The Right Reasons

 

A Kiss From A Rose

Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey
Ooh, the more I get of you, stranger it feels, yeah
And now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey.

Before I give you my rose, are you here for the right reasons?

Some rules of thumb which I generally follow when I enter the voting booth, if I do not know the candidate. They are actually identical to the rules of thumb if I do know the candidate. A candidate for office is supposed to represent me to the group. I want someone who is for truth, justice, and the American Way. By that I mean that someone who acknowledges the truth; acts for justice for the group, not for himself; and promotes inclusion in the group (America is known for being a melting pot.).

A plus for being a woman and/or a member of a traditionally excluded group.

Women and others have too long been excluded from the group. Being a woman or a minority member does not mean that you aren’t in favor of exclusion (e.g. Ann Coulter, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Peter Thiel, Clarence Thomas, and Tim Scott) but hopefully you will be more sensitive to those who have traditionally been excluded.

A plus for being rich.

I do not think that the rich are smarter than others in the group. I just think that they have a higher price than anyone else, e.g. they have more to lose if they act for themselves and not for the group, and have a higher price such that only when the bribe is enormous will they act for themselves and not the group. The self-made rich are usually think first of themselves, but this may not be true of their descendants. That means I will give points to the descendants of the Kennedy, Roosevelts, and Rockefellers. E.g. Joseph Kennedy, Senior? No. John F. Kennedy? Yes.

A plus for being a veteran, a member of a non-profit, a teacher, etc.

I want someone who will act for the group, not for themselves. Veterans, Doctors Without Borders, Peace Corps volunteers, teachers, etc. have demonstrated that they place the interests of the group over themselves.

A minus for being a celebrity

I expect the Peter Principle to apply, that being good in one job does not mean that you will be good in another job. Being a great football coach does not mean that you will be a great senator. (E.g. Tommy Tuberville)

A minus for being in any form of show business.

I have to trust the positions that are, and will be, supported by the candidate. The art of show business is learning the art of distraction, the razzle dazzle, which means I can’t trust the stated position. That means I won’t vote for a Jane Fonda or an Al Franken, but I also won’t vote for a Ronald Reagan, Doctor Oz, or Donald Trump.

A minus for attending a top school.

This sounds counter intuitive. I attended a top school. Shouldn’t I want someone like me to represent me? Don’t I trust myself? (Uh…not really!). Attending a top school might mean that the person wanted to get the best instruction, but it also could mean that the person is merely doing resumé padding. I attended classes at the Wharton School while at UPenn, but Donald Trump, Donald Trump Junior, Ivanka Trump, and Elon Musk also all also graduated from Wharton.

A minus for being divorced.

Yes, I realize that there are people in unsuccessful marriages and those people are perfectly justified in getting a divorce. However when they married, they took an oath that they would be in that marriage forever. A successful candidate will also be asked to take an oath to support the group. That is an oath that I don’t want them to break.

The candidate who has a higher point total than their opponents, is the one who will probably get my vote. To use a line from one of my wife’s favorite shows, I want to give my rose to a person who is there for the right reasons.