Registered to vote?

Are you registered to vote in the early-2008 elections?

You must register by January 8, 2008, if you wish to vote. We have a privilege – a right – in the country that many in the world do not have. You get to go to the polls and vote for the candidate of your choice. And you have a choice – well, most of the time.

In McHenry County you may not have a choice, but that’s because too many major offices are uncontested. NO major political office should ever go uncontested. N-O major office.

And you get to go to the polls and not worry about who will be waiting for you when you exit the polling place. All freedom. No fears.

But to vote you have to be registered.

If you don’t register, you give up your right to vote. And then someone else makes the decisions for you.

If you have moved since the last election for which you were registered, you must re-register. It’s simple. It’s easy. Go to 667 Ware Road or go to the DMV, next door to Office Depot and Aldi’, right here in Woodstock.

This year be sure to study the information about the candidates for office. When you show up at the voting booth, have your notes with you. Know who is running and know for whom you will vote.

My dad used to say that he always voted for the best man, as long as he was a Republican. Maybe there really was a day when that could be said and mean something. Certainly not today.

I personally am so sick of the state of the Republican Party that I can hardly see straight on some days. And I’m no Democrat, either. Libertarian? Maybe, just not registered as one. Independent?

It’s a crying shame that this country cannot field politicians who put the country first. The cost of political elections makes me think that candidates are merely investors. They bankroll huge war chests and then treat them like their personal piggy banks. Do they still get to keep the change when they leave office?