the primary’s today. while i’m now registered as a permanent absentee voter so i won’t have to rush home to vote, i haven’t mailed in my ballot because honestly, i can’t decide.
someone asked me who i’m supporting in the election, and i responded, “the one without an elephant on their lapel”.
seriously, i’ve been spending most of the time during this campaign trying to figure out which the rest of america is least likely to vote for: a black man or a woman? because while i’m delighted with both options, i sure as hell don’t want to lose AGAIN for another four years of republican misery. as much as i would love/be astounded by a woman president or a president of color, i can’t help thinking of how many people just wouldn’t vote for a woman or a person of color. which is worse? which is more “no way in h-e-double-hockey-sticks”?
yet talking with roo yesterday, she makes a good point: do we let whom we root for be decided by white men in the south? shouldn’t we vote for whom we believe and inspires us, and not let those decisions be made by what we fear (or they fear)? in some ways if the republican candidate ends up being mccain perhaps the choice is easier; somehow i’m more ok with mccain than anyone else. but what if it’s romney— are we back to the same question of “who’s the best choice to beat them” instead of “who do we love”? (hmc notes that additionally, it’s not just any woman. it’s hillary. hillary whom many republicans just HATE with a venom. although again, there’s a question of whether they hate hillary or they would just hate any woman who was strong willed and potentially in power.)
it would be nice to be idealistic. hillary is certainly capable and has the experience of taking us where she feels we need to go. barack has the capability to inspire us and perhaps reach across lines to unite us as a nation. but are we dupes who keep believing in ideas while republican tactics repeatedly swift boat our dreams?
somehow i keep thinking back to the 2003 california gubernatorial free-for-all, when i voted for whom i was “supposed to”. and we ended up with arnold anyway. as it turns out, i should have just voted for the porn star.
the question is, who’s our porn star?
Posted at February 5, 2008 2:20 PM | TrackBack