various friends in my locality have been asking me how i plan to vote. i don't mind sharing at all, so i thought i'd broadcast my 2010 ballot thoughts.
i began this note with the intention of only focusing on the NC/WNC ballot, but then wound up writing a couple thoughts worthy of contemplation which apply wherever you are.
feel at liberty to share this with anyone you wish.
• [YOUR STATE] Constitutional Amendments...
before i get to candidates, i implore you to check your ballot for a possible "State Constitutional Amendment". if there is one, read it very carefully & think about the potential consequences of it being passed.
for example, on the NC ballot, it's very important to take note of the "[NC] Constitutional Amendment" which, if passed, would prevent anyone who was ever convicted as a felon from being eligible to serve as a Sheriff in NC.
when given the option, the NC legislature thought it was better to put this junk on the NC ballot rather than increasing liberty by legalizing medical marijuana.
one can be charged as a "felon" these days for no telling what... even growing a weed! and what better Sheriffs could we have than individuals who have been victimized by the unlimited and unaccountable government we have allowed to become so corrupted?
i have to wonder how many people won't even realize the implications of this deceptive NC Constitutional Amendment. it should be a no brainer, but for the sake of sanity, VOTE AGAINST this increase in tyranny!
• regarding voting for candidates...
in general, i plan to go with my usual rule of thumb election strategy: vote against incumbents whenever possible. this means, to vote for the duopoly party candidate in a given race who is not currently holding office.
why?
because, for one, it's a way of enforcing term limits. power corrupts. therefore, the longer the term, the more chance of increased corruption. incumbents should thank us for limiting their term, thus reducing their potential or degree of corruption.
also, because it's perhaps the best message We the People can send to our tyrannical government. the way i see it, we should only re-elect officials who understand and agree with their oath of office that they are supposed to be protecting our individuals rights by maintaining a limited and accountable government through the principles found within the US Constitution.
most of the time we'll be electing another typical bureaucrat, but there's really not much difference between them anyway, and all we have to do is oust their incumbent butt during the following election — that's a message for ya!
and voting straight party ticket is utter foolishness — that's what the establishment of tyranny wants us all to do! the elitists want to keep Americans divided into Red & Blue camps while they continue to rule over rather than serve US. so until we have a lot more "Ron Paul" types within government offices at all levels across America, we should try to enforce enforceable term limits.
• on to NC/WNC candidates...
(of course, NC ballots will vary according to location)
of course, there are occasionally exceptions to the vote-against-incumbents rule of thumb, most notably this time, i plan to vote
for the only Libertarian Party candidate on my ballot,
Michael Beitler for US Senate,
rather than voting against incumbent-Burr by casting my vote for Elaine Marshall. i realize that because we have
Plurality Voting (rather than
Score/Range Voting) i'll be "wasting my vote", however, i'm finding it too difficult to not support Beitler at this point.
i plan to vote for Jeff Miller for US House of Representatives District 11 because i'm voting against incumbent-Shuler. perhaps the next go around, we can elect Dr. Dan Eichenbaum in the primary and have a real liberty candidate representing WNC in Congress!
also for RL Clark for NC State Senate District 49 — again, voting against incumbent-Nesbitt.
for John Carroll for NC House of Representatives District 114 — against incumbent-Fisher.
IMPORTANT: for Bridget Odom for District Attorney District 28 — totally against 20-year-incumbent-Ron Moore!
for John Sutton for Clerk of Superior Court — against incumbent-Cogburn.
for Dickie Green for Buncombe county Sheriff — against incumbent-VanDuncan.
being that i know there to be several liberty minded individuals within the AVL Tea Party, i also seriously consider its recommendations (i think most are also non-incumbent challengers):
there are certainly other candidates on the ballot with whom i'm unfamiliar, so i asked around among my local liberty contacts.
i received the following information from a liberty minded friend of mine in our locality who i met during the Ron Paul campaign and was also very active in the Dr. Dan Eichenbaum campaign:
Regarding my selections, I used several sources, including personal conversations with some of the candidates, recommendations from others whose opinions I trust, researching cases they adjudicated, and the Civitas interviews of the IRV judges which are posted online at Civitas.
Supreme Court: Barbara Jackson (incumbent, currently serving on NC Court of Appeals) - I did original research by reviewing some of the cases she decided in recent years as a NC Appeals Court Judge. My understanding is that she would have a sympathetic ear if a case were brought before the NC Supreme Court challenging heavily gerrymandered districts in NC, and this could come before the court in 2011, as this is the census year when all NC House, NC Senate, and Congressional districts will be re-drawn.
Court of Appeals: Ann Marie Calabria (incumbent) - also did some research here and didn't find any important or high-profile cases. most of the cases handled by the court of appeals are rather mundane, and are decided 3-0. however, she is well-respected in the legal community, and has a solid conservative, non-activist judicial record.
Court of Appeals: Steven Walker (non-incumbent challenger) - young guy who hasn't practiced law as a private attorney (which concerned me at first; he clerked for a NC Supreme Court Justice for 5 years). Then I saw him on Dr. Dan's Freedom Forum and was impressed with his knowledge of the Constitution and maturity (for his young age).
Court of Appeals: Dean Poirier (non-incumbent challenger) - he was recommended by several people.
(bbc notes: and of course he's the non-incumbent challenger! also, i found him on a Cape Fear Tea Party Patriots site.)
Superior Court Judge (Buncombe County): Alan Thornburg (incumbent) - Thornburg is a moderate* Democrat who is running against liberal* Democrat, Kate Dreher, who according to several sources, was the chief prosecutor under Ron Moore who cut many weak deals with sex offenders and other criminals who hurt children. It is these deals (plea bargains) that upset Bridgette Odom to the point of running against Ron Moore for D.A. (*bbc notes: i hate those terms — i'll take it to read that Thornburg is less of an authoritarian tyrant than is Dreher.)
District Court Judge: John Jay Watson (non-incumbent challenger) - He is a conservative (*hate that term too! 8-), and a home school dad. He is also in private practice, never been a judge before, which I like. (bbc notes: and a non-incumbent challenger.)
District Court Judge: Moorefield (non-incumbent challenger) - no info here, other than voting against incumbent-Patricia Young, who is apparently occasionally called "Patty Melt" because she "melts down" in court.
Court of Appeals — IRV**:
1st - Daniel Garner - home school dad of 11 kids, honors NC & US Constitutions, wants to stop judicial activism on the left AND the right. didn't take any public funds to run his campaign, on principle. has an MBA in addition to his law degree. has been in private practice, worked as an appeals referee for the Employment Security Commission, and legal advisor to the NC Commissioner of Banking. very impressive guy.
2nd - Chris Dillon - also impressive, understands the Constitution.
3rd - Doug McCullough - solid conservative*. he is the firewall to stop a liberal* Democrat. (bbc notes: again, hate the terms — i'll read that as "classic conservative" and "contemporary liberal".)
Superior Court Judge (Buncombe County) — IRV**:
1st - Marvin Pope - conservative Democrat (non-incumbent for this seat, but has been a District Court Judge for a long time). has endorsement of Bob Orr, well-respected retired NC Supreme Court Justice. He lost the other Superior Court race in the primary to Thornburg and Dreher, but this seat became available with the late retirement of Judge Winner, making this an IRV race.
that's all folks!
8-)
bernard baruch carman
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