David Webb: Why voters need to do their homework

“I am running for president of the United States.”

With current Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s entry into the 2016 race for the White House, we now have 16 major Republican contenders who have uttered this phrase or something akin to it. 

{mosads}Typically this is preceded by a speech somewhere around 20 minutes in length. After approximately 320 minutes — or 5.3 hours — of declarations, policy positions on domestic and foreign policy, economics, social issues and attacks on Democrats, President Obama, Hillary Clinton and more, I have a question for the reader: How many of you watched or listened to all of the announcements, and can you make substantive distinctions? 

Many of you will think or say, that’s not my job, that’s for the political experts to help me decide. You are wrong: It is your duty to know as much as possible before you cast a primary or general election vote. As a simple example, in America we often vote in libraries, so  how many voters stop in early to read an editorial in the free newspapers available online or in printed form?

In two weeks, on Aug. 5, one day prior to the first Fox News/Facebook debate, I will interview all candidates for the Republican nomination for my “SiriusXM Patriot” talk show; it will be aired on our Politics of the United States (POTUS) channel. This first step is to find out who the candidates are and why they are who they are, not who they claim to be. The person is, after all, the foundation of the politician. As I delve into their backgrounds and resumes, especially relevant to policy achievements, I am trying to discern first who he or she is. 

This early in the race, current polls reflect how well-known a candidate is. In a July 16-19 Washington Post/ABC News poll, Donald Trump leads the pack with 24 percent, followed by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker at 13 percent and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush with 12 percent. Candidates polling in the single digits range from 8 percent to 0 percent, with South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham tied in last place with businesswoman Carly Fiorina. 

The Fox News/Facebook debate will take the average of five national polls “by major, nationally recognized organizations that use standard methodological techniques recognized by Fox News.” While this is intended for the top 10 candidates, there could be more than 10 if there is a tie for the final slot. To provide fair coverage, Fox News will also have a special hosted by Bill Hemmer and Martha MacCallum prior to the debate for those who do not make the top-tier cut. It is simple: Too many candidates on the stage gives no one time to give answers of substance. Politics is not a spectator sport, but it has become in recent years too much a public spectacle. 

What is needed from the candidates are concrete ideas and plans. The “how” matters. They will only deliver this if the Republican base demands it during the primary season. This is not and can’t be just about New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina, as often presented in the political news cycle. Rather than minimize these three states, the GOP base needs to maximize the demand on candidates wherever they show up. After all, the age-old maxim is that “all politics is local,” not all politics is limited to some predetermined key primary states. 

Additionally, the top-down party controls need to be challenged. Let the Democrats coronate Hillary Clinton. We conservative voters want a debate on issues and demonstration of skills and abilities. 

For the next two weeks, I have homework for the reader. Whomever you support, put aside their speeches and policy positions. Delve into their actual achievements. Set a baseline of performance. Honestly map out their path to victory. Try, though impossible to predict, which running mate may best make up for that candidate’s weaknesses. They all have weak points. The current and very real poll tax is now the repeated post-election effect of an ill-informed or absent electorate’s choices. This is paid by the population and in part is their fault. 

After this process, try to determine whether you can honestly say that your candidate can win the primary. Now comes the really hard part. Will your candidate win the general election? For many who do this, there is likely a combination of political epiphany followed by political depression or acceptance. I have asked a lot of the reader in this article with deliberate intent. Politics is personal because it affects your daily life at almost every level. You make a decision that is part of an aggregate effect whether you vote or not. 

As for the beginning of this column, it is not my announcement. I am having too much work-related fun analyzing what is possibly the most crucial election of modern times since the 1979 election of Ronald Reagan. 

Webb is host of “The David Webb Show” on SiriusXM Patriot 125, a Fox News contributor and has appeared frequently on television as a commentator. Webb co-founded TeaParty365 in New York City and is a spokesman for the National Tea Party Federation. His column appears twice a month in The Hill.