Voting Time is Near

I have read that up to one-third of the voters vote by absentee ballot. When we realize that less than one-half of the Americans who could vote, do vote, it is pretty discouraging. As a white male, I don’t get placed in any categories, like a soccer mom, and being over 60 from Wyoming, I pretty much get left alone during the national election, but that is ok by me.
    Three to four years ago, I wasn’t sure who I was going to vote for, but I knew who I wasn’t going voting for. My mind hasn’t changed. I guess that is one reason we don’t get a lot of national candidates roaming the state campaigning – we’re a red state with not too many voters. I would hate to live in a state like Ohio, Iowa or Florida where they see nothing but nonstop campaign ads.
    If you are undecided or wish to see the difference between our two candidates running for President, I encourage you to read the questionnaire conducted by the American Farm Bureau Federation with the two presidential candidates – Obama and Romney. Some of the topics discussed were energy, the Farm Bill, environmental fiscal policy, labor, taxes and trade.
    On the subject of energy, Obama didn’t mention coal but he did say, “Farmers and ranchers can increase our energy independence and boost the transition to a clean energy economy.”
    The Obama administration dislikes coal and considers natural gas a dirty fuel, too. We have bunches of those energy sources in Wyoming.
    Romney said he “had a vision for an America that is an energy superpower.” He wants to work with Canada and Mexico “to achieve energy independence on this continent by 2020.”
    They both promoted increased biofuels production.
    On the environment, Obama was asked about the EPA’s increasing encroachment on state’s authority, in the context or regulating water quality. His answer was, “Now there is a lot of misinformation out there about changes to clean water standards. We are not going to be applying standards to waters that have not been historically protected.”
    Romney answered the same question, saying, “Government oversight is, of course, crucial to the protection of our environment. But statues and regulations that were designed to protect public health and the environment have instead been seized on by environmentalists as tools to disrupt economic activity and the enjoyment of our nation’s environment altogether. Repetitive reviews and strategic lawsuits should not be allowed to endlessly delay progress or force the government into imposing rules behind closed doors that it would not approve in public.”
    Both candidates supported farm trade, but Romney said he wanted America to be “food independent.”
    On other issues, President Obama supported to extend tax incentives for wind and wanted farmers and ranchers to help with a clean energy economy and to support renewable energy.
    Romney said, “American agriculture needs relief from the Obama Administration’s crushing onslaught of unnecessary regulations,” “A renewed focus on opening new markets and a pro-growth tax policy that encourages investment and recognizes that death should not be a taxable event.”
    Well, choose your next president.
        Dennis