President's Message

Dear interested patriot,

Life is uncertain and most ideas are not universally agreed upon, but I have found a couple of simple ideas that everyone can agree with. The first simple idea is that knowledge is power. The second idea is that there is no downside to having informed voters. No one I have ever encountered disagrees with, or has had the temerity, to openly admit that they think these simple ideas have no merit.

I think that all political persuasions can outwardly agree, even if they inwardly fear, that an educated electorate is essential to the general and political well-being of our country. Even the staunchest ideologues would not give voice to the notion that it is better for our country to have ignorant voters. And yet, isn't that exactly what years of prosperity and complaisance have brought us to? We have become a nation of letter voters: R, D, I, and so on.

Many of us do not understand what the various political parties represent or how those philosophies relate back to our Constitution. When we arrive at the polling places we do not know who is running or what their platform is. The only things we really know is the letter that is printed after their name indicating their party affiliation. Even the information given to us in the 30 second sound bites of paid for political advertising only tells us what an advertising firm of marketing experts wants us to know. Interestingly, many people will disenfranchise themselves because they are afraid to cast the wrong vote. Then there are those who will vote a straight ticket along party lines, even if the candidates do not represent their own personal beliefs or experiences.

It is true that certain demographic sectors will vote one way even though when asked about their values they actually align more closely with candidates from the opposing party. So what would ever cause a voter to cast a vote that is not in their own best interests? Usually, those who do this are voting the way friends and family or co-workers vote. In our ignorance, it is easier to remain a part of the larger group and do as they do. A true display of herd mentality. Safety in numbers.

What is to be done about grooming voters who are knowledgeable and confident enough to seek out those answers required to cast votes for candidates who will really represent their interests and ideas? How can a voter know which questions to ask? How would they find the candidates to pose the questions to them? How would they go about comparing those answers? How would they put all of this information into a format that they could then take with them to the polls on election day? And finally there is the question of how on earth would they make the time to do all of this while working and raising a family?

The best answers are always the simplest ones. The answer to these questions, and there are some who have said the answer to their prayers, is the Abigail Adams Project.

In a nutshell, the Abigail Adams Project is a national non-partisan voter education effort that creates voter guides from candidate surveys for all constitutional offices at the local, state and national. The Abigail Adams Project is comprised of volunteers who see and understand the need to foster and promote an atmosphere of Constitutional literacy. As our citizens begin to know and understand the Constitution, their belief in civic duty grows. We grow better citizen voters and they in turn grow their children to be civic minded citizen voters. This creates a demand for Constitutionally literate candidates. So as we groom ourselves and our candidates to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, we are actually grooming ourselves and our progeny to become the Constitutionally literate candidates of tomorrow.

The process may seem daunting, but it really is as simple as starting with a candidate survey made into a voter guide. This is where we help all Americans regardless of party affiliation or background to begin the process of learning how to exercise our liberties. The foundation of this endeavor is The United States Constitution.

Every citizen of our republic, irrespective of faith, race, or socio-economic stratum can understand our Constitution. It was written as it was, in just this manner, for just this purpose: so that all citizens could clearly know and understand their position as the grantor of power, and so they could clearly know and understand the government's position as their servant.

Ideally, hopeful candidates are asking for the opportunity to serve the public as their representative in the form of votes they cast on behalf of their constituents. As our representative they are required to take an oath of office. Many times this includes the phrase, "to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution."

To uphold this oath, public servants must know and understand the enumerated powers of government and the limits placed upon it by the Constitution. This does not mean they must be lawyers, far from it, in means only that they understand and are true to the original intent of the framers. That they understand, as did our founders, that common sense and restraint must be the watchwords of the republic.

The corollary to this is that those who do not have an understanding and fluency with the Constitution are unable to uphold it and so it follows that they are not qualified to be candidates. This is another example of a simple idea that works because it is built on truth.

Those of us at the Abigail Adams Project hope that you will see the merit in what we do for the future and will join us in our effort. Your country and the future need you.

Ever your servant in the pursuit of liberty,

Deborah Ringhaver Lane
President
Abigail Adams Project