Election Day Blogging
Cast my ballot today, the very first presidential election where I was not able to vote Libertarian. Why not? Well because not only did Bob Barr fail to appear on the ballot (which was really the fault of the state of Connecticut), but his campaign also failed to register as a write-in candidate (most likely the campaign's fault). This means that a write-in vote for Barr would go into the same none-vote category as people who vote for Mickey Mouse or people who don't mark anything.
So I bit my my tongue, stood by my promise not to vote for McCain or Obama and cast a ballot for Ralph Nader as a protest to the two-party system. Use my vote wisely Mr. Nader.
In the 5th district House race I voted againast incumbent Chris Murphy solely for his vote on the bailout bill. If only other Americans would do the same. I heard a stat yesterday that 75% of Americans opposed the bailout, but I'd be willing to wager that at 80-90% of House incumbents keep their seats. People love to complain about Congress, but despite record low approval numbers, most people will vote to keep "their guy" in Washington.
Just a few other election day thoughts:
# I caught the news this morning discussing how Starbucks and Krispy Kreme were technically barred by election laws from offering free cups of coffee and free donuts to customers who voted. I understand the logic that you basically can't bribe people to go and cast a ballot. But come on, a donut? It's a little perk for people who voted already, maybe a bit of encouragement to get up and vote early. No one who was not planning in voting is having their mind changed with the promise of a free $0.79 donut. Just ridiculous.
# In reading through campaign information last night (mostly Chris Murphy's and his challengers), it was interesting to see how many candidates websites discussed energy independence and the issue of high gas prices. Most of them had solutions for those high gas prices. It's nice to know they were all so concerned, but with gas in my area falling under $2.30 a gallon (below it's pre-Katrina price), gas prices have become a non-issue. Just an interesting little example of not only how quickly markets can change, but of how utterly meaningless some supposed political issues really are.
So I bit my my tongue, stood by my promise not to vote for McCain or Obama and cast a ballot for Ralph Nader as a protest to the two-party system. Use my vote wisely Mr. Nader.
In the 5th district House race I voted againast incumbent Chris Murphy solely for his vote on the bailout bill. If only other Americans would do the same. I heard a stat yesterday that 75% of Americans opposed the bailout, but I'd be willing to wager that at 80-90% of House incumbents keep their seats. People love to complain about Congress, but despite record low approval numbers, most people will vote to keep "their guy" in Washington.
Just a few other election day thoughts:
# I caught the news this morning discussing how Starbucks and Krispy Kreme were technically barred by election laws from offering free cups of coffee and free donuts to customers who voted. I understand the logic that you basically can't bribe people to go and cast a ballot. But come on, a donut? It's a little perk for people who voted already, maybe a bit of encouragement to get up and vote early. No one who was not planning in voting is having their mind changed with the promise of a free $0.79 donut. Just ridiculous.
# In reading through campaign information last night (mostly Chris Murphy's and his challengers), it was interesting to see how many candidates websites discussed energy independence and the issue of high gas prices. Most of them had solutions for those high gas prices. It's nice to know they were all so concerned, but with gas in my area falling under $2.30 a gallon (below it's pre-Katrina price), gas prices have become a non-issue. Just an interesting little example of not only how quickly markets can change, but of how utterly meaningless some supposed political issues really are.
posted by lonely libertarian at 2:13 PM
2 Comments:
So Taco Bell can give out free tacos when someone steals a base in the World Series but I can't get a donut for voting?
I don't know how, but this is somehow Bush's fault.
"It's nice to know they were all so concerned, but with gas in my area falling under $2.30 a gallon (below it's pre-Katrina price), gas prices have become a non-issue. Just an interesting little example of not only how quickly markets can change, but of how utterly meaningless some supposed political issues really are."
It's an example of how short-sighted our electorate is.
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