Election Day
Inspired by this article (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,227820,00.html) I figured I'd chime in on my frame of mind on this election day. For those of you wanting a brief summary- most of the choices in political races I care about are between a douche and a turd and I'm frankly not real excited.
It's a sad state of affairs when I can't even muster the energy to vote for Libertarians (which is sort of akin to voting Republican in loony California- not worth it). I could go out and "make a statement" by throwing my votes away for Libertarian candidates- and to be fair there definitely are a few worth candidates. For instance, a blind, deaf and dumb Barry Hess could govern Arizona better than Janet Napolitano. But these cases are really few and far between. In some cases I can wrestle enough with myself to vote Republican (in Presidential races I usually do), but why the hell should I reward the Republican party this year? I honestly can't recognize what the hell I'd be voting for. Let's take a look at some of the campaign issues the GOP cares about:
Terror: Granted there hasn't been an attack on American soil since 9/11 and handing over national security issues to Democrats is a lot like letting a McDonald's employee run a space shuttle. However, our PR could sure use some work. I have an idea- can the Republican's run on the platform of "Now, not pissing off our allies!"
Social Security: The GOP blew it. One of Bush's key programs that would have actually done some good, reforming Social Security fell by the wayside because Republicans are a bunch of sissies. Instead of standing up to Democrats and issuing a broad "Get your money grubbing hands off of my social security money" they instead said, "Woah there Georgie, this could potentially be unpopular unless we devote some serious time to explaining it to our constituents." Whoops- good idea out the door.
Gay Marriage: Who gives a crap? Since when does Government have any right to interfere with social issues? Oh wait, I remember, NEVER. Voting for Republicans on the basis of gay marriage is only going to send the wrong message- keep interfering, legislate morality!
Taxes: You'll notice I haven't really touched on any Democratic talking points because I still don't know what the hell their campaign is other than "Hey, we're not in the same party as George Bush" which, interestingly enough, was pretty much the basis of John Kerry's entire Presidential campaign. One thing I have heard Democrats whine about is tax cuts. So, while the Republicans continue to expand government (WRONG) they also tease fiscal conservatives with permanent tax cuts (RIGHT). After having a Republican Congress, Senate and President and not seeing any slowdown of the growth of the behemoth that is our government, I'll take a pass this time around.
Iraq: Last but not least- Iraq. While I am a supporter of the war (briefly: in the long term, a friendly Democracy in the Middle East is a really, really, really, really good idea), I understand with America's extremely liberal coverage of the war, why many people are not. It is also sort of a stupid idea (I'm talking to you Nancy Pelosi) to encourage voters to have a "referendum" position on this election. This is not a referendum, this is individuals being elected to Congress. Voting on one issue is an extremely stupid concept. While we're on the subject, Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House (Will she be allowed to change it to "Supreme Comrade of the House"?) is also a terrible concept.
So, to summarize, if you're voting, vote libertarian and for God's sake whatever you do, don't vote Democrat. I for one have spent my election day watching the frantic news coverage with a cup of tea and a smile. The fanatics on both ends are usually (if not always) wrong.
And so I sit back and relax. Some might call me the stereotypical apathetic voter, but I'm not. The two parties have offered nothing in the way of intelligence or excitement and tomorrow, whatever the result, Americans have been duped again into believing either party will offer real change.
It's a sad state of affairs when I can't even muster the energy to vote for Libertarians (which is sort of akin to voting Republican in loony California- not worth it). I could go out and "make a statement" by throwing my votes away for Libertarian candidates- and to be fair there definitely are a few worth candidates. For instance, a blind, deaf and dumb Barry Hess could govern Arizona better than Janet Napolitano. But these cases are really few and far between. In some cases I can wrestle enough with myself to vote Republican (in Presidential races I usually do), but why the hell should I reward the Republican party this year? I honestly can't recognize what the hell I'd be voting for. Let's take a look at some of the campaign issues the GOP cares about:
Terror: Granted there hasn't been an attack on American soil since 9/11 and handing over national security issues to Democrats is a lot like letting a McDonald's employee run a space shuttle. However, our PR could sure use some work. I have an idea- can the Republican's run on the platform of "Now, not pissing off our allies!"
Social Security: The GOP blew it. One of Bush's key programs that would have actually done some good, reforming Social Security fell by the wayside because Republicans are a bunch of sissies. Instead of standing up to Democrats and issuing a broad "Get your money grubbing hands off of my social security money" they instead said, "Woah there Georgie, this could potentially be unpopular unless we devote some serious time to explaining it to our constituents." Whoops- good idea out the door.
Gay Marriage: Who gives a crap? Since when does Government have any right to interfere with social issues? Oh wait, I remember, NEVER. Voting for Republicans on the basis of gay marriage is only going to send the wrong message- keep interfering, legislate morality!
Taxes: You'll notice I haven't really touched on any Democratic talking points because I still don't know what the hell their campaign is other than "Hey, we're not in the same party as George Bush" which, interestingly enough, was pretty much the basis of John Kerry's entire Presidential campaign. One thing I have heard Democrats whine about is tax cuts. So, while the Republicans continue to expand government (WRONG) they also tease fiscal conservatives with permanent tax cuts (RIGHT). After having a Republican Congress, Senate and President and not seeing any slowdown of the growth of the behemoth that is our government, I'll take a pass this time around.
Iraq: Last but not least- Iraq. While I am a supporter of the war (briefly: in the long term, a friendly Democracy in the Middle East is a really, really, really, really good idea), I understand with America's extremely liberal coverage of the war, why many people are not. It is also sort of a stupid idea (I'm talking to you Nancy Pelosi) to encourage voters to have a "referendum" position on this election. This is not a referendum, this is individuals being elected to Congress. Voting on one issue is an extremely stupid concept. While we're on the subject, Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House (Will she be allowed to change it to "Supreme Comrade of the House"?) is also a terrible concept.
So, to summarize, if you're voting, vote libertarian and for God's sake whatever you do, don't vote Democrat. I for one have spent my election day watching the frantic news coverage with a cup of tea and a smile. The fanatics on both ends are usually (if not always) wrong.
And so I sit back and relax. Some might call me the stereotypical apathetic voter, but I'm not. The two parties have offered nothing in the way of intelligence or excitement and tomorrow, whatever the result, Americans have been duped again into believing either party will offer real change.
posted by greg at 3:24 PM
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