Can’t wait to get my sticker!
There’s a civic duty in life that feels a bit like expunging your senses. Yes folks – I’m talking about voting – and last Saturday, I did just that. At times it’s perturbing to know that votes in Travis county are merely liberal screams contained in a sea of thick, red walls. But I hope that my decisions and the decisions of my neighbors can make some waves around our little blue oasis of free thinkers. I dare say I’ve sunk my skull into this election more so than any of the past. I guess it takes a country gettin’ real fucked up to make others stand up and pay attention.
WHO NEEDS TWO PARTIES?
In most of the arguments I’ve heard about politics – one sticks out in my mind. Many people say they aren’t a Democrat or a Republican and that they tend to vote independent. This to me sounds like a shining example for ‘freedom of choice’. But there are some hardcore folks who believe we should eliminate the two party system all together. I agree with this to a point. I think to give voters more options – a two party system to shift towards a six or eight party system. But there has to be a system. Could you imagine a world of limitless campaigning? Over a million men and women, naturally born in the U.S., and over the age of 35 are going to be self-proclaimed do gooders for the country. Where does it end? We’ll have 26 Joe Plumbers, 345 Hockey Moms, 120 Southern Baptists, 42 Scientologists and 65 Joe Six Packs thinking they can run for office. Somebody has to narrow it down to a few choices. I think it’s smart to at least have a group of people (the party) who represents a larger group of people (the voting public). I see hundreds of thousands of people going to these party conventions, meetings, and other hooplah – can you imagine if EVERYONE attended these things? It would be absolutely insane.
I guess what I’m trying to stay is that I think it’s great for everyone to stay informed, and speak up when they don’t like something. But there are some dishes we should leave for the chef to decide. I myself lead a very busy life with a lot on my plate – I don’t think I could imagine going to rallies and attending political meetings too. I like to stay informed but distant – I think if the voting public could at least do that, we’d have much smarter choices.
THOSE PESKY RED COATS:
Let me say that I don’t hate republicans, I actually agree with a few of their policies – but too often in recent years I’ve seen a wave of ignorant righteousness align itself with these red followers and it seems to blind these so called patriots to make irrational choices in the name of their ‘god’ or ‘holy ghost’. I am all for religious tolerance – let people believe what they want. But leave your bible at home and don’t bring it to the office. I have this overwhelming fear that religion has had a major influence over our current administration, and I hope that people recognize that. I support Barack Obama because he has left religion out of his realm of experience. He appeases the small town folk by letting them know that he is a Christian – but it ends there, like it should.
I hate to pigeon hole the Republican party because I know that they’re not all like this – but being in Texas, I don’t see many variations on this stereotype. I tend to align myself with any politician that speaks intelligently and not righteously.
It literally shakes me up when I hear politicians that try to ‘connect’ with a modest, small town audience. I don’t think people need to base their votes on who they would like to spend an afternoon with. I want the person that leads this country to be NOTHING LIKE ME. I’m not fit to lead this country – and I realize that. I put my faith in someone that is capable – someone that is nothing like me.
I have this theory that there is a mass of urban cave dwellers that have kept their opinions and feedback out of these ‘polls’ that we hear about. All we hear is how Obama and McCain are doing in the polls. I for one have never spoken to a pollster and I can’t speak for many of my friends – but I know that they don’t interact with any polls either. So if Barack is already ahead in the ‘polls’ – what about these millions of Obama supporters that the polls or media don’t know about? Come election day – we’ll see a spike in the voter counts, showing that there are a great deal of Barack supporters that are waiting to show their true colors at the booth. I like to call these people ‘Trojan Horse Voters’!
With that being said – don’t take anything for granted!! EVERYONE SHOULD GO OUT AND VOTE!!!
HOW DO WE TREAT ‘JOE THE REPAIRMAN’ ?
Another lingering fear of the year is the fact that the election could easily be stolen like it has been for the last two elections. Over 2 million registered voters have been shut out of each of the last two elections. 2 MILLION!! That’s enough to make a difference in the presidential race. The GOP had hired staff members that were dedicated to ‘shaking up’ the natural order of voting actions. They would do things like jam phone lines with electronic calls so that the voting public couldn’t receive calls about where to vote and updates on polling places. The poorer communities wouldn’t have information on how to get a ride to the polls or what the open voting hours were. They would be in control of polling places that would issue ‘provisional ballots’ – ballots that could be filled out but not officially filed because of one reason or another. The voting staff would say things like ‘our machines are down’ or ‘your driver’s license is expired’. Those provisional ballots would be tossed and never registered. It’s a real shame that we are now in a state of having to put one of our basic American rights under a microscope and check it ever so closely. Will we ever get back to a system of trust? Will everyone’s definition of ‘fair’ be the same in the future?
IF YOU’RE AN AUSTINITE….
Vote NO on Proposition 2!!!! The amendment says that it’s going to cut tax incentives for businesses looking to build in the Austin City Limits. This would cut down on future ‘Domains’ and other mega shopping complexes. Sounds awesome right? Well it also takes away these tax incentives from small business who are the ones who really need them. So in the end – these large investment firms with deep pockets will simply skip over this little road bump and plow right on through to continue building as they always have. The only thing this proposition will do is make it harder for local, small businesses to spring up.
Remember – VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION 2 !!!!!
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