I can’t stand it anymore.  I open the paper, turn on the television, the radio, or pick up the telephone and I am bombarded with campaign ads. And I assume this can only get worse after Labor Day as we head in to the home stretch towards the election in November.

In the last election for the president 75 million eligible Americans chose not to vote.  That is roughly 36% of our eligible voting population. This year every House seat and 33 senate seats are open, in addition to the Presidency.  The next set of elected officials will be making decisions about our health care, social security, Medicare, and Medicaid programs that could affect all of us.

value of voting

I might be crabbing now about the deluge of political campaign advertising that is invading my life but as my kids so aptly say “put up or shut up”.  I guess that applies to me.

It is time for me to get down to business and research the candidates, figure out who are the best people I want to elect into office and then go and vote. This may be a very close election for many of the positions currently open.   Al Franken finally won his seat in the Senate by 312 votes, nearly 8 months of recounting the ballots and a court Challenge.

Each of us has the right to choose who makes the decisions that run this country.  No matter who we are, our vote counts.  Value your vote. Get out there and do it.  Then we can celebrate a period of time when there will be no campaign ads,  until the next election cycle.