The Franchise
No, I'm not talking about Steve Francis.
I just exercised my right to vote, and thought I'd ruminate about some of my choices.
The most agonizing was for the US Senate. It was the last item I voted on and I needed all that time to decide what I could live with more: voting for Maria, or having her lose in a nail-biter election where my vote might actually have made a difference. In the end I voted for Maria, but I'm far from happy about it. I'm very concerned that if she wins she'll take the victory as a validation of her position on Iraq. Although here we are at the end of 2006 (the "year of transition"), and she should find herself well positioned after Election Day. If anti-war sentiment remains high, she can declare that there hasn't been enough transitioning. Or, she can declare that sufficient transitioning has occurred and continue to rubber-stamp whatever the White House wants. She will have arrived at this position without taking a definitive stand on Iraq at a time when the political fall out of a definitive stance is unclear.
Anyway, while I still think she's bad on Iraq, and I don't really trust her on most other issues, she has been surprisingly good in some areas. She voted against the Bankruptcy Reform Act, she stared down Senator Ted "NO!" Stevens and his Bridge to Nowhere, and she voted against Bush's Supreme Court nominees (including a vote to filibuster Justice Alito) (caveat: I personally agree with Feingold on Roberts, but I give Maria credit for understanding that her base was/is restless and she needed to tend to them). So throw all that in a pot, cook it for 52 minutes, and give her another 6 years I guess.
Other noteworthy items from the ballot, I voted against I920 and I933. I voted for I937, less because I agree with this formula for energy conservation, and more because a poor showing on this initiative could set back conservation efforts for a number of years.
There you have it! Here's hoping for a good Election Day. The Seahawks won last night, so that got the week off to a good start. I hope the Democrats can make it 2 for 2.
I just exercised my right to vote, and thought I'd ruminate about some of my choices.
The most agonizing was for the US Senate. It was the last item I voted on and I needed all that time to decide what I could live with more: voting for Maria, or having her lose in a nail-biter election where my vote might actually have made a difference. In the end I voted for Maria, but I'm far from happy about it. I'm very concerned that if she wins she'll take the victory as a validation of her position on Iraq. Although here we are at the end of 2006 (the "year of transition"), and she should find herself well positioned after Election Day. If anti-war sentiment remains high, she can declare that there hasn't been enough transitioning. Or, she can declare that sufficient transitioning has occurred and continue to rubber-stamp whatever the White House wants. She will have arrived at this position without taking a definitive stand on Iraq at a time when the political fall out of a definitive stance is unclear.
Anyway, while I still think she's bad on Iraq, and I don't really trust her on most other issues, she has been surprisingly good in some areas. She voted against the Bankruptcy Reform Act, she stared down Senator Ted "NO!" Stevens and his Bridge to Nowhere, and she voted against Bush's Supreme Court nominees (including a vote to filibuster Justice Alito) (caveat: I personally agree with Feingold on Roberts, but I give Maria credit for understanding that her base was/is restless and she needed to tend to them). So throw all that in a pot, cook it for 52 minutes, and give her another 6 years I guess.
Other noteworthy items from the ballot, I voted against I920 and I933. I voted for I937, less because I agree with this formula for energy conservation, and more because a poor showing on this initiative could set back conservation efforts for a number of years.
There you have it! Here's hoping for a good Election Day. The Seahawks won last night, so that got the week off to a good start. I hope the Democrats can make it 2 for 2.
posted by Kumar at 12:32 AM
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