Six Ways to Gain My Vote

Howard Roark, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Nov 2, 2007 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

A candidate has to stand by what he believes in, even if some disagree. All too often you see politicians say one thing and then when the political waters get rough they quickly change their stance on the issues. I know we all hear the phrase "flip-flopper" overused and very old, but it is important that you have confidence the the official that you elect to do what you elected him for. You don't want to elect an anti-war candidate and have him go militant. You want to be able to read the news and know what your president will most likely do about a situation, not cross your fingers and hope.

A candidate has to be strong. We need a candidate who is strong, and can lead without falter in the toughest of times. But most importantly the candidate must be strong enough to uphold our constitution and our civil liberties before all else. The candidate must be prepared and strong enough to resist taking certain powers that they were never intended to have.

A candidate must represent the people. Often times we see our elected officials neglecting the people and doing things that represents the United States of America. But aren't we forgetting that we the people are more important than the state? Isn't our country founded upon oppression and resistance to too much government? We have elected officials who are making decisions that only benefit the government at the expense of the people. Officials are electing to represent the people, don't take away our rights or our liberties to protect your office.

A candidate must be educated. This one almost goes without saying. But if we are stressing so much emphasis on education and other issues, you should at least walked those shoes so you know what kind of shape our education system is in. Besides a general education please be at least educated on the issues, I am sure we all have had our share of laughs watching candidates dodge issues in debates because they don't know them.

A candidate must be accountable. Often times mistakes are always made and people are always willing to give leeway for mistakes, but it has been a long time since I have heard an elected official take responsibility for anything. If a mistake is made they usually try to find ways to justify and continue making the same mistake hoping that maybe your faulty plan still might work somehow. If you know you were wrong, maybe we might appreciate it more if you correct the problem and move on.

A candidate has to have respect for our constitution. We all know it, we all see it. The constitution is more and more just becoming guidelines instead of strict law. When it comes to individuals who break the law we get put in jail for it, when congress goes around the constitution, everyone looks the other way. There is a bill that gets proposed every year in congress that would require any congressman who wants to propose legislation has to cite where in the constitution they get the power to do whatever it is they want to propose, that bill doesn't ever get through rules committee. We need a new generation of politicians that respect the constitution like we used to back when we actually used it.

Published by Howard Roark

I grew up in Southern Utah, graduated from highschool in 2005, currently attending the University of Utah majoring in Economics. View profile