It's election day, 2004. I have never looked more forward to an election being over in my adult life. I am tired of the sniping, the divisiveness, the partisan bickering, the lawyers lining up on both sides to contest anything and everything they can. Having normally friendly people yelling at you because your beliefs don't coincide with theirs - having family members practically not talking to you because you don't plan on voting for the candidate they support.
As I alluded to in my previous post, I'm not voting for either party this year. I lost my faith in George W. Bush after his first few months in office, and although I don't disagree with his invasion of Iraq per se, I think his way of going about it severely damaged the US's reputation in the world. And John Kerry's entire platform wasn't so much what he would do for the country, but the fact that he isn't George Bush. Historically, I hate candidates who run on those kind of platforms, as it tells me crap about them and where they plan on really leading the country.
Also, I get to live in the state of New York, which hasn't had a closely contested Presidential election in more years than anyone can count. The Democrats have had this state sewn up for so long that the candidates haven't even bothered to visit... and I hate living in a state where I feel that my vote is a waste no matter which way I vote (I either vote for a candidate who has such a huge vote lead that I'm just padding it that much further, or for the candidate who has no hope of winning). With the Electoral College system (and the fact that NY, like most states, is a winner-take-all state), there is little value in my Presidential choice, regardless.
This year I'm voting for Michael Badnarik, the Libertarian Party candidate for President. My vote isn't really for him, but for the Libertarian Party as a whole... in an attempt to make sure they have ballot access for the next 4 years (due in no small part to NY's arcane and difficult rules). At the national level, the Libertarian's can be a bit too nutty for my taste, but I have found that at the lower local levels, they run some very interesting and solid candidates who have a lot of great ideas, and I think it is time in this country to start giving reasonable third parties access to the political/election system. Since that can only start at the local level, then I guess I will do my part.
I hope that everyone gets out their and votes today, and I pray that regardless of the outcome, that the election will be over quickly and not be dragged out in a repeat of the 2000 election cycle. So get out and vote!
Posted by Mark at November 2, 2004 11:37 AM | TrackBack