I was caught off-guard when I voted
Nov. 2nd, 2010 03:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
csberryDespite what all of the election ads seemed to tell me, when I looked at my ballot, I couldn't find anywhere for me to vote for or against Nancy Pelosi, Pres. Obama, Indian gambling interests, the AEA, or integrity. Nowhere on the ballot could I find any reference to where I needed to check to vote for jobs, an ethical government, better schools, and less crime.
Instead, I saw a sheet filled with names of various humans. Each of them imperfect. Each of them with opinions - known and unknown, similar and dissimilar from my own. When the moment came to vote, none of the slogans or party affiliations proved to demonstrate the worthiness of each of the individual candidates. It is up to each of us to do our own look at the candidates and pick whomever we think will do the type of job we want done by our Congressman, state senator, county coroner (yes, we vote for our coroner in Huntsville), or state board of education.
I hope when you vote, you don't find yourself voting for the candidates with the slickest ad campaign, catchiest slogan, or least amount of mud covering themselves. If you want politicians that can actually govern, then YOU have to see beyond the candidates' soundbites and endorsements and look at that human being wanting the job and judge who will actually do an honorable job representing you at the various levels of government. It is one thing to prove yourself to be great at throwing mud, bloviating about opposing politicians, and making great promises...but it is an entirely different thing to be in the position of power and able to enact the changes or vision you pitched to the public. Good candidates aren't necessarily good at governing and vice versa.
Instead, I saw a sheet filled with names of various humans. Each of them imperfect. Each of them with opinions - known and unknown, similar and dissimilar from my own. When the moment came to vote, none of the slogans or party affiliations proved to demonstrate the worthiness of each of the individual candidates. It is up to each of us to do our own look at the candidates and pick whomever we think will do the type of job we want done by our Congressman, state senator, county coroner (yes, we vote for our coroner in Huntsville), or state board of education.
I hope when you vote, you don't find yourself voting for the candidates with the slickest ad campaign, catchiest slogan, or least amount of mud covering themselves. If you want politicians that can actually govern, then YOU have to see beyond the candidates' soundbites and endorsements and look at that human being wanting the job and judge who will actually do an honorable job representing you at the various levels of government. It is one thing to prove yourself to be great at throwing mud, bloviating about opposing politicians, and making great promises...but it is an entirely different thing to be in the position of power and able to enact the changes or vision you pitched to the public. Good candidates aren't necessarily good at governing and vice versa.
