Time to vote; don't be a putz

And, with that said, I don't think I've ever before seen a seven-day daily paper use the word "putz" in an editorial.

But, in a piece with that "go vote" admonition, over the weekend, the Waco Trib did just that:

Finally, only a putz votes straight-ticket. We haven’t seen a slate of party candidates yet, Republican or Democrat, that didn’t have some turkeys on it. And if you think voting straight-ticket ensures that one party’s nominees meet certain qualities, think again. Right here in McLennan County, we’ve seen straight-ticket voting put some absolutely incompetent people into offices of responsibility. When that happens, you’re to blame because you voted for them out of party loyalty, not merit or civic regard.

Good as far as it went. Unfortunately, it didn't go so far as to mention Green or Libertarian alternatives as another reason to vote outside a straight ticket. Nor did it mention the option of race-by-race selective nonvoting.

But, it is good as far as it went, and it builds on that with specific examples:

For those of us gray in temple, campaigns have changed significantly the past four decades. Many Republican nominees, confident of election solely by virtue of their having an “R” behind their names, whatever their qualifications, character or viewpoints, have increasingly ducked candidate debates and interviews with newspaper editorial boards, once considered all-American traditions. When they come to town now, they often speak to small groups of party loyalists, generally telling them what they want to hear.
 In this camp, we put Republicans such as state Sen. Dan Patrick, who is running for lieutenant governor and has been blasted by some Republicans for misleading rhetoric on the campaign trail, and state Sen. Ken Paxton, who admitted violating state securities laws, a third-degree felony, and is ironically seen by some as a shoo-in for state attorney general. Amazing.

Exactly, but too many "R-only" voters in greater Waco will probably ignore this.

Anyway, here's my voting suggestions. And here, more seriously yet, are friend Perry's.