12.7%

A Memorial Day Post Primary Warning

“Article. I. Section. 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second year by the People of the several States….” — The Constitution of the United States of America June 21, 1788

Our Constitution was ratified by the 13 Colonies which became “the several states” following a long and bloody revolution against the most powerful nation in the world. The blood shed was substantial on both sides. It is estimated that 25,000 Americans lost their lives in securing their freedom and ours from Great Britain. Compared to other US fought wars 25,000 combat death appears to be a small number but it represented 1% of the population at that time. It is most likely a substantial underestimate.

The American Revolution was fought to secure freedom but also for the right of self-determination. No longer would American life be dictated by a king more than 4,000 miles away. From that point forward We The People would decide our own destiny because we could now vote on it. Over our history more than 2,620,000 American’s have been killed or wounded in combat. Most of those combat deaths and injuries were incurred in the course of securing our freedom. Some of our wars have been fought to secure the freedom of others.

The question that have to ask ourselves this Memorial Day is this: What have we done to honor those who gave their lives to secure our freedom, and our right to be self-determinant?

I want to focus on the black line which represents turnout in mid-term elections. Mid-term elections are far more important than we give them credit for because that is when We The People choose who will represent us in Congress. On the state level those men and and women are often our neighbors and our friends. They go to our church. Their children go to school with our children and when they’re home they shop where we shop and drive on the roads that we drive on.

Whether it is a federal election or a state election mid-terms are important. Once upon a time Americans understood that.

The graph that I included shows us that between 1836 and 1894 turnout for mid-term elections ranged from 60.3% to 70.8% of eligible voters but between 1936 and 2018 mid-term turnout ranged between only 46.6% and 50%.

The turnout in primary elections is worse. In Boone County, KY turnout for our 2024 primary election for state legislators was a dismal 12.7%.

Pundits will you that this to be expected because in Boone County the “Republican” regardless of who it is will win the general election so what motivation is there for “Republicans” to vote in a primary if its only important that the “R” wins. But in this primary where every office was contested it was a fight between Constitutional Conservatives and the special interests around the state particularly the hospital industry and those opposed to school choice. Case in point: the radical left Jefferson County Teachers Association (Louisville) dropped at least $110,000.00 into two races; in one C. Ed Massey attempted to regain a House seat he had previously lost and in the other Christoper Pavese attempted to unseat Marianne Proctor supporter of both school choice and the elimination of the Certificate of need.

Kim Poor Moser in neighboring Kenton County and the chairwoman of the powerful House Health Services Committee despite huge sums of money from the health care industry being dumped into her campaign, barely escaped defeat winning over Karen Campbell by a mere 84 votes.

While the margins of victory in the three Boone County races were generally 3.5:1 it is clear that money failed to buy House and Senate seats — this time. It is equally clear that money failed to ensure Kim Moser’s victory by her expected margin.

As I noted about turnout in this primary election in Boone County and across the Commonwealth was only 12.7% of eligible voters. Imagine what Ms. Campbell might have done if turnout was 20% or more. But what would have happened if turnout was only 10%? And what if the alleged Republican, Secretary of State Michael Adams got his way and instead of primaries in Kentucky being restricted by party affiliation they became open allowing Democrats to vote in Republican primaries?

“Something else that Adams sees in Kentucky’s future is open primaries, in which voters don’t have to be affiliated with a party to participate. Kentucky has closed primaries, meaning only registered voters of a political party can vote in that party’s primary. 

‘I do think it’s inevitable that we’re going to have open primaries. I think it’s just a matter of time.’ ”

Political parties are “clubs” with their own rules and their own ideologies. They are, in a way, similar to baseball and football teams.

I was born and raised in Chicago where the motto of both the Cubs and Bears should be “Wait till next year.” Each of those teams has an arch rival. The Cubs have the St. Louis Cardinals and the Bears have the Cheese Heads. Sorry, the Green Bay Packers. What if MLB or the NFL allowed the Cubs and Bears to decide who the Cards and Pack could draft? THAT is what an open primary is.

Adams doesn’t want open primaries to increase the vote. Adams wants open primaries to subvert the Constitutional Conservative movement and to placate the monied interests who have taken Kentucky and this country into a world of DEI, antisemitism, and the loss of medical and religious freedom — and even free speech.

Imagine what would happen if the Jefferson County Teachers Association OR the American Hospital Association not only dumped money into the Boone County primary contests but also held voter registration drives and provided “educational materials” explaining why a particular candidate who was the recipient of their wealth would be the better choice.

IF Mr. Adams truly wanted to increase voter participation then he would introduce a requirement for courses in civics and both the US and Commonwealth Constitutions into public school curricula at all levels.

Those 2,620,000 Americans killed and wounded did not give or risk their lives to have a basic freedom given away. These Iraqi’s understood what it meant to vote for the first time in their lives following the liberation of their country from a ruthless dictator. The purple ink was proof that they had voted.

It is well past time for us to remember why voting is a hard won right and a moral obligation that can only be met if we exercise that right at every opportunity.

Union, Kentucky

Memorial Day

27 May 2024