LTE: Your Vote is Your Voice

I am an independent voter. I do not belong to either political party. I care deeply about the issues that face our country. I care about the kind of future our children will have. I pay attention ... maybe too much. There are days I simply can't handle hearing the news anymore. I swear to myself I will turn off the radio, turn off the TV, stop reading the papers — stop the noise. I try, but it's there. It is louder than ever. The noise is everywhere.

I cannot sit quietly on the sidelines anymore.

"We the People" (that means all of us) need to unite. We need to support getting $$$ out of politics. Our democracy, our way of life, can only succeed when the Peoples' voice can be heard over the CORPORATIONS who are spending billions to sway our vote. It is surreal to see the lies and hypocrisy being spewed by the GOP and their corporate backers. These people do not represent Republican values. They represent greed and opportunism. Their goal? To forward their best interests ($$) — not the Peoples'. They stop at nothing. They target anyone or anything that gets in their way.

Don't believe me. Follow the money trail and see for yourself - Billions being spent by corporate giants (Koch brothers, Karl Rove, Wall Street/Banks, Insurance Industry, Oil Industry, Super PACS, etc.). Billions being spent to lie, to bash, to misrepresent, to distort. Billions being spent to bash our president. Billions being spent to bash policies that are in our best interests, and distort the facts. Billions being spent to make you fear, make you hate, or perhaps plant just enough doubt, so that when you walk into that voting booth you're theirs. Do you think these guys really have YOUR best interests in mind?

What can we do? Arm ourselves with knowledge. Get the facts. Do your own independent research (not "FOX NEWS" owned by corporate giant Rupert Murdoch ... check out "outfoxed"). There are numerous independent news sources available. There are also websites like politifact.com where you can quickly and easily decipher fact from fiction when it comes to political claims. Snopes.com allows you to verify the credibility of those annoying political emails we all get (the majority are false).

Watch the presidential debates. Hear what the candidates have to say for yourself. Make your own judgment. If all else fails, follow the money trail (www.vpap.org and http://www.fec.gov/). Those with the biggest wallets, can buy the biggest influence. They are also the ones we need to be most suspect of.

We can not compete against the billions of dollars being spent by Corporations, but we can VOTE. They can buy influence. They can attempt to sway public perception, but Corporations can't walk into that voting booth.

Your vote is your voice. Use it.

Ann Jansen