29 January 2008

Open

I have been an independent since before it was cool. I am a PA Republican at heart (the Tom Ridge sort, not that weirdo Rick Santorum). But there is no place in either party for me at the national level, and since we move so much I just don't bother with the vast wasteland that party politics has become. Most of the time none of the candidates is worth anything anyway, so I don't miss much by not voting in the primaries.

This past weekend, DH asked a rhetorical question: So, if you could vote for any one candidate regardless of party, who would it be? I had to think long and hard. See, I like two of them. One I feel would be better for moving us forward into the brave new world. The other I think would be better for keeping us safe, actually KEEPING us safe and not making a bunch of sound and fury and at the end of the day the only folks better off are the multinational corporations in the military industrial complex. We talked a great deal about it. Debating the merits of this or that one. Talking about how ads and emails are full of half truths and bad analogies. I finally picked one, but again it was all rhetorical. I joked I might have a hard time come November if these two somehow made it to the top of the heap for their respective parties.

Turns out, I won't have to wait until November.

See, Virginia has what is known as an "open" primary. You don't register your party, you just go in and ask for the specific ballot you want. Wow. Just Wow. So what am I supposed to do?

There is something different about this election. Do you feel it? It is like it really really MATTERS this time. Like we have a great choice to make here, how are we going to go forward as a country, as a people, as citizens in the greater world. And for once, just once in my memory, we actually have a chance for a real choice. We have the chance to put a decent, hardworking, WORTHY candidate atop the ballot in BOTH parties.

So in two weeks, I will vote for the one that needs my vote more here in VA.

Still don't know what I will do in November...........

2 comments:

Unknown said...

From one independent to another, though you'd be interested in checking out www.independentvoting.org. (Go to the activist page to read more about the campaign to open all primaries.)

Gwen

Liene said...

We've been discussing politics in our house for weeks. Doesn't help that political talk radio is about all I listen to in the car. I'm not happy about the way things are going in the political race and very well might do a write in candidate on both the primary and national election. Then no one can say I didn't care.

Politicians have become so self-serving and that's what bothers me most.