Election Day

I hate Election Day. I hate that they interrupt every tv show with return results. I hate that last night every other commercial was an ad about how the other guy is an unqualified crook. Is it that bad in the other states? I can only speak for the NJ/NY/CT area and it’s no wonder the whole country thinks we’re nothing but a bunch of Tony Soprano wanna-be’s.

But that's not really why I hate election day.

NJ has always leaned toward electing Democrats. When I first registered to vote (in my high school auditorium) I registered as a Democrat. Why? Mostly to piss off my Dad. My entire family always voted straight ticket Republican. Except my Granny who was my only ally for many years. It was kind of funny that my Dad thought I was a straight Dem ticket voter. He used to say “Well, we canceled our votes out”.

It was 10 or 15 years before my Dad found out that I am an issue voter. I look how the candidates stand on the issues that are important to me. To his horror I still mostly align with the Dems.

This election isn’t so much about the issues as it is about control of Congress. I really don’t want to vote for the Dem crook. His opponent’s ads run the tapes of an undercover sting operation where his right hand man is saying that the candidate will “be very grateful” and “will take care of you”. They guy calls him by name. It’s bad. But would I rather send him to Washington than let the Republicans have control of Congress? The Rep candidate has been touted as nothing more than Dub’ya’s yes man.

No. I don’t like the president. I respect that he is the leader of our country, a figure head, but I think he is a pompous dumbass and has no right running the USA. For a minute let’s put the War in Iraq to the side and look at a couple other bonehead things he’s tried to do and thankfully failed at:

The whole gay marriage thing.
I’ll be brief on this… I don’t think that ANYONE has the right to take one of our most revered American documents and change it to exclude a group of people. This is what Dub’ya wanted to do. He wanted to pass an amendment to the US Constitution saying that marriage was only between a man and a woman. I know gay couples that have been together much longer than most of the straight couples I know and it makes me sick to think they have no rights as each other's spouse.

The right to do what I want with my body.
This isn’t just about abortion. It’s more about keeping your rotten government hands out of my life. Let’s go back a couple years to Terry Schiavo. What right did the President have to stick his nose in their business? The whole thing was about the president’s religious beliefs vs that of the legal guardian of an American citizen. How DARE the president (and his brother the governor of FL) ignore what every medical expert reported? Do they have medical degrees?

What really bugged me (thanks to Tina & David for planting this seed) is what the government really did behind the smokescreen of the Terry Schiavo legal maneuverings. What did the left hand do when we were all looking at the right hand?

This year I have to choose someone who is bad for my state or someone who will make it easier for Dub'ya's to get things like the above through Congress.

So see – that’s why I hate Election Day. No matter what I do, no matter who I vote for, I lose. I’m so tired of voting for the person who is “less of a crook” or for the crook because I can’t in good conscience live with the alternative.

Edited to add:
I think I made my decision - but as always - that is subject to change.