Manager's Message
Presidential Election Impacts Energy Future
One would have to be living in a vacuum to miss the fact that a Presidential election campaign is going on. While there are many issues to consider in choosing a President, both last month and this month we’ve presented the candidates’ positions on some of the issues important to rural electric cooperatives. Last month we presented an article on their positions on rural issues. This month we present one on the candidates’ positions on energy issues.
I hope you’ve taken the opportunity to study the candidates’ positions on these issues that affect rural America and rural electric cooperatives, as well as their positions on other issues of importance to you. If you’ve taken the trouble to inform yourself, I trust you intend to cast your vote, if you haven’t already done so.
Besides the Presidential candidates, all the candidates on the November ballot deserve your attention. I know, some of them may not have opponents, and hence you may question the value of casting a ballot in such a situation. That doesn’t mean you have to vote for a candidate if you don’t want to, even if they are the only one on the ballot for that position. There is a way to mark your ballot in such a way that you don’t have to cast a vote for a particular candidate if you don’t want to. If this is of concern to you, yet you’re not sure how to accomplish this, ask a knowledgeable friend or local election official prior to entering the polling place on election day.
Sometimes we take an election for granted, hoping in the end that all will be okay and the right person or issue being decided will prevail as the choice of the majority. In retrospect, we cannot always second guess what the majority opinion might be. To make certain your opinion of who to support is real, it is only recognized when you cast your vote.
American soldiers are dying in Iraq, in part, in hopes the United Nations can conduct secure elections for Iraq’s citizens in January. Wouldn’t it be a shame if a larger percentage of Iraq’s citizens go to the polls to vote in January, with the very real possibility of being attacked or killed, than the percentage of Americans who go to the polls on November 2nd? I think casting your vote on November 2nd is another way of showing your support for our troops. What a precious privilege we have.
Manager's Message
By Charles Castleberry