Not blue, red or whatever color independents claim

Published 10:03 pm Monday, October 26, 2026

I am not a fan of politics. I put politics in the category of “Necessary Evil,” and I also resist being identified exclusively with any political party, no matter how pretty their color scheme may be. Sometimes, however, like now, with everything that is going on with the current batch of politicians , one party has made it much easier to choose between them in this election.

I have always tried to vote for candidates that I believe represent the American values I grew up with, regardless of party, and I seldom vote straight-ticket. This November however I feel it is imperative to replace as many of those politicians who are associated with a party bent on destroying both the Constitution and the United States of America. We can do that at the ballot box.

The political maps they show on TV today show red, blue, and even purple colored states, which are supposed to indicate the party that state favors, but I personally have no permanent color, and I hope the voters are colorblind when they enter the voting booth this November, and vote based on what their eyes and ears are telling them is happening to our country.

I have voted for both Democrats, and Republicans in the past, and I even considered voting for Ross Perot, the Presidential candidate of the Reform Party in 1992, before he made a lot of missteps at the end of his campaign. I guess that proves we can all make mistakes.

I voted for Bill Clinton, a democrat in that race. I also voted for Jimmy Carter, a Democrat in 1976, a man who proved he was a good Christian man who cared about people all his life. My respect never wavered for Jimmy Carter the man; the problem was however, that he was too naive to be President; something he showed when he mishandled the Iran hostage crisis during his time in office. He also proved it when he was shocked that Leonid Brezhnev the Russian leader at that time lied to him when he promised he would not invade Afghanistan; then, of course he did; just as most foreign policy experts at the time knew would happen.

Carter was also convinced by his “ Energy Czar” James Schlesinger that the world would run out of oil very soon. It was a wrong prediction that Carter embraced that led to energy policies that led to gasoline shortages, which led to higher prices and long lines at the gas pumps, something many of us will remember.

I chose Ronald Reagan, a Republican, over Carter in the next election for all those reasons. Now I believe current events prove that today’s Congress and this administration are as inept at foreign, and domestic policies as Carter was back then. There is still time for people who may be confused by all the political rhetoric to do a little research of their own, so that when they vote it is an informed vote, not one based on what some talking head on TV, or some columnist says.

Every election, we hear people on both sides saying it is the most important one we have ever had, and if we don’t vote for their party, all will be lost. While we may have dismissed that as political rhetoric in the past, this election it is important that we ask ourselves before we vote: can our Country and the Constitution survive the status quo much longer? I, for one, am not willing to take that chance, so at least for this election, color me blue.

Jack Miller is a longtime Sedalia resident and former radio news reporter.