Liberty, AZ USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- Hello AmmoLand have you missed me? Regular readers of my columns might have noticed that I haven’t posted anything in a while. Subscribers to our newsletter have also started contacting me wondering why they haven’t received a Hard Corps Report since March 2020. It’s not that I’ve given up on The Firearms Coalition and my writing career, it’s that I’ve been busy trying to save the Republic, and now I’m calling on you to do your part.

It’s Primary Election season here in Arizona, and when election season rolls around, I get turned upside-down trying to get the best possible candidates qualified for election to local, state, and federal offices. I work with one of the top, conservative campaign consultants in the state, finding quality candidates, vetting them, helping them organize, generating ad copy, finding and wrangling volunteers (there are never enough), and generating endless streams of mailing, walking, and calling lists to help with voter contact.

No doubt you and your friends and family are sick and tired of all of the postcards, letters, phone calls, and unsolicited text messages you’ve been receiving from candidates and third-party advocacy groups. Then there are the incessant ads on the radio, TV, newspapers, and all over the internet, not to mention strangers knocking on your door and leaving “literature” on your doorstep.

It can be a nuisance, but it’s the only way to get the electorate’s (your) attention and sway their (your) vote.

Perhaps you’re that rare exception, a voter who seeks out information about the candidates, studies their voting records, attends Town Hall meetings, and goes into the voting booth with a clear understanding of who you intend to vote for and why. If that’s you, I sincerely apologize for my role in filling your mailbox and interrupting your dinner. But the sad fact is, the vast majority of Americans pay almost no attention at all to politics and elections. I would venture to bet that most of them can’t even name the Vice President.

Let’s take a little test. Run down in your head the various offices that will be on your ballot in November, and see how many incumbents and candidates you can name off the top of your head. President and Vice President, your Representative, your two Senators. Okay, how about your State Representatives and State Senator (or whatever they’re called where you live)? Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer? County Commissioner, Mayor, City Council Member? What about Judges, your Justice of the Peace, Constable, County Assessor, School Board members?

I’m a political junkie, a Precinct Committeeman, and activist, but when I take this test, even I find gaps in my knowledge, especially when it comes to new candidates seeking to fill those positions. It’s a lot to try and keep track of, and party affiliation isn’t always reliable or even available. In many places, City Council and some other positions are “non-partisan.” Well, they’re officially “non-partisan,” but the reality is that there is almost always party involvement behind the scenes. And don’t forget Mike Bloomberg, who, when he couldn’t secure the Democratic nomination for Mayor of New York, changed from Democrat to Republican to buy that office, then switched to Independent, and finally switched back to Democrat when he tried to purchase the Presidency. He’s an extreme example, but it just shows that the D or R labels aren’t always reliable.

All of that said, this year, voters have a simpler choice than they’ve had in decades. Either you blindly believe that “orange-man-bad” and he must be stopped at any cost even the destruction of our republic, so you vote D. Or you believe that Marxists have taken over the Democratic Party and they must lose in a landslide to save our history and our children’s future, so you vote R.

Personally, I’m in the second camp. As a life-long Republican, I have been sorely disappointed with my party over the years, and I am completely disgusted with their lack of fiscal responsibility. I have never been a fan of Donald Trump. I don’t like a lot that he says or how he says it, and I don’t always agree with what he does. But I’m going to vote for him, and every other candidate on the ballot with an “R” after their name, because that’s the only way to block the absolutely insane Democrats and the destruction their being in charge would bring.

Besides, while there is a lot I don’t like about Donald Trump, there is a lot that Trump and Republicans in Congress have gotten right. Before the new corona virus drove everyone crazy, the country was on a positive roll, with the economy booming, unemployment dropping, and the future looking bright.

Meanwhile, since the election of President Trump, Democrats have completely lost their minds, and they’ve kept going downhill from there.

They started with the empty “Russian collusion” investigation, the atrocious assault on Judge Kavanaugh (based on one muddy, totally unsubstantiated accusation from his teens), the impeachment, which uncovered far more dirt on Joe and Hunter Biden than on Donald Trump, and the ongoing casting of blame regarding the corona virus. This year we’ve also seen the ridiculous pandering by Democratic leaders to Marxist revolutionaries, endless “lock-downs,” and absolutely insane policy proposals – from defunding the police, to raising taxes by thousands of dollars per person, to supporting and empowering rioting, looting, and assaults on federal property and officers – all while pushing draconian gun control laws at every opportunity.

As I see it, the Democratic party has driven off a cliff like Thelma and Louise. If Donald Trump and Republicans prevail in November, I believe we will have four more years in which to try and save the country. If not, the nation will look more and more like Portland and Seattle, with endless demands for the dismantling of our civilization and the end of our Republic.

So to me, the choice is clear, but maybe you see things differently. After all, Trump did ban bump-stocks (with encouragement from the NRA), and he did express support for “red flag” laws (before he backtracked and opposed them). As a consequence, you may refuse to give him or his party your vote.

Okay, but understand that the result will be Joe Biden (or whoever the Democrats come up with to replace him) and the lunacy of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer.

Or maybe you believe capitalism is bad and it’s time for the U.S. to give Marxism a shot. Hey, it’s never worked anywhere else that it’s been tried, but the U.S. is exceptional… Wait… I believe it’s racist (or something negative-ist) to say that now, according to you Marxists, so, since the U.S. is not exceptional, where do you get the idea that Americans could do Marxism better than everyone else who has tried it and ended up with poverty and bodies stacked like cordwood?

Or maybe you’re one of these people who is sure that things have gone too far and there’s no way out besides a real live revolution. Maybe you’re right, but are you willing to bet your children’s future on it and going to refuse to even try to avoid such a calamity by at least turning out to vote?

Regardless of what you believe about Republicans, Democrats, Marxists, or the boogaloo, this is the most important election of our lives. It’s going to happen with or without you, and you’re going to have to live with the results. Therefore I believe it is incumbent on all of us to do everything we can to make the results in November what we hope for them to be.

If you aren’t registered to vote, you still have time to fix that. There is no down-side to being registered to vote, except you might get a little more junk mail. If you think avoiding junk mail is worth surrendering your liberty, I have nothing more to say to you.

If you are registered, get active. If you’re a Democrat, but not a Marxist, your party desperately needs you to help stop the Marxist takeover. If you’re a Libertarian, stop pissing in the wind and put your effort into actually winning elections or shifting the Republicans or the Democrats toward your views. If you’re a conservative Republican, dispense with the purity tests and work to get Republicans elected. If you’re a “moderate” Republican, stop saying and doing things that help to elect Democrats. You can all go back to arguing about RINOs and spending and social issues after the current, clear, and present danger to the Republic is blocked.

As I mentioned, I’m not just preaching, I’m practicing what I preach. I’m a Committeeman and Precinct Captain, and I’m actively working for solid, conservative candidates. As the election gets closer, I’ll be making phone calls, knocking on doors, writing letters to the editor, and doing everything in my power to get Republicans elected – even the Republicans that I don’t think are Republican enough – because it’s the only way to stop the Democrats, and I believe the Republic depends on it. My articles and the newsletter are my primary means of support. While I get paid for some of my political consulting work, it doesn’t begin to make up for what it costs me to be letting my writing fall behind. If I don’t write, The Firearms Coalition doesn’t make money, and if it doesn’t make money, I don’t get paid. Simple as that. I’m hoping to get a newsletter out during the brief lull between the primaries and the general, but that might not be possible, so don’t be surprised if one doesn’t arrive, and maybe consider throwing a couple of bucks my way to help keep me afloat until I can focus more on gun rights and making a living, rather than promoting politicians.

The U.S. isn’t perfect, but it’s worth preserving and protecting. I believed that when I took my oath joining the Army in 1978, and I stand by that oath today. I hope you’ll stand with me and do your part to elect quality people and save the Republic. Get involved in party politics, call a candidate’s campaign and volunteer, share information on social media, and make sure that you are knowledgeable about the candidates and the issues.

The Republic is depending on you. Don’t let it down.