by Becky Schlip, Stevensville
That is an easy answer for a Patriot who loves this country and is seeing it destroyed from within by politicians. I believe in our nation’s Constitution and the Biblical principles it was founded on. We have one candidate who also believes in our Constitution in its entirety and one who does not. I’m speaking directly to our 10th Amendment which states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the People.”
I for one have found these last two years a nightmare. A government trying to force their will on all the people of our nation. I have witnessed loved ones die at the hands of doctors who deliberately ignored their oath in order to pad their pockets with blood money. I want my representative, my voice to be a man who is honest, transparent, has integrity and is willing to fight to put the Federal government who is stampeding over our rights, back in its strictly limited constitutional box. The Federal government only has 18 enumerated powers, article 1 section 8. Our constitution is our protection order against the federal government stepping outside these powers. It is the right and duty of the State to nullify unconditional usurpations. We the people used the right to nullify to legalize marijuana in the State of Montana. We told the Federal government to stay out of our business. Why didn’t we do our duty and use our 10th amendment right to nullify the Federal government’s unlawful and unconstitutional mandates, closing of our businesses, taking away our jobs, shutting down pipelines, causing an energy crisis, and threatening our 2nd Amendment? We have to rise up against this onset of a dictatorship and democracy. We need to send the right people to Helena if we intend to keep our republic. Why have individual State Constitutions if we are going to allow the Federal government to rule over us?
I have listened to both candidates several times. I still do not have an idea of what Wayne Rusk plans to do if we were to send him to Helena. I’ve heard him say that he is going to observe and learn. Umm, what? I am not willing to send a preschooler to speak on my behalf and my families behalf. His claim to fame is co-chair of the Ravalli County Collaborative Board. Which is a liaison between us and the Forest Service? He has spent a lot of time throwing mud at his opponent. When he himself is the one who has not been forthcoming and has not shown himself as honest, transparent, with integrity. His position on Convention of the States is really unknown. He’s all over the board. It seems clear to me that it depends on who he’s speaking to if he’s for or against it. Wishy washy to gain support? Again, I don’t want someone diverse in his character representing me. Convention of States would be disastrous and our country as we know it will cease to exist. DO NOT open our United States Constitution up to be amended to fit a global agenda. Who believes there was not voter fraud and that Biden is our legitimate president? Wayne Rusk that’s who. He does not believe in our 10th amendment. He believes the Federal government should have all the power and States should not be able to nullify anything. He believes liberty is only what is allowed by law and not our God given gift. Wayne is a polished speaker handled by another polished speaker Dave Bedey. He is well on his way to be the politician he so desperately wants to become. I don’t want dishonest and ill tempered representation. Especially not in Helena. I don’t want a puppet of big government speaking for me. I want someone who loves Jesus and who will stand firm as a servant of we the people. I want someone who has conviction to leaving our children and grandchildren a State they can be proud of. A state where the American dream is alive and well. My vote is for Alan Lackey.
Alan Lackey is a Patriot NOT a politician.
ELECT Alan Lackey HD88.
KMc says
The problem with candidates running for public office as “Christians” is that not everyone is Christian, and not everyone loves Jesus. Everyone in this country must live by rule of law and the constitution. But belief in religion is strictly voluntary. Religion has no place in public policy.
Gomez says
Agreed, thank you.
Becky says
If someone running for office does not openly profess his/her chosen lifestyle (Christian). Christian morals and values brings about honesty and integrity. You have the right to have a wishy washy candidate and I have a right to have a grounded firm in their beliefs candidate. I do not separate Christ in any area of my life and I won’t vote for someone who does. Pretty darn simple don’t ya think?? Your opinion has no bearing in my life and my opinion should have no bearing in yours. Live for God or don’t. That is a God given liberty you have which is called free will.
Becky says
A person loves their life according to their believes. An honest character with integrity is very important when becoming a leader. Biblical principles is key in forming these two very important characteristics in a person. If you want someone who goes with the flow and says and or does whatever everyone else does. Someone who doesn’t stand up for what is right just because doing what is wrong is easier. Then more power to you. I will say it one last time. I want someone who loves Jesus and lives according to God’s word. I want the kind of individual in leadership that will no matter the opposition stand firm on what is right. You do you and let me di me! Kbye!
Wampus says
Becky, I respect your right to believe in whichever God you choose. However, this nation was most definitely NOT founded on biblical beliefs.. That is just factually false.
Another proven fact is that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. Like it or not, Joe Biden is the duly elected POTUS. A true patriotic American would understand that. If Trump was patriotic, he would have conceded when he lost for the good of our country. Just as Al Gore did. Of course, one big difference was that Gore won the popular vote and Teump lost by millions. He also lost the popular vote to Hillary and she had the good grace to concede.
Back to gods, though, our founders specifically wanted a wall between church and state. Not between US and Mexico. Maybe that’s where Trump got confused. Covfefe.
Becky says
This nation is built on biblical principles. Reread history.
There is proven voter fraud. If you choose to bury your head in the sand and ignore facts. That’s on you! biden is not the legitimate president and that’s also a fact! Do some research will ya?! Unbelievable that people are so blind. Although the Bible does say in at least 9 places that the unbeliever will be blind to the truth.
Gomez says
While it’s true that the Bible supports slavery, the subjugation of women and the persecution of homosexuals, there’s no reason that in this modern day and age that we should still look to an extremely flawed book of ancient mythology for moral guidance.
Becky says
Oh you poor individual. What a shame that ignorance runs so deep in your spirit. One day you will realize I wasn’t the one you are insulting nor am I the one you will one day face and answer to. Although this has been interesting listening to some meat head run their neck and smack talk God. We are done here. God says pray for the lost. So I have a task to do.
Gomez says
You think that there was voter fraud and Trump was cheated out of the presidency? Prove it.
As far as Jesus, keep him and the rest of your magical beliefs out of public policy & law.
Becky says
Excuse you??!!
You aren’t going to dictate to me. I am a God fearing, Jesus loving, follower of my Lord and Savior!! I will until the day I die have him in EVERY aspect of my life!!
Kthanksbye!!
Gomez says
It’s actually quite simple. I no more want your personal Christian faith beliefs to dictate public policy any more than you would want a Muslim, Hindu or Pagan politician’s to dictate yours.
Keep religion out of public policy, science and law.
Becky says
As o stated previously, you do not get to decide what I want or what I do. I want what I want in a representative and at this point this country is free enough to be able to put or attention to put people with the qualities and beliefs that I want into those positions. You DO NOT get an opinion on my choices.. Now kindly go on about your own business. Kthanks!
Gomez says
It’s called political discourse. You publicly advocated for a candidate and why you support them, and I voiced my opposition. Now, if you wanted to make a case why the belief in an imaginary, invisible, supernatural being is an important quality for a candidate to have and how it will help them better create public policy, I’m all ears. This isn’t an anti-Christian thing, it’s an anti-magical beliefs thing. I’d respond the same way if someone was advocating for a candidate simply because they were Muslim, a Scientologist or New Age Spiritualist (whatever that is). Believing things without good reason often leads a person to believe other things without good reason, such as your belief that Donald Trump is still president (he’s not).
Have a nice day.
Nic Painter says
Watch the “2000 Mules” documentary. Indisputable proof of ballot fraud. The 2020 election needs to be decertified based on the amount of criminal activity captured on video during the “election.”
Gomez says
2000 Mules has been completely debunked as complete, absolute, 100% horse****.
CLAIM: At least 2,000 “mules” were paid to illegally collect ballots and deliver them to drop boxes in key swing states ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
THE FACTS: True the Vote didn’t prove this. The finding is based on false assumptions about the precision of cellphone tracking data and the reasons that someone might drop off multiple ballots, according to experts.
“Ballot harvesting” is a pejorative term for dropping off completed ballots for people besides yourself. The practice is legal in several states but largely illegal in the states True the Vote focused on, with some exceptions for family, household members and people with disabilities.
True the Vote has said it found some 2,000 ballot harvesters by purchasing $2 million worth of anonymized cellphone geolocation data — the “pings” that track a person’s location based on app activity — in various swing counties across five states. Then, by drawing a virtual boundary around a county’s ballot drop boxes and various unnamed nonprofits, it identified cellphones that repeatedly went near both ahead of the 2020 election.
If a cellphone went near a drop box more than 10 times and a nonprofit more than five times from Oct. 1 to Election Day, True the Vote assumed its owner was a “mule” — its name for someone engaged in an illegal ballot collection scheme in cahoots with a nonprofit.
The group’s claims of a paid ballot harvesting scheme are supported in the film only by one unidentified whistleblower said to be from San Luis, Arizona, who said she saw people picking up what she “assumed” to be payments for ballot collection. The film contains no evidence of such payments in other states in 2020.
Plus, experts say cellphone location data, even at its most advanced, can only reliably track a smartphone within a few meters — not close enough to know whether someone actually dropped off a ballot or just walked or drove nearby.
“You could use cellular evidence to say this person was in that area, but to say they were at the ballot box, you’re stretching it a lot,” said Aaron Striegel, a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Notre Dame. “There’s always a pretty healthy amount of uncertainty that comes with this.”
What’s more, ballot drop boxes are often intentionally placed in busy areas, such as college campuses, libraries, government buildings and apartment complexes — increasing the likelihood that innocent citizens got caught in the group’s dragnet, Striegel said.
Similarly, there are plenty of legitimate reasons why someone might be visiting both a nonprofit’s office and one of those busy areas. Delivery drivers, postal workers, cab drivers, poll workers and elected officials all have legitimate reasons to cross paths with numerous drop boxes or nonprofits in a given day.
True the Vote has said it filtered out people whose “pattern of life” before the election season included frequenting nonprofit and drop box locations. But that strategy wouldn’t filter out election workers who spend more time at drop boxes during the election season, cab drivers whose daily paths don’t follow a pattern, or people whose routines recently changed.
In some states, in an attempt to bolster its claims, True the Vote also highlighted drop box surveillance footage that showed voters depositing multiple ballots into the boxes. However, there was no way to tell whether those voters were the same people as the ones whose cellphones were anonymously tracked.
A video of a voter dropping off a stack of ballots at a drop box is not itself proof of any wrongdoing, since most states have legal exceptions that let people drop off ballots on behalf of family members and household members.
For example, Larry Campbell, a voter in Michigan who was not featured in the film, told The Associated Press he legally dropped off six ballots in a local drop box in 2020 — one for himself, his wife, and his four adult children. And in Georgia, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office investigated one of the surveillance videos circulated by True the Vote and said it found the man was dropping off ballots for himself and his family.
CLAIM: In Philadelphia alone, True the Vote identified 1,155 “mules” who illegally collected and dropped off ballots for money.
THE FACTS: No, it didn’t. The group hasn’t offered any evidence of any sort of paid ballot harvesting scheme in Philadelphia. And True the Vote did not get surveillance footage of drop boxes in Philadelphia, so the group based this claim solely on cellphone location data, its researcher Gregg Phillips said in March in testimony to Pennsylvania state senators.
Pennsylvania state Sen. Sharif Street, who was there for the group’s testimony in March, told the AP he was confident he was counted as several of the group’s 1,155 anonymous “mules,” even though he didn’t deposit anything into a drop box in that time period.
Street said he based his assessment on the fact that he carries a cellphone, a watch with a cellular connection, a tablet with a cellular connection and a mobile hotspot — four devices whose locations can be tracked by private companies. He also said he typically travels with a staffer who carries two devices, bringing the total on his person to six.
During the 2020 election season, Street said, he brought those devices on trips to nonprofit offices and drop box rallies. He also drove by one drop box up to seven or eight times a day when traveling between his two political offices.
“I did no ballot stuffing, but over the course of time, I literally probably account for hundreds and hundreds of their unique visits, even though I’m a single actor in a single vehicle moving back and forth in my ordinary course of business,” Street said.
City election commission spokesman Nick Custodio said the allegations matched others that had been debunked or disproven after the 2020 election.
“The Trump campaign and others filed an unprecedented litany of cases challenging Philadelphia’s election with dubious and unsubstantiated allegations of fraud, all of which were quickly and resoundingly rejected by both state and federal courts,” Custodio said.
CLAIM: Some of the “mules” True the Vote identified in Georgia were also geolocated at violent antifa riots in Atlanta in the summer of 2020, showing they were violent far left actors.
THE FACTS: Setting aside the fact that the film doesn’t prove these individuals were collecting ballots at all, it also can’t prove their political affiliations.
The anonymized data True the Vote tracked doesn’t explain why someone might have been present at a protest demanding justice for Black deaths at the hands of police officers. The individuals who were tracked there could have been violent rioters, but they also could have been peaceful protesters, police or firefighters responding to the protests, or business owners in the area.
CLAIM: Alleged ballot harvesters were captured on surveillance video wearing gloves because they didn’t want to leave their fingerprints on the ballots.
THE FACTS: This is pure speculation. It ignores far more likely reasons for glove-wearing in the fall and winter of 2020 — cold weather or COVID-19.
True the Vote’s researcher claimed in the movie that voters in Georgia started wearing gloves to prevent their fingerprints from touching ballot envelopes after two women in Yuma, Arizona, were indicted on Dec. 23, 2020 for alleged ballot harvesting in that state’s primary election. But the Arizona indictment didn’t mention anything about fingerprints.
Voting in Georgia’s Jan. 5, 2021, Senate runoff election occurred during some of the coldest weeks of the year in the state, and when COVID-19 was surging.
In fact, the AP in 2020 documented multipleexamples of COVID-cautious voters wearing latex gloves and other personal protective equipment to vote.
In a similarly speculative allegation, the film claims its supposed “mules” took photographs of ballots before they dropped them into drop boxes in order to get paid. But across the U.S., voters frequently take photos of their ballot envelopes before submitting them.
CLAIM: If it weren’t for this ballot collection scheme, former President Donald Trump would have had enough votes to win the 2020 election.
THE FACTS: This alleged scheme has not been proven, nor do these researchers have any way of knowing whether any ballots that were collected contained votes for Trump or for Biden.
There’s no evidence a massive ballot harvesting scheme dumped a large amount of votes for one candidate into drop boxes, and if there were, it would likely be caught quickly, according to Derek Muller, a law professor at the University of Iowa.
“Once you get just a few people involved, people start to reveal the scheme because it unravels pretty quickly,” he said.
Absentee ballots are also verified by signature and tracked closely, often with an option for voters themselves to see where their ballot is at any given time. That process safeguards against anyone who tries to illegally cast extra ballots, according to Barry Burden, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor and the director of the Elections Research Project.
“It seems impossible in that system for a nefarious actor to dump lots of ballots that were never requested by voters and were never issued by election officials,” Burden said.
https://www.denverpost.com/2022/05/08/2000-mules-fact-check/
Gomez says
The producer of that movie, Dinesh D’Souza was actually convicted of felony campaign finance fraud in 2014, and the movie has been fact checked and found to be extremely misleading and dishonest in the way it presented data and the conclusions they reached from it.