Voting has started for 2016 elections

The election process is underway with early voting. It is predictable that races are now in full court press mode.

I am going to make one last plea for common sense.

The Presidential race is the most vicious. The attack on Trump is all out, ranging from attack ads to the liberal media attacks and ignoring negatives about Clinton, to establishment Washington politicians. In other words, the deck is stacked against them.

According to the media, Trump is a groping, foul-mouthed egotist. Maybe and maybe not. He definitely has an ego. He has been taped talking about women in an inappropriate manner. There have been several women come forward to accuse him of groping them. I have doubts about that. Wouldn’t a billionaire have already been sued over this?

Just think back to the last several elections. There always seems to be some mystery women come forward with accusations against the GOP candidate. This is a deliberate Democrat tactic, and rarely proven true. The only exception was for Romney. The best they could do there was call him a dog abuser and hater of employees’ wives. I find it interesting that this is the best they can go after Trump for.

Compare that to Clinton. In addition to historical dirt out there, there has been plenty of information come to light that has been largely ignored by the media. I am going to reference three things to research. I hope you do so.

The first is the release of the FBI documents detailing their investigation of Clinton’s emails and private server. Those documents show clearly that there was intentional destruction of evidence (emails and Blackberries), after a Congressional subpoena was issued. That then led to her testimony to Congress being shown as lies. There were also attempts to bribe and influence FBI investigators. There is no doubt she broke numerous laws and should have been charged criminally.

Second is the Wikileaks releases of John Podesta emails that clearly show collusion with the media, oversampling of polls to manipulate results, a full-on assault on Bernie Sanders, and questions concerning Hillary’s health. They take some time to look through. Find a trustworthy source that summarizes them. It is noteworthy that Clinton doesn’t deny any of the allegations, simply blaming the Russians.

Finally are the Project Veritas tapes by James O’Keefe. These are undercover tapes taken at Democrat headquarters. The parties taped include Bob Creamer, a top DNC operative married to Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky. Things revealed include illegal voting activities including busing in voters form other states and hiring agitators to disrupt Trump rallies. The tapes also show direct ties to Clinton.

At this point the choices seem clear. Trump is an outspoken outsider who does not talk like a politician, and may or may not have some baggage with women. His opponent is now has a huge amount of factual data out in public showing her to be a lawbreaker and liar, and possibly in poor health. You can draw your own conclusions from there. I think she is totally amoral and a highly proficient liar. Just because you vote for Hillary, don’t believe she won’t come after you.

Your third choice is a third-party candidate whose platform is diametrically opposed to that of the Libertarian party of which he is running. A vote for him is a vote for Hillary.

The hotly contested Heck and Cortez-Masto race for Reid’s Senate seat. A lot of mud is being slung at both candidates. I can only say that I was continually frustrated when Cortez-Masto was Nevada attorney general. She consistently refused to defend the state against federal actions. It was evident to me that she never saw a federal policy or program she didn’t like.

Some have been unhappy with Heck for distancing himself from Trump after the famous tape was revealed. Don’t let that change your mind. The alternative is far worse. Do you really want another six to 12 years of Reid-like actions?

On to the ballot questions. Question One mandates universal background checks. Don’t believe the ads funded by out of state proponents saying this closes the gun show loophole. That is an outright lie. There is no loophole. A liberal reporter attempted to buy illegally six times at three eastern gun shows. He was denied every time. Existing laws work, we don’t need more.

Question Two covers recreational marijuana. Proponents are pushing this before the downside becomes public in other states. Vote no.

Happy Nevada Day.

Tom Riggins’ column appears every other Friday. He may be reached at news@lahontanvalleynews.com.