T Minus 80 Days...

Yes, just 80 days to the General Election. One of the things Solid Libertarian candidates struggle against is the "wasted vote syndrome". Many people tell me that they like what I stand for, and they like Libertarians, but they are afraid that it would be a wasted vote.

My campaign manager, Rob Place, ran for Noblesville City Council in 2003. Many people told him this, and yet he got 43%. If all the people who tole him they were afraid of wasting their vote did cast it for Rob, he would be the Councilor today. In fact, those who believed in Rob and voted for the other candidate, or didn't vote at all- those are the people who wasted their votes. They could have had what they wanted!

In addition to my platform positions on Secretary of State issues, I stand for lower taxes, smaller budgets, and less intrusive government in most areas of life.

If it seems that the other parties talk about these things, they do. They talk. But actions matter. Republicans and Democrats act to create higher taxes, larger budgets, and bring ever more intrusive government into every area of life. They work together to ensure their comfortable re-elections.

If you are dissatisfied with government, just remember that it is the creation of Republicans and Democrats, and their ideas- higher taxes and spending; government that intrudes into your personal life; government that doesn’t respect your right to your property.

Voting Republican & Democrat resulted in the mess we have today. Voting Republican or Democrat will only make things worse. You can’t change things by doing the same thing over and over.

People sometimes tell me they would like to vote Libertarian, but they are afraid of wasting their vote. There are a lot of wasted votes every year.

Any time someone wanted lower taxes and less spending, and voted Republican, they wasted their vote.
Any time someone wanted less intrusive government and wider civil liberties, and voted Democrat, they wasted their vote.

There is a Republican governor and Republican majorities in both Indiana House & Senate, and yet your taxes have not gone down, and the size of the budget remains out of control under their watch. They brag about their budget being in the black, but it was done on a massive infusion of cash and greater efficiency. They haven't cut a budget yet. It isn’t because the Republicans can’t cut taxes and spending. It is because they aren’t willing to do the job. Libertarians will do the job!

Vote Libertarian! Support Mike Kole’s campaign for Secretary of State. Elect Mike and other Libertarians, and you will be pleased with the results.

Understanding Why

The deeper I get into the campaign season, the more I understand why politicians act as they do when on the trail.

The public says it has a hunger for honest candidates. That's great! But candidates try to actually win their elections, so they try to be smart. They try to do the things that will help them win, and to avoid the things that could cause them to lose. So, incumbents tend to hide, because they have everything to lose. Challengers like to be as highly visible as possible.

I've been getting a pile of questionnaires lately, from all manner of special interest groups. The questionnaires are always incredibly simplistic, and worse, not one has addressed even a single issue that has the remotest thing to do with the duties of the Secretary of State. Some are clearly left of center, others clearly right of center. As a Libertarian, it means that I can guess that I am on the correct side and the incorrect side of almost every questionnaire.

So, I can see why so many candidates fail to turn in completed questionnaires. It's real easy to tell what your chances are of getting favorable play out of them. It nearly takes a fool to fill them out completely and send them in when you know you're going to score an 'F' on their report card. Better to get an "I" and leave them guessing. It seems like a pointless charade at times. A PAC knows if it's going to back Republicans, Democrats, or Libertarians. Very very few PACs back candidates across party lines. FOP comes to mind.

But, I'm an optimist. As a result, I've taken to adding a letter with the questionnaire that enunciates my platform positions that relate to the office I am running for. I thank them for their interest in my perspective, but give them something a little more germaine.

But I get the cynicism of many candidates out there. I don't encourage that attitude, but I do understand it.

All-In For Kole!

In no-limit Texas Hold'Em parlance, "going all-in" means pushing in all of your chips. I'm all-in for better elections that are more fair, have greater integrity, and bring wider choices and representation than what our elections are in Indiana right now.

I won't ask you to go all-in, pushing in all your chips in support of my campaign. However, I do ask for a couple of things:

1. Take Election Day off so that you can work a polling place. Election Day is Tuesday, November 7. There are 82 days left until Election Day, so there is plenty of time to clear it with the boss. Email me to let me know that you are all-in on Election Day.

2. Come to my home in Fishers to play poker, Friday night! Donation is $20, and we'll play Texas Hold'Em. We'll be using chips. No cash on the table! But you can use your dramatic flair, call "All-in!" and push your chip stack in. It's great fun! Email me to RSVP, and I'll give you directions.

Of course, if you want to go all-in with your support financially, I would be deeply grateful. Online donations can be made via this link.

Full Calendar

I said that I would be hitting the trail with a vengeance upon return, and I meant it. Here are a series of upcoming activities and events:

Wed 8/16 - Fundraising calls, 7pm.
Thu 8/17 - Fundraising calls, 7pm.
Fri 8/18 - Breakfast with State Chair Mark Rutherford; Poker fundraiser at Mike's home in Fishers, 7pm. Donation $20. Email Mike for details and to RSVP.
Sat 8/19 - Millersburg Parade (Elkhart Co), 3pm. RSVP with Rob Place to join the fun!
Wed 8/23 - Hamilton County Meet-Up, 7pm. Dinner and dialogue. More info.
Thu 8/24 - Bowling fundraiser at Pinheads in Fishers. $30 Donation/individual; $100 for advance paid foursome. RSVP to Todd Singer at 317-370-3404.
Sat 8/26 - Corydon Art Fair (Harrison Co), 2pm.

Notable Events for September:

Tue 9/12 - Meeting with Indy Star Editorial Board
Wed 9/13 - Indy Chamber of Commerce Hob Nob
Tue 9/19 - Indiana FOP PAC candidate reception, Indianapolis
Tue 9/26 - Secretary of State Candidates Forum, South Bend

I'll report on each of these as they occur. I will be working on earning endorsements with several of these events, and I believe that if I am taken on the merits of my ideas, there will be several endorsements to report. Be sure to check the Kole Campaign Calendar online!

Please attend the fundraisers and bring at least one other person with you! The events will be fun, and the money raised will be used to promote the Kole Campaign with advertising and materials. If you can't attend, please donate online, via this link.

Advertising this year will be more effective than ever, as the "major parties" are not running active campaigns, and may not do much advertising. We can own the airwaves this year. Let's make it so!

Thanks!
-Mike

Back Home Again

Alex & I have returned from our visits with extended family in Ohio and upstate New York. Pictures forthcoming.

We returned early so that Alex could attend his first day of high school tomorrow. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this an incredibly early start to the school year? I went to Catholic schools, and we always were the early starters, beginning in the last week of August, while the public schools began on the day after Labor Day.

Rhetorically, I like to talk a lot about public schools being the warehousing of kids, but with this incredibly early start (August 16th!) and the push for full-day kindergarten here in Indiana, I don't think I'm off-base at all. Kids need the time in Summer to be free to create their own schedules, to play baseball and to swim, and to generally be creative without confining schedules.

So, Alex starts that process, and I am back in the saddle. Several invitations for candidate events have hit my mailbox, along with policy position questionaires from PACs for me to answer. Look for heavy activity now that the election season is entering the home stretch!