Indiana will hold its primary elections May 5 - unless our system is dead, and w/Cap’n Clueless at the helm, that is a possibility. IF: you live in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District (INCD5), your vote can make a difference.
Indiana’s primaries: quasi-open. A registered voter may request the ballot of either major party and vote. A voter overcomes challenge as a “real” R or D if s/he says s/he voted for a majority of the party’s nominees in the last election or promises to vote for a majority of the nominees in November. I.C. §§ 3-1-10-6 and -9.
Of course, it is illegal to offer something of value in return for a vote - vote for at least ½ of our party’s candidates and we’ll let you vote. And under Indiana law no one can ask who you voted for in a previous election.
Then again, these statutes were written by, and for the benefit of, the two “major” political parties. It’s highly probable that by May 5 the Dems’ candidate for Pres will be solid. Down ballot I’m the only INCD5 candidate who says trump (& Pence) are awful.
I’m pro-choice: Roe v Wade recognizes a woman’s right to choose, was written by a GOP justice, explains abortion historically was legal, and is good law. I am pro-environment: we want our clean air and clean water back.
I’m anti-war: military-on-steroids makes us less secure and robs money from infrastructure. We should adhere to The Constitution and require war be declared to commit troops anyplace. On finance, we should ban TIFs, and subsidies to sports and private businesses.
I’m pro-gun control: limit how many guns one person can own, ban assault weapons clips with more than 5 rounds, and enhance background checks. Also: repeal the Dickey and the Tiahrt Amendments so the CDC can have peer review studies of gun violence.
I’m anti-theocracy: ours is a multi-cultural society. All religious beliefs should be protected and none should control our government. On “law and order”: we need to ban private correctional corporations and we should legalize all drugs.
We must protect civil rights. People did not die so that racists could wipe away the gains brought by decades of struggle. We need to protect our voting rights. Russia - and other countries - are hacking us now. We have to stop them.
In health care we rank 37th in the World - and all but one of the 36 ahead of have variations on socialized medicine. Whether we call it Medicare for all, what Congress gets or single payor, it’s the same. We can pay for it with the cuts of the military budget.
We gave trillions to bail out big banks. The banks gave their execs bonuses with that money. We should wipe out the $1.8 trillion in student loans - mostly held by big banks. That will boost the economy.
I am a lawyer. I represented plaintiffs who tried to nullify the result of the 2016 election at the United States Supreme Court. I also believe comprehensive immigration reform means we try to keep people here.
Finally, you should not say OMG a Repub! Yes - I am running in the GOP. Please read my blogs & posts of last few weeks. We can’t abandon ½ of the 2-party system to ignorance, bigotry & hatred.
There are over a dozen other candidates in the GOP primary, each trying to out-trump and out-Jesus the other. They’re fighting for the same block of voters. If enough people cross over or vote for the first time in a primary as GOP: do the math.
Tea baggers jacked the GOP in 2010. They even were a minority then. Just because they were successful doesn’t mean the party is theirs forever.
If you live in INCD5 and eligible, please make sure you’re registered to vote. Any voter can request a GOP primary ballot. We face a constitutional crisis. The GOP has to be taken back from the minority that jacked it a few years ago.
My name is Mark Small. I am a GOP candidate from the nomination for U.S. House District 5. I am pro-choice, pro-environment, anti-war and anti-dt. I approve of this blog. Hell, I wrote it.