Back to government class

I don't want to alarm anybody, but there is more than one political election this November. \nNow, calm down. I don't want any of you to suffer from a mental overload with this new information. But, I think it is important for you to know. \nFor those of you still not catching on, we don't just vote for president. But, if I didn't know any better, I would assume from the talk of everyone from fellow students to big-time media muckrakers that the only race that matters is the one for the White House.\nConstantly, I hear people tell me about how they are not going to vote for President Bush because they disagree with "his" No Child Left Behind Act and "his" Patriot Act. I am amazed when I hear this because I was not aware that the president could unilaterally pass legislation. (Oh yeah ... he can't!)\nWhile both pieces of legislation were supported and eventually signed into law by the president, both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives had to pass them. In order to pass such laws, a majority in both the Senate and House is required. The No Child Left Behind Act in 2001 was passed 381-41 in the House and 87-10 in the Senate. Earlier that same year, the Patriot Act passed 357-66 in the House and 98-1 in the Senate. Boy, those don't sound like Bush's acts anymore.\nMaybe most Americans still don't understand the way our government really works, but if they do, they sure don't act like it. I think it is time for most Americans to take a trip back to their high school government classes. \nEvery once in a while, I ask friends and classmates to tell me the names of their elected officials. I am never surprised when many of them can't do it.\nWhile most can tell me the name of our Governor (Democrat Joe Kernan), they can't name either of our Senators (Republican Dick Lugar and Democrat Evan Bayh). And the stats usually get worse the closer to home we get. While I wouldn't be surprised if the average IU-Bloomington student knew the name of the Mayor of Bloomington (Democrat Mark Kruzan), I am almost positive they could not name their city councilman. Mine is Democrat Michael Diekhoff (but even I had to look that up). \nClearly I'm not a know-it-all. It is important for all people to know and understand this information. Even the elected officials lower on the traditional political hierarchal scale -- mayors and councilmen, for instance -- have quite a bit of power. You smokers should know. After all, it was the Bloomington City Council that decided to ban smoking in all public restaurants and, soon, bars. \nMore people need to vote. This is an obvious conclusion. But those who do vote need to do so with knowledge of all candidates, not just those running for major offices, like the presidency. \nThis year, in addition to the presidential race, there will be a U.S. Senate race, a race for nine U.S. House seats, a gubernatorial race and several Indiana General Assembly races, as well as a myriad of smaller office races. There are also several general questions on the ballot, including three proposed amendments to the Indiana state constitution. \nFind out about all candidates running for all offices and decide from that information who gets your vote. Don't know where to get the info? Project Vote Smart, at www.vote-smart.org, is a great place to start. The site provides varied and comprehensive database of information about most candidates for most offices.\nGet ready to vote by researching candidates now. And if you get to the booth Nov. 2 still unaware and uninformed (or even narrowly informed of only the president), you will simply be as stupid as many think President Bush is.