Policy? What policy?

VIEWPOINT

By RALPH HARDIN

Evening Times Editor

Quick, where does Kamala Harris stand on funding for Ukraine? What is Donald Trump’s plan for improving education in the U.S.? What does Tim Walz have in mind for health care, Social Security or immigration? Does J.D. Vance want to reduce or increase our role in Central and South America?

These are all things that might mater very much to us over the next four years, but I’d be willing to bet actual money that 90% of you reading this could not answer any of those questions.

Why? Because even though things like international relations and the cost of living are super relevant to everyone, the only thing that seems to matter to most American viters these days is whether the candidates have a little (R) or a little (D) next to their names on the ballot.

Oh, sure, there a few hot-button issues that people readily iden-

See VIEWPOINT, page A5 VIEWPOINT

From page A4

tify with, like abortion, immigration, LGBTQ rights, climate change… but how much time can we spend on these issues?

Forget about where you personally stand on abortion.

How much time and money has been spend on that single issue, by both sides? I’m not saying it’s important but when we see so much time being used to debate and discuss one issue, so many other issues go unaddressed.

Vote for whoever you like — that’s how America works, but maybe it’s worth slowing down before you vote a straight Democratic ticket or a straight Republican ticket and think about who you’re supporting. And maybe more importantly why you’re supporting them.

There are many more things at stake than than the issues that garner the most clicks on social media or make for good sound bites on the news.

I thought I had found a reason to like both J.D. Vance and Tim Walz — they both like Mountain Dew. But then I found out that they both drink Diet Mountain Dew, so now I may have to vote Libertarian.