

Big mistake.

First of all, North Dakota votes Democratic all the time. The voters just constantly shift the overall balance of power. When we place liberals in Congress, we tend to counterweight that with conservatives running the state. And vice versa.

Had North Dakotans known their true potential power, they would have gone blue in 2000, tipping the balance and giving the Presidency to Al Gore.

North Dakotans were in a place where they could have shifted the history of the world had they simply voted Gore in 2000. But that’s hindsight. And so are the dismal eight subsequent years.

North Dakotans are in the same position today. After three presidential deadlocks in succession, it’s time for a little big state like North Dakota to break the gridlock in Washington. We could do that by voting for Barack Obama.

The silly idea that there is no difference between the candidates is absurd to say the least. It’s high time for North Dakota to redefine its sense of independence and to get the attention of the others when it comes to voicing our concerns about a better tomorrow.

Should McCain win North Dakota and the Presidency, our support would have been assumed and taken for granted. Heck, how many times have you seen him in ND campaigning (speaking of being taken for granted)?

Should Obama win North Dakota and hence the Presidency, when it comes to a President willing to hear what North Dakota has to say, we’d be at the front of the line because we tipped the balance of power his way to help him win. Big difference for North Dakota.

The last Democratic presidential candidate to get a nod from North Dakotans was Lyndon B. Johnson.

Time for a change. Time for lots of changes. North Dakota is long-overdue for change, truly. Let’s start with voting for the electoral candidate who has the potential to deliver the most to our state. Let’s play the odds. Let’s roll the dice and gain more status, more prestige, more respect from the next president.

If the country is in a stalemate come November, and McCain wins like Bush has the past two elections, pulling victory out of deadlock, then we can anticipate North Dakota’s next four years. Our democratic delegation will be at the end of the food line when it comes to presidential favor.

But say North Dakota votes Obama into victory and out of a national stalemate come November. Our three electoral votes could change history. The entire world would be talking North Dakota. Our voice in Washington, DC would be amplified manifold.

Your vote can do that. And only your vote.

Let’s do it, but don’t tell anyone it’s coming. This will be the American Revolution that was not televised. And we will then know and understand what a vote means in a real democracy.

Obama--yes --in North Dakota.

October Birthdays…

Happy birthdays to the following who celebrate this month: Holly Hassler, Glenn Washington, Kevin Carvell, Cheryl Bergian, Jeanie McMerty, Randy Anderson, Carl Wilte, Brenda Weiler, Robert Ford, Chris Berreth, Mary Tintes, Russ Knopp, Zach Kobrinsky, Staci Lavelle, Jack Zaleski, Spencer Paldor, Carolyn Nelson, Bunnie Johnson-Messelt, Russ Shawcross, K.C. Hanson, Doug Nayes, Chuck Fleming, Jena Landberg, Adam Hagen, Jackie L. Thompson, Dorothy Wentz, Thelma Strand, Karen Strand, Joyce Rude, Randy Paulson, Cassie Tweten, Sara Weiler, Nick Thorsteinson, David Butler, Ruth Ulvog, Jesse Quam, Trish Clayburgh, Magda Szeitz, Mitch Marr, Ann Olivia Elling, Bill Gates, Leanne Russell, Jeanette Stoker-Larson, Rex Zent, Leslie Stephenson, Julie Schemp, Chris Ellefson, Jason Rowe, Heidi Heitkamp, Ann Cadwalader, Marie Lucero, Kennedi Alice Holo.