It's nearly over
Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 8:55 am
Thank dog, in less than 24 hours our four-year election campaign finally comes to an end. I shall finally get a respite from the tidal waves of crap that are breaking over me, thanks to being a non-partisan registered voter in a swing state.
Imagine, six or eight commercial breaks an hour packed end to end with political ads, none of them containing a single fact, just character assassination. Four to six robo-calls an hour, nobody there except a recorded message if I pick up, until I turn the ringer off and just don't use the phone any more. My mailbox is full of election crap every day, consisting (like the TV ads) of nothing but slander and libel, most of it sent by groups with names starting "Americans for ..." - like anyone believes they're people, and not corporations and plutocrats. I don't read it, I don't even count it - I weigh it. I can't even get to work every day because I have to drive past the airport, and every time one of the contenders is in town - which is every couple of days - they close all the roads in case some fed-up citizen takes a pot shot at their planes.
So tomorrow I get to cast my vote - multiple votes, actually. Do I vote for the ineffective incumbent, or the religious zealot? At least I know what the incumbent stands for - the challenger has yet to explain anything. For congress, do I vote for the party in power, or the party that used to be in power and screwed it up last time? This would be a much easier decision if the party in power didn't appoint to the House Science Committee, three people who think the world is only 6000 years old, and one who says Science is the work of Satan. But look, here's an interesting question, down in the "propositions": Do I want my property taxes increased by 22%? Hmmm, decisions, decisions. I think I'll have to say ... no.
After polling closes tomorrow - today, now - it will be the lawyers' turn, as millions and millions are spent challenging the results. Having been brought up in Britain, I always thought there was a thing in elections called "losing", but apparently there isn't in America - just the other side cheating, or the dumb public not giving you adequate recognition for the amount of money you spent trying to buy the damn thing. But with any luck, either the appeals will run out, or one side will give up, and we'll get a decision by January.
Just in time to kick off the next campaign for the election in 2016.
Imagine, six or eight commercial breaks an hour packed end to end with political ads, none of them containing a single fact, just character assassination. Four to six robo-calls an hour, nobody there except a recorded message if I pick up, until I turn the ringer off and just don't use the phone any more. My mailbox is full of election crap every day, consisting (like the TV ads) of nothing but slander and libel, most of it sent by groups with names starting "Americans for ..." - like anyone believes they're people, and not corporations and plutocrats. I don't read it, I don't even count it - I weigh it. I can't even get to work every day because I have to drive past the airport, and every time one of the contenders is in town - which is every couple of days - they close all the roads in case some fed-up citizen takes a pot shot at their planes.
So tomorrow I get to cast my vote - multiple votes, actually. Do I vote for the ineffective incumbent, or the religious zealot? At least I know what the incumbent stands for - the challenger has yet to explain anything. For congress, do I vote for the party in power, or the party that used to be in power and screwed it up last time? This would be a much easier decision if the party in power didn't appoint to the House Science Committee, three people who think the world is only 6000 years old, and one who says Science is the work of Satan. But look, here's an interesting question, down in the "propositions": Do I want my property taxes increased by 22%? Hmmm, decisions, decisions. I think I'll have to say ... no.
After polling closes tomorrow - today, now - it will be the lawyers' turn, as millions and millions are spent challenging the results. Having been brought up in Britain, I always thought there was a thing in elections called "losing", but apparently there isn't in America - just the other side cheating, or the dumb public not giving you adequate recognition for the amount of money you spent trying to buy the damn thing. But with any luck, either the appeals will run out, or one side will give up, and we'll get a decision by January.
Just in time to kick off the next campaign for the election in 2016.