How many times must we see the same results before we wake up as Americans? Losing good, principled candidates in the primaries will continue to occur until ALL those interested in freedom, liberty, and limited government stand together against the political class, this includes the "liberty and conservative groups"  In this article we will once again bring out points we should have learned from in prior election years as they apply to some of the early primaries, but also those upcoming primaries.  These are a lot of the reasons we end up having to vote for the "lesser of two evils" in the general elections.

Primary Experiences:  

1. Voter Apathy - at best 15% of registered voters turning out for the election
2. Voter Indoctrination - both major political parties have "educated" voters on what is a viable candidate
3. Voters with No Skin in the Game - these voters have not donated time, money, or any other resource  
4. Failing to Get Out the Vote - due to divisions by party, race, and many other issues failing to register or get out the vote in the community (speaking to the choir)
5. Establishment Backed Opponents - control issues and divisions based on voter and activist indoctrination allow the political parties to further divide thereby splitting the vote in the primaries
6. Establishment Money - knowing the grassroots will split their efforts and resources, the establishment then brings in heavy money and moves to more conservative messaging to push their candidates through the primary regardless of voting record or reality

 Voter Apathy

What are the reasons for voter apathy? There are several reasons, but let us start with the most common reason we all hear, "Why should I vote when it doesn't count and nothing changes"?  The simple answer is that if we don't vote nothing is going to change or things are going to get worse.  That is exactly how we have gotten to where we are.  Apathy meant that if we voted at all, we only listened to talking points and didn't really know who we were voting for. Apathy meant we took a political party and our media at their word and trusted they had completed a thorough vetting of the candidates and were speaking the truth.  Apathy meant that after the elections were over we weren't watching to ensure they were staying within boundaries of our U.S. Constitution, or sound fiscal policy, or even that they were trying to find ways to limit government intrusion.  Therefore, none of these things were accomplished by our representatives.

Voter Indoctrination

In order for the political class to maintain control of the people, especially after the liberty groups began applying pressure through the election cycles, the politcal parties had to change tactics to ensure they maintained relevance.  There were several tactics used to ensure liberty groups began becoming dysfunctional in elections and they all had to do with misinformation dissemination to ensure liberty groups lost focus on the goals when also used with the desire to maintain control and relevance by the leaders of those liberty groups in their areas.  This misinformation includes, but is not limited to:

• A candidate is not viable if they don't have thousands of dollars on hand when they file
• It is impossible to win a campaign unless you have the ability to outspend your opponent
• Since the Democrats/Republicans are failing to listen to you, we are your only other choice
• You must vote for the lesser of the two evils or risk worse happening
• Even though we have declared War on you in the press and we haven't listened to you so far, we want you to have a seat at the table
• The people who want freebies are the reason we keep losing elections
• We have to become more moderate and politically correct in order to win elections because that is what people want

Each and every one of these things is an untruth. Those things only occur when we all cannot put aside a few differences or ego and get behind one solid principled candidate.

Voters with No Skin in the Game

Although we hate to point this out, this is becoming a lot of the voters who belong to liberty groups and organizations. "Prove to me you are going to win or can win" seems to be the way most are thinking now.  These voters will also grab on to anyone of principles or appears to be for the moment.  How do candidates get into office without at least some resources? How do things change without the help of those who are seeking a return to our freedom and liberty?  The answer to both questions is that they don't.  If you aren't willing to put in the work to KNOW your candidates or to get them elected, you will get exactly what you are asking for.....nothing.  Even the organizations you claim to support need time, effort, and yes...money.  None of the tools are free ie: websites, conferencing, meetings, etc. Your efforts can accomplish goals, but your lack of effort won't accomplish anything except your ability to say you belong to an organization. Each person can do something, even if it's just forwarding emails to others, applying yourself to social media, or talking to people in a grocery store line.

Failing To Get Out the Vote

Our country has become a place we never expected to see. One where people are afraid to talk to anyone else, especially when it comes to politics. However, if we all are going to accomplish the goals we have set forth, we are going to have to leave our comfort zones. For the primary elections, this means you are going to have to talk to all people in the political party you belong to and sometimes actually oppose what they are saying. It also requires registering people to vote, even if they register to the opposing party.  We know that is hard for some to do, but just think about like minded people registering to the opposing party. What would that accomplish? Both parties have the same issues. Both parties are basically choosing your general election candidate (more on this later) in the primary election. Both parties have told their voters they don't care about them. Almost ALL representatives from all levels of government (both parties) have shown the American people they will do what they want, even when WE don't want them to or when it harms us and our ability to make decisions for our families or even find jobs.  We MUST do better when it comes to getting people out to vote!!

Establishment Backed Opponents

This seems to be the newest tool of the establishment. We saw this in several states, including VA, NC, OH. We are seeing it in many more. Any activist or liberty group leader needs to be paying attention during the election cycle. Use some method to Vet all candidates, look into their funding and campaign staff. Who is behind the scenes helping them? What are their associations? Let's show one example from NC in the Senate races. Both the Republican and Democrat primaries had more than two candidates. Although in the Democrat primary it wouldn't have mattered, the Republican primary had the citizen endorsed candidate (Greg Brannon) and the most other candidates in the race.  Here is where we get into numbers:

Results 1 - All Senate

Thom Tillis was the establishment pick and was even working with Karl Rove.  Mark Harris was encouraged to run by the former Chairman of the North Carolina State GOP who is known for his Progressive tendencies. Moreover, that same person was at minimum advising the campaign, if not actually campaign staff.  All the others we assume were running for their own reasons and I'm sure it was just because they are as fed up with Washington DC as the rest of us. For this article however, we will only focus on Mark Harris and Heather Grant as those two and their supporters are who we are familiar with.  Those voting for the third and fourth place candidate are conservative voters who more than likely are also Constitution and/or fiscally responsible based on information obtained by our teams on the ground in NC.  If they had not stayed in the race and put support behind the other candidate with their values, Greg Brannon would have won the primary. Instead, NC will be faced with choosing one Progressive over another.  

Results 2 - Boots on the Ground for Brannon

In this next illustration, you can see what difference citizens can make when they are more solidly behind one candidate.  In this county, Brannon actually won the primary because the citizens were involved.  They were everywhere within the county. Every event, every door, every phone number, and neighbors and friends. Again, the split would have been even further, had those other two candidates not stayed in the race.  This is why citizens must be engaged and empowered in the election cycle.

Results 3 - The Picture gets Worse

We put these results out due to the number of voters.  What was amazing to us is the numbers of voters actually dropped when it came to the House of Representatives and State or local seats. We had to ask ourselves, why would you be in a voting booth, vote for the U.S. Senate, then not vote on any other race? Again, it appears to be voter apathy and/or indoctrination.  Let us make this very clear for the readers....EVERY SEAT AT EVERY LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT IS VITAL FOR THE SAKE OF OUR NATION.

Establishment Money

Once the establishment of either party knows they are effectively splitting the efforts in a district, they begin using establishment based PAC's and political consultants to bring in money and change messaging to appear to be more focused on freedom and liberty.  Sadly, to the uninformed, misinformed, or those who have been indoctrinated by the political parties they buy into those untrue talking points even when the voting records show exactly who they are.  For the political parties, this is a winning strategy they can repeat every election cycle until citizens finally realize the power of standing together through the entire election cycle.

Conclusion

Whether through iCaucus or not, all organizations and citizens need to begin to work toward the same goals.  We need to stop allowing the political class to divide us by any means they have at our disposal.  Every one must stand without FEAR and communicate with some who are outside their comfort zones. Without this happening, elections will continue to be lost and with it our hope for a bright future. What will you do?