Author: R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D.

Let’s face reality. There are no perfect candidates running for office in any election. Never have been; never will be. That being the case, voters need to be sure to focus on what really matters when selecting a candidate. If we don’t, we will find ourselves victims of propaganda and so-called “dirty politics” attempting to appeal to factors that are not the most important. People making decisions can do so based on reason or emotions. We can only survive as a country if our decisions are based on reason not emotions.

Take as an example, Donald Trump. He is a candidate that could not be better known as to how he will perform in office since we already have his first term to judge him by. We know how he will deal with critical issues such as the economy, energy, the border, and foreign threats and wars. Even so, most of the people who are opposed to Trump when asked why, almost always criticize his style, personality, brashness, or past personal behavior. When asked what he did while president that was not good for the country, rarely if ever, does the person opposing Trump cite any action that was detrimental to America. Now this focus on issues other than actions and promised actions is exactly what the Democrats and others that attack a candidate want us to do. That is what is behind all the coordinated lawsuits and bogus charges being brought against Trump. As well as the attempts to distract him and ruin him financially.

Another example is Mark Robinson. The recent attacks against him have absolutely nothing to do with his platform and the actions he will take if elected governor. They are all focused on his past alleged behavior, all of which supposedly occurred many years ago and have nothing to do with his ability to lead North Carolina in a conservative direction. These personal attacks, which the Democrats are famous for, appeal not to reason but to emotions. They do not want to discuss the issues, because most voters do not agree with the leftist/Marxist agenda that the Democrats are increasingly supporting: like indoctrination of school students, transgender sport activities, mutilation of children, the war against fossil fuels, supporting illegal aliens with taxpayer funding, and higher taxes.

Unfortunately, our modern system of emails and other electronic communications potentially records everything a person says or does. Artificial intelligence allows duplicating a person’s voice. Should an alleged comment by a person made twenty years ago be used to disqualify a person from office? Are any of us so perfect that we have nothing in our past that we regret saying or doing? The very people who want to destroy Mark Robinson are the same who want us to believe that Kamala Harris now supports a border wall, protecting your gun rights, supporting the police, and expanding energy production including fracking.

Voters need to stay focused on what matters: the actions the candidate will take when in office on the key issues that matter. Allowing ourselves to be distracted by personal attacks on things that do not matter is exactly what the political left hopes we will do. Your choice, don’t blow it.