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3DHS / Looking forward and looking back
« on: October 20, 2008, 05:36:16 PM »
I'm about 80% convinced that Obama has it. I hold back my being totally convinced till that Wednesday the 5th because of several factors.
1) Racism - Saturday, I dropped by to see my mom and she told me my uncle and his wife were coming in town to see her on Sunday. My uncle and I have had political discussions before. He wanted to support Dean in '04 mainly because of the energy and excitement he saw around Dean but he held back because he feared that Dean was too liberal. Kerry was his guy since Kerry was military and so was my uncle. My uncle is one of those old timey Dems who held on through Nixon's southern strategy but he went on, I'm sure, to vote for Reagan but Dem since Reagan.
I asked my mom if he had mentioned his position. She said he had not but she felt she knew for sure that he would be voting for McCain because she didn't think he would ever vote for a black man.
That was pretty devastating for me. I knew that he was a blatant racist back when I was a kid but I felt that he had grown out of that as he had mellowed with age. I've not talked to my mom today to see if she found out but if he, being something of a yellow dog Dem would see the race that way, then I worry about how many people like my uncle are out there.
2) Electronic Voting - Already, West Virginia is reporting widespread issues with the machines where a person will choose Obama and the vote will register for McCain. I saw a blurb from RFK Jr where he said that the election is already stolen.
My faith in the election system is about 40% of what it should be. I feel like voting is the only avenue available to me to effect change and exert some tiny modicum of control over our nation and that everyone should go out and cast their vote. On the other hand, sometimes I feel like the whole voting system is compromised by the electronic voting machines.
Vigilance is the key but I fear that there will be intimidation in poorer neighborhoods and some people will leave having wanted to vote for Obama but knowing that there vote will count towards McCain.
3) This last two week stretch. I'm really concerned that people who will have voted for Obama may stay to the house thinking that Obama "has got it". Or people will simply flake out and not plan to take off or won't take the time to go early vote. This two weeks that we're about to head into will prove difficult for Obama to keep people excited about his candidacy and those voters who are wanting to vote for him in an historic election may not stay excited without the weekly reminders of the debates.
GOP voters are older and more hardcore about their support and I fear they may show while all the kids that are now signed up will have partied all weekend and barely made it to class on Monday and not be able to crawl out of bed on Tuesday morning and make to the polls.
For first time voters, the idea of voting is exciting but it becomes daunting when they consider that they will have to have made sure they were registered first of all but then they actually have to go to the poll which they first have to find out how to find out how to find. That can be a real hassle to someone who's never voted before.
And while I have been more than happy to help GOP voters sign up or help them find where to vote, I have sincere doubts that a Republican will help anyone who they think might vote for Obama.
For the most part, I think everyone has made up their minds. That last 4 to 8% who haven't are probably not going to make a difference on the whole race.
Personally, I have to admit that I just want it to be over. It had been my intention to ignore the race this time around and not put myself in the position of giving a damn or hoping for a specific outcome but my idealism got the best of me and I let Obama's intellect, wisdom, rhetorical stylings and substance persuade me.
Most of the time, I find myself driving along and realizing that I'm thinking about the election too much. It's really depressing for me to see my country's citizens in the middle of an historic period where we have, in my perception, such a clear cut choice between what is right for America right now and something that was right for America 8 years ago.
John McCain is a good man. He is the textbook definition of an American Hero. I would have had real difficulty in 2000 deciding between him and Al Gore if things had gone differently. I used to have nothing but respect for the guy but he has simply sold his soul to Rovian devils in order to get the presidency. He actually has the guy who did the push-polls about his adopted daughter running the robo-calls trying to link Obama and Ayers.
I've tried to stay out of the dirt with you guys around here but it has proven very difficult as I have seen the people I most respect on the right here turn into the same kind of foaming at the mouth maddogs as rich and sirs. I had high hopes that this race would prove to be a boon for us here and it would result in real discussions about policies and stances but for the most part it has been an endless stream of invective, smears and slander.
Tit for tat and that was something of a disappointment. Maybe the election will change that somehow.
Looking forward to November 4th.
Brassmask
1) Racism - Saturday, I dropped by to see my mom and she told me my uncle and his wife were coming in town to see her on Sunday. My uncle and I have had political discussions before. He wanted to support Dean in '04 mainly because of the energy and excitement he saw around Dean but he held back because he feared that Dean was too liberal. Kerry was his guy since Kerry was military and so was my uncle. My uncle is one of those old timey Dems who held on through Nixon's southern strategy but he went on, I'm sure, to vote for Reagan but Dem since Reagan.
I asked my mom if he had mentioned his position. She said he had not but she felt she knew for sure that he would be voting for McCain because she didn't think he would ever vote for a black man.
That was pretty devastating for me. I knew that he was a blatant racist back when I was a kid but I felt that he had grown out of that as he had mellowed with age. I've not talked to my mom today to see if she found out but if he, being something of a yellow dog Dem would see the race that way, then I worry about how many people like my uncle are out there.
2) Electronic Voting - Already, West Virginia is reporting widespread issues with the machines where a person will choose Obama and the vote will register for McCain. I saw a blurb from RFK Jr where he said that the election is already stolen.
My faith in the election system is about 40% of what it should be. I feel like voting is the only avenue available to me to effect change and exert some tiny modicum of control over our nation and that everyone should go out and cast their vote. On the other hand, sometimes I feel like the whole voting system is compromised by the electronic voting machines.
Vigilance is the key but I fear that there will be intimidation in poorer neighborhoods and some people will leave having wanted to vote for Obama but knowing that there vote will count towards McCain.
3) This last two week stretch. I'm really concerned that people who will have voted for Obama may stay to the house thinking that Obama "has got it". Or people will simply flake out and not plan to take off or won't take the time to go early vote. This two weeks that we're about to head into will prove difficult for Obama to keep people excited about his candidacy and those voters who are wanting to vote for him in an historic election may not stay excited without the weekly reminders of the debates.
GOP voters are older and more hardcore about their support and I fear they may show while all the kids that are now signed up will have partied all weekend and barely made it to class on Monday and not be able to crawl out of bed on Tuesday morning and make to the polls.
For first time voters, the idea of voting is exciting but it becomes daunting when they consider that they will have to have made sure they were registered first of all but then they actually have to go to the poll which they first have to find out how to find out how to find. That can be a real hassle to someone who's never voted before.
And while I have been more than happy to help GOP voters sign up or help them find where to vote, I have sincere doubts that a Republican will help anyone who they think might vote for Obama.
For the most part, I think everyone has made up their minds. That last 4 to 8% who haven't are probably not going to make a difference on the whole race.
Personally, I have to admit that I just want it to be over. It had been my intention to ignore the race this time around and not put myself in the position of giving a damn or hoping for a specific outcome but my idealism got the best of me and I let Obama's intellect, wisdom, rhetorical stylings and substance persuade me.
Most of the time, I find myself driving along and realizing that I'm thinking about the election too much. It's really depressing for me to see my country's citizens in the middle of an historic period where we have, in my perception, such a clear cut choice between what is right for America right now and something that was right for America 8 years ago.
John McCain is a good man. He is the textbook definition of an American Hero. I would have had real difficulty in 2000 deciding between him and Al Gore if things had gone differently. I used to have nothing but respect for the guy but he has simply sold his soul to Rovian devils in order to get the presidency. He actually has the guy who did the push-polls about his adopted daughter running the robo-calls trying to link Obama and Ayers.
I've tried to stay out of the dirt with you guys around here but it has proven very difficult as I have seen the people I most respect on the right here turn into the same kind of foaming at the mouth maddogs as rich and sirs. I had high hopes that this race would prove to be a boon for us here and it would result in real discussions about policies and stances but for the most part it has been an endless stream of invective, smears and slander.
Tit for tat and that was something of a disappointment. Maybe the election will change that somehow.
Looking forward to November 4th.
Brassmask