Election Secrets
Election Night in America is almost here! And we’re all ready for the political commercials to come to an end. But even at this late hour, we all know people who just don’t know which candidate to choose. I’m here to help with that. Yes, me, your friendly neighborhood writer. No, I won’t tell you who to vote for, but I can tell you how to decide.
So, how do you cast your vote when you’re not sure you like either candidate? How do you know what the truth is, when it can be so easily distorted?
The solution is simple: Read the platforms.
Each party writes a “platform,” a document that says what their party is about at its core. These are the programs they want to establish, what they want to spend [our] money on, what changes they want to make, where they actually stand on specific issues… The Platform is where each party tallies their answers.
A zillion years ago, when I was working for lobbyists in Washington, D.C., I was assigned to read the political platforms and report back on how each party aligned themselves (or not) with our clients’ agendas. What I found was eye-opening. And eye-closing. (The platforms can be long-winded and a bit snooze-enducing.) But there are hidden gems of riveting language that will make you sit up and take stock as you read. You’ll discover things you didn’t know, and likely realize that each party has a mix of things you want and things you don’t. When I first read them for my assignment, I was shocked to discover I belonged in the other party’s camp. True story. But I was young then and practicing how to be fearless. So after a small freak-out, I owned it.
And I’m telling you, the platforms are your launch pad, your starting place. Here’s the thing: The person we vote for is just the face, and faces come and go. What we’re really voting for are the issues behind the face, and what each candidate will likely do when confronted with an issue. Ban it? Support it? The platforms tell us. This isn’t what one side accuses the other of wanting to do. No, this is what the sides themselves say they will do. And each side is very definitely human.
The one thing the platforms don’t say, typically, is how they’re going to pay for the programs and changes they want to create, so be mindful of that. Both sides are spending our money, sometimes on good stuff and sometimes on junk. So don’t be too close-minded/afraid to know what the other side has to say. Read both. Then choose the issues that mean the most to you from both sides, weigh them in your experience, and cast your vote. No matter the outcome, we’ve got this, America.
