Monday, November 06, 2006

Vote, Dammit!

If you haven't already voted, be sure to get out and vote tomorrow. Don't let long lines, a little rain or a poll observer in a Brooks Brothers suit make you forget what's at stake right now.

Here in Texas, it looks like our Christ-baiting incumbent governor will coast to victory with less than 40 percent of the vote. Since Chris Bell has the best chance of the three spoilers of defeating Rick Perry by most accounts, that's who I voted for.

Despite getting only a fraction of the media coverage given to Kinky and One Tough Grandma, Bell gained a surprising amount of traction this fall while Grandma stalled out (despite premature teacher and state employee union endorsements) and Kinky's once-hopeful candidacy degenerated into a sideshow of tired quips and stupid gaffes.

As much as I detest the two-party system, after what happened in 2000 with Ralph Nader, I think it's better to try and slow the bleeding with an imperfect Democrat than vote for someone who has no chance in hell of winning. A "protest vote" is a self-indulgence I can't afford anymore.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

First off, if you vote straight ticket Democrat tomorrow - you have to vote in the redrawn U.S. Congessional races separately - that'd be Districts 21 (Courage) & 25(Doggett)in Austin. It's considered a special election. Don't vote for Gene Kelley, please.
In case anyone missed the one and only "debate" between the gubernatorial hopefuls, I thought that Bell sounded the most coherent of the three challengers. Strayhorn came across as a wind-up candidate, spouting the same five talking points that she's had since the beginning while Kinky just looked lost, and not a bit folksy or funny. Perry just wanted to get off the stage without looking too stupid or saying anything that would piss off his right-wing base. I'm going with Mr. Adequate - vote for Bell.