| The election hopes of John McCain looks bleak. The Republican party is predicted to take hits up and down the ticket, losing a number of House and Senate seats, not to mention the effects all the way down to your local dogcatcher's race. And it's well earned. "Free" market deregulation led to the banking crisis; arrogant, aggressive foreign policy landed us in Iraq and left us friendless; divisiveness led to bitter partisanship and the "culture wars"; conservative rhetoric of "self reliance" and on taxation led to huge tax breaks and subsidies for monolithic multinational corporations, while leading to the decay of schools, income, and living conditions for everyday Americans.
But instead of taking a hard look at why the execution of conservatism in government led to these massive failures, the supporters of the GOP are looking to make these election results look controversial. Hey, the 2000 election helped keep the fire lit under liberals, right? So...how to go about it? Hey! How about invoking voter fraud? Of coruse, there is no scandal here. And note that even the right's claims show no evidence of actual fraud.
Meanwhile in Virginia and Pennsylvania, there are voting machine malfunctions and long lines for voting. And Virginia Tech students -- you may remember them as targets of voter suppression efforts -- found that their polling place had been moved suddenly off campus, 6 miles distant, to a tiny church with 30 parking spots for 5,000 voters.
Oh, and then there are the text messages floating around Montana telling folks, in order to avoid the long lines, to vote tomorrow. The messages are apparently part of a national effort to confuse voters.
Whatever. All in all, it seems like a well-run election, given the number of people who probably will vote and the craziness of this election.
Got any stories? Tell me your voting story? Mine is dull: I voted absentee. I sat on the couch with my coffee after dropping the kids off at school and filled out my ballot. The mail carrier took it later that day. Here in Erie, it's a gorgeous day, warm and sunny, and the maple trees throughout the city are bright yellow, their litter carpeting the streets with gold. I canvassed a predominantly African-American precinct this morning; at the neighborhood's polling place, spirits were high and voters were dressed up, as if for church. A little girl took my Obama literature on her stoop. "How did Obama get my number?" she asked. I tried explaining. But when I was done, all she said was, "tell Obama I like him."
Done.
Senator Obama, there's a little girl on West 4th Street in Erie, Pennsylvania, who likes you. |
