Because this is not a political blog, I haven't posted this photo before, but there actually is a whole line of these on our street, in addition to ours. Norm and I will vote in our Bel Nor Village Hall tomorrow, sometime after we get out of water exercise. We hope to catch a mid morning lull when lines will be shorter. In 2006 the wait was nearly an hour, as new touch-screen voting machines were unfamiliar. This year will be the first presidential election using them. We will ask for the paper op/scan ballots since they leave a record that can be used in a recount, although we have used the computer machines in the primary and other elections.
Our ballot this year has not only the Presidential candidates, but also House of Representatives, three state supreme court justices, a whole passel of St. Louis county judges, and many beaucoup (as my father would say) amendments and propositions. One amendment makes English the official language of the state. Another removes the gambling loss limit at our casinos (it's presently capped at $500 per 2 hours, which The Industry says is making us lose gamblers to Illinois). There is a proposition to increase the sales tax that supports our Metro bus and train system, which it needs for operating expenses and to expand. There is a proposition for a bond issue for our local fire department that has twice been defeated because residents are trying to recall two members of the board. And then there are state offices: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, Secretary of State, Attorney General.
I'll be voting no on the English (unnecessary) and gambling (here we go again on promises to education that won't be delivered) amendments. Likewise the fire house bonds, no sale until the house is cleaned. Yes for Metro because even if it's more taxes, it still is a transportation alternative that we use and wish more people had access to. I'll vote for Democrats Jay Nixon (never thought I'd ever support a politician named Nixon!) for governor and my former student Clint Zweifel for treasurer. The Lt. Governor in Missouri has few duties, except to step in when the governor is out of the state or incapacitated. I am probably going to vote for the Republican incumbent, Peter Kinder. He has performed very well the last 4 years, stepping in to call out emergency help during our fall floods from Gustav and Ike in a manner more efficient than our governor ever could have done. He also is a voice for a large segment of Missourians who would lack representation in the executive branch if there was a Democratic sweep. Incumbent Secretary of State Robin Carnahan is effective and her opposition is not well organized. The Attorney General race is a real mess. Jay Nixon held this post for 16 years and proved to be an advocate for consumers, establishing an effective No Call list for the state that preceded the federal one, and that is still better. Neither of the men who want to replace him is appealing. The Democrat has switched parties in an opportunistic move, and the Republican is still remembered for giving the raspberry to a former governor from the opposite party, when he was delivering the state of the state address. Both men are accomplished lawyers, although only one has trial experience. Both of them have spent enough money on TV ads slinging mud at each other to stock every food pantry in the state for the next four years! Koster or Gibbons? I'm still wrestling with this one.
In the Presidential race, I've followed every attack and counter attack, watched both party conventions, watched all four debates. I've read the blogs and the polls. I say this to emphasize that I'm not influenced by any single incident or issue. I know that each side has distorted the other side's plans for taxes, medical reform, and other issues. The best source, unbiased, for running all of these down is at www.factcheck.org and if you still have questions about a robo call, flyer, or ad you've seen from either the Democrat or Republican side, I recommend it for its thoroughness and lack of partisanship. Each campaign has its debunking sites as well, but they are less neutral.
In the end, this year as four years ago (and four and more years before that, back to 1968, actually) the platform and ideals of the Democratic party have come closer to expressing the values I cherish: individual freedom, responsibility, care for the vulnerable in society, true security, seeking peace with war as a last resort. These are also values for Republicans and I respect the fact that we just go about implementing them differently. All I can say about third parties, for those who are not attracted by either the Democrats or Republicans, is to recall that once I voted for such a candidate. I voted for John Anderson in 1980 and Ronald Reagan was elected. I have always regretted that I chose to "express myself" over looking at the probable consequence of my choice. And I suspect a lot of conservatives who voted for Ross Perot in 1992, with the resulting election of Bill Clinton, might know what I mean.
Nearly four years ago I picked up Barack Obama's book, Dreams From My Father, and after finishing it, thought that I wished someone with his understanding of mutual responsibility and empowerment of the common people could be elected president of the United States. Perhaps, I thought, after he serves a term or two in the Senate and maybe gets elected governor of Illinois--since the CW is that governors, not senators, get elected President. Fast forward two years, and he is running. Fast forward to this summer, and we have two candidates for President, both of them Senators. So much for the CW. Yes, Obama has less experience. He is only 47, not 72. He isn't a socialist or a terrorist. Both of these guys have friends I wouldn't necessarily choose as my own. Obama's "Change" slogan isn't so much the reason for my choice, as is the one on the bumper sticker on my van: Yes.We.Can. From the beginning, this campaign has been about working together, changing the way we think about politics, uniting a fractured country, restoring America's standing among the nations of the world. Whether it succeeds, history will tell. If these sentiments make me a Liberal, I'm not ashamed of the title. I would put an "Unterrified Liberal" bumper sticker on my car in a minute.
No matter what the outcome of this election, I am still first and foremost an American. I will continue to love and support my country and work for its betterment in any way I can, for as long as I can. But most of all I want to recover a sense of pride in the USA. I want to feel once more that tingle under my ribs when the flag goes by, or when I hear the Star-Spangled Banner played when a small town radio station signs off the air at midnight.
If you didn't vote absentee or in early voting, please vote on Tuesday. Vote early, but not often!
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