Zero in on midterms before distraction leads to loss in Congress

Ebola, ISIS, Obamacare, IRS, Benghazi, the economy and climate change headlines blare fear and anxiety about natural and governmental disasters clawing at the door of every American, and it is absolutely right to be concerned for your and your family's wellbeing.

The impending danger inherent in these reports has taken paramount position with every major news organization. All the while, stories about the squeaky tightness of political races around the nation are trailing in voter interest more and more. These are all imperative issues begging action, real action, from the Obama administration and Congress. Leon Panetta, in his interview on Fox News' O'Reilly Factor Tuesday, stated that the government is being reactive to crisis rather than leading, "we govern either by leadership or crisis. And today we are largely governing by crisis." Regarding Ebola, immigration and ISIS, the nation is watching as the president dodges commitment by taking steps designed to do no more than placate interested parties, appearing to worry that decisive action could damage democrat chances to retain the Senate or keep seats in the House. It isn't vacillation. It is a stalling strategy: wait out the midterm elections before rolling forward with plans that he has already outlined. And this is why Americans should be unnerved that a recent poll showed voters rated most of the previously listed issues ahead of interest in the election, which stood at a paltry 15%. Voters beware of this mistake. The barrage of lead stories centering on how illness, terrorism or joblessness might affect each of our lives is certainly concerning, but it is becoming a distraction lessening voter vigilance on the, now, even more urgent result of the November 4 election.

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As President Obama sloughs off the defense of the nation by dancing with half measures, voters can't afford to waste effort complaining to this Congress that something must be done. What must be done is replace the make-up of this Congress with one that will be responsive to the people rather than a president who won re-election by a meager percentage point. Redirecting voter attention from the frightening circumstances of ISIS' imminent capture of Kobani hard by the Turkish border or the importation of Ebola into the United States--both issues where Obama refuses to do his duty to protect the nation from foreign enemies--cannot be understated. (Even a disease is categorized as 'enemy.' Why else would Immigration have refused entry to the seriously ill at Ellis Island and other portals in the past? A threat to the national security comes in myriad forms including contagion.) Not one of these issues will be properly addressed if reliable people are not seated to serve in the Senate or the House and voters cannot lose focus on the essential elections in their own backyard. Most of the races for Senate and many for the House of Representatives are neck-and-neck in the last stretch of this horse race. In states where a third contender is spoiling the contest or an independent is untried, voters have a hard choice to make. The fraud overshadowing the Mississippi republican Senate nominee has demoralized and angered conservatives. The focus in that situation should be to secure the favorite son, Chris McDaniel, his rightful place on the ballot, not on bickering over unsatisfactory candidates before the final vote three weeks hence. When the day arrives, then make a decision in the booth, but do not withhold a vote. Conservatives cannot afford to sit out the midterms because their preferred candidate is not in the running, nor should a single issue sway them to choose poorly or not at all. Every voter must be well informed and weigh the consequences of their decision. In Arizona, Congressional candidate Wendy Rogers addressed the peril posed by fanatical ISIS by allowing visual reference to James Foley's gruesome murder in her ads and was lambasted for it. However, the issue is real and one at the core of this Congress' blustering inaction at the president's bare use of force. Rogers' makes plain that she stands for protecting her nation rather than being politically correct and thus ineffectual. Foley's parents are suffering shock from their tragic loss but would not any parent wish to see the nation resolutely protect its citizens at home and abroad? Let concern for the danger posed to our nation's health, economy, education and environment engage voters to pay attention to the local and state battles. Take the issues and the inadequate response of this administration to be a guide to support candidates that will indeed be the constituents' champion in Washington, D.C., not just another leech attached to the public's back, catching a free ride while bleeding dry the host. Citizens more engaged by the inaction of this president than by the struggle to win the Congress will get nowhere other than sidetracked, and the nation will suffer for our inattention. Less than a month remains before the polls close and it is up to the voters to place the election at the top of their list of concerns. Nothing will change unless the right people take office.