Choices, choices

[hrj]

Well, my California Primary Election absentee ballot has arrived. I've always loved the experience of walking into the polling station at the local elementary school auditorium, having my name checked off the list by the Doddering Little Old Lady who may, in fact, be surviving only for this purpose in life, and sticking my "I voted today" sticker on my security badge holder for the rest of the day. But then, even though my polling station is directly on my way to work, there came an election day when scheduling made it tight to get there. And we'd moved over to Diebold machines and while I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I'm willing to be cautious on the traceability side. (Mind you, given that I'm in the congressional district that elects Barbara Lee, any serious attempt to tinker with our local election returns would stand out like a turd in a punchbowl, to use one of aastg's colorful expressions.) And the final advantage of going to permanent absentee status is that I can get my voting done with early and then ignore all the electioneering.

The problem is, I'm leaning towards voting for someone who has dropped out of the race. To start off with, I consider it obscene that the presidential electioneering started the day after the last mid-term election closed. I want my elected officials to have their attention on governing, not on bopping all over the country working on their next election. And for anybody to be a current front-runner (in any party), they pretty much had to start that early, so I started off with a mad on for everyone who actually has a chance of getting the nomination. And secondly, I think the most pressing issue of the day is restoring the power of the Constitution and the rule of law. All the issues about war and taxes and immigration and the economy are pretty much moot if we have an executive branch that thinks it can do whatever it damned well pleases and the Constitution can go screw itself. And the rest of the gutless wonders in Washington are standing around critiquing the cut of the Emperor's Clothes. So for the last year or so I've been holding out for a presidential candidate who would stand up and say that his/her platform explicitly includes restoring and upholding the Constitution.

So far, the only person I've heard saying anything close to this is Chris Dodd. Who quit after the Iowa caucases. Well, it isn't exactly a point in his favor that he's a quitter. But how else am I going to communicate to the surviving candidates that they have a lot of work to do to rise above the level of a yellow dog in my estimation?

It's going to be a loooooong election season.

Comments

[etfb.livejournal.com]

I had to look him up. You know, I don't know what I would have done if he'd been a Republican; my faith in you would have taken a beating. Weird, eh? Which is not to say the Democrats have showered themselves in glory, but when the devil you know is as devilish as the current one, you don't get the luxury of nitpicking...

[hrj.livejournal.com]

Yeah, "power of the constitution" and "rule of law" aren't exactly traditional leftist buzz-words, are they? I can see how you might be worried.

[etfb.livejournal.com]

Heh - I can remember when they weren't leftist priorities. Funny how things change, eh?

[smoooom.livejournal.com]

It's going to be a loooooong election season.

I'd have to agree. I also have to wonder when the American political system is going to wake up and enter the 20th century. I think the 21st would be nice but that might be asking for too much. I wonder sometimes what it would take, in the short run (the way I prefer politics) since it's not my system to worry about I try not to. But the whole system seems so out of step with reality and I think that the most powerful nation in the world should have something a little more efficient.

[wulfsdottir.livejournal.com]

At the moment, the only thing protecting us here in the U.S. from our government is its bureaucratic inefficiencies.

Sad, that.

[wulfsdottir.livejournal.com]

I feel similarly. I went looking for someone with the guts to say that freedom of religion was important, and meant that the state should not be run by a church. All I found was Kucinich (whose earlier views on the abortion issue were horrifying to me, but he did at least go talk to a bunch of women and find that he couldn't support it becoming illegal after looking for input from the people most likely to be affected), who also hasn't got a snowball's chance of being elected.

Since that's pertinent to your current search on candidates with an eye on Constitutional rights, I'm willing to see if I can find it again in the morass that is the internet election collection, if you'd like to read it. Otherwise, I'll spare you the link, and me the search.

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

I'm going for Edwards because he talks about class.

[blaurentnv.livejournal.com]

Yes, I liked Dodd a lot too. Of the leading contenders, I have a strong preference for Obama. I may be slanted because I've actually met him and his campaign staff in our area have been great, in contrast to the other campaigns. He seems genuinely interested in making things better and does not come across even one on one as doing this for his own benefit. The fact that he's taught constitutional law tells me that he's at least read the thing (in contrast to our sitting president).

He also seems to be the one who the people leaving the race are supporting. Richardson's campaign office now says Obama on its window. Kuchinich (I know that's spelled wrong, but I don't feel like looking it up) asked his supporters in Iowa to caucus for Obama. I haven't seen a statement from Dodd, but his Nevada campaign manager indicated that they would be supporting Obama if Dodd dropped out.

[mbumby.livejournal.com]

Can you vote uncommitted? That is what a lot of folks in my state who want to vote on the Dem side are being suggested to do. (I think there are 4 Dems on our ballot, one of whom has dropped out; Obama & Edwards removed their names.) I'm so disgusted with politics that I'm quite happy that all the Dems are sticking to their word to not campaign here.