A little while ago, Dana Loesch and I were both getting ready to speak at a rally.  It always helps to process politics with others to broaden our perspective.

After 15 hours of working at the polls, I was pleasantly awakened late Tuesday night by a friend, Marie Lasater, who called to tell me she just beat a 20 year incumbent to win her election as County Coroner.  What a week of surprises!  Here are a few takeaways:

1.)  Don’t believe polls.  The only poll that counts is the one taken on election day when the ballots are counted.

2.)  Although both Hillary and her VP running mate blamed a part of her loss on her being a woman, don’t believe that for one minute.  Plenty of women, myself included, have run and won as women.  It’s not her gender that cost her the election.  It was her policies, e-mail and Benghazi scandals and condemnation of those who are on the middle to right end of the political spectrum.

Every election is an opportunity to exert our influence, yet one thing is sure…regardless of the outcome, the earth will continue to spin, most people will wake up and will go to school and work, the banks and the stock market will still be open and we will be able to listen to the TV and radio once again without having to hear all those annoying and adversarial political ads.

If you voted for a candidate whose number 1 priority is to protect and defend the Constitution, and can honestly say, “so help me, God”, you did your part to make a difference.  If you voted against giving more of your neighbor’s hard earned dollars to governmental bureaucracies, you made a difference.  If you voted for more personal responsibility and less socialism, you made a difference.  We may not be able to control the outcome, but we can have some satisfaction from knowing we engaged in the battle.  

So much of the press has revolved around the presidential election, but there are many more decisions coming up in November.

We have all felt the surprise of going to vote and being confronted suddenly with questions we never studied ahead of time.  To save you the time and trouble, I have analyzed the ballot questions and offer this as a guide for those who share our values:

Amendment # 1  Conservation Tax — We always vote against taxes.  This is a sales tax.  They have enough of our hard earned money already.  Voting against this extension will allow for greater accountability from the Department of Conservation.  I’m Voting No.

With all the mud-slinging between the presidential candidates, I want to offer some comfort.  The November election is not about the presidential candidates.  In November, we are actually voting for the electors from a political party.  In the August primary, we vote for the person we want for the nominee.  By the November election we vote for the the political party’s slate of electors.  The political parties are putting forth their candidates to showcase their philosophical differences.

The biggest surprise of all these October surprises is gullibility and malleability of the voters.  These negative reports are effective at bringing down the popularity of the candidates.  As long as it works, expect to see more.  Sadly, by the end of the election, the result will be less voter turnout for anyone.  People don’t like feeling like they just helped the candidate who was “twice the son of perdition” get into his position.

A lot of people are asking me about the Presidential Election.  If we had a more honorable Congress and judiciary, it would make less of a difference who is in the White House. Those on the left end of the political spectrum believe the same thing.  The power of the White House depends on the the other two branches.

Some are saying the Republic will go down if the wrong person gets elected.   All three branches of government are dysfunctional.  Worse than that, none can be made functional again without a correction in the hearts of the voters.  We have to start by admitting we have a problem.  Then we need a desire to correct the problem.

My daughter, who is on a left-leaning college campus, asked for my take on all these race riots.  I don’t remember a time, nor does she, when things have been worse in our lifetimes.  The best part about studying history is that it allows us the perspective we so desperately need to understand how to interpret the events we are watching today.

With all the talk about the rioting and looting and shootings, there are valid reasons to feel pessimistic about the direction we are heading.  However, this week we talk with William J. Federer about our reasons for hope.  Our Nation is peppered with stories from the past of how previous generations overcame similar situations.

I am so grateful to have known Phyllis Schlafly.  She was one of the few political activists who notices what people stand for and couldn’t’t be suckered by slick talk.  She had a keen ability to sniff out truth and “say it like it is”.  So many activists and lobbyists get caught up in the popularity contests and money contests they end up forgetting what path they were on when they started.

The picture above was taken after our event, “A Conservative Roll Call”.  It was a tremendous honor to have Phyllis come give the keynote speech and support me.  I especially enjoyed our conversation in the car on the way there as we reflected on all the parallels in our lives.  Phyllis is proof that one does not need to hold a public office to make a substantial difference in the political landscape.