Election Day will soon be upon us, once again. Milwaukee has a Socialist running for Sheriff (she seems really lovely, smart, and on the right side of history!), and a Green Party candidate for State Treasurer (and in September, his numbers were pretty okay!).
In this sad/silly era of bought & sold candidates, dangerous zealots (as well as more clown-ish zealots), and a political campaign and lobbying system that encourages corruption, a progressive looking for genuine reform options often doesn't know which way to turn. Of course, Democrats being in charge of things is less bad than Republicans. So, the sensible choice seems to vote for Democrats in close races, and vote more radically (Greens, Socialists, liberal Independents) when it's expedient. The fear-mongering lessons of Ralph Nader loom large, despite the fact that they're misguided.
Nationally, there are a lot of interesting races. That said, the US House is guaranteed to remain in Republican hands, despite the fact that more people will probably end up voting for Democrats. Thank you gerrymandering.
Unfortunately, the same reason can't be given for why the Senate seems poised to fall into Republican hands as well. Though it would be awesome, wouldn't it? To re-draw the state lines to re-organize people into more culturally appropriate regions?
The State of Wisconsin has a useful resource for figuring out what all is going to be on your ballot:
At the top of the ballot, of course, is the Mary Burke / Scott Walker race for Governor. This one will come down to turnout, and while I'm not overly excited about Mary Burke, she's the choice.
Down the ballot a ways is our rootin'-tootin' Sheriff Clarke, running against Angela Walker. It seems the last time the Journal Sentinel deigned to mention her in an article was August 8th, when Chris Moews was being backed against the gun-loving sheriff by Michael Bloomberg.
In this sad/silly era of bought & sold candidates, dangerous zealots (as well as more clown-ish zealots), and a political campaign and lobbying system that encourages corruption, a progressive looking for genuine reform options often doesn't know which way to turn. Of course, Democrats being in charge of things is less bad than Republicans. So, the sensible choice seems to vote for Democrats in close races, and vote more radically (Greens, Socialists, liberal Independents) when it's expedient. The fear-mongering lessons of Ralph Nader loom large, despite the fact that they're misguided.
Nationally, there are a lot of interesting races. That said, the US House is guaranteed to remain in Republican hands, despite the fact that more people will probably end up voting for Democrats. Thank you gerrymandering.
Unfortunately, the same reason can't be given for why the Senate seems poised to fall into Republican hands as well. Though it would be awesome, wouldn't it? To re-draw the state lines to re-organize people into more culturally appropriate regions?
- East and West Dakota - East Dakota would be a 40 or so mile wide strip surrounding the I-29 corridor, stretching from Grand Forks all the way down to Kansas City (anything north of GF we can give to Canada).
- Up North - the northern part of Minnesota and Wisconsin, along with the UP.
Source: www.pastemagazine.com - The Middle Bit - a utopic plot of mostly rural farmland, focusing primarily on the biography of me, including Clinton, Wisconsin, stretching up north to Madison, then over to Decorah, Iowa, then up to Minneapolis. It looks a bit like those Tetris pieces that go down one, over one, down one again (see picture, except the other one, and turned vertically).
- Austin, Texas - Austin, Texas.
- Yellowstone - Just a really cool state to visit. First bear governor.
- Iraq - I know we're mostly moved out, but it's time to start colonizing, people.
The State of Wisconsin has a useful resource for figuring out what all is going to be on your ballot:
At the top of the ballot, of course, is the Mary Burke / Scott Walker race for Governor. This one will come down to turnout, and while I'm not overly excited about Mary Burke, she's the choice.
Down the ballot a ways is our rootin'-tootin' Sheriff Clarke, running against Angela Walker. It seems the last time the Journal Sentinel deigned to mention her in an article was August 8th, when Chris Moews was being backed against the gun-loving sheriff by Michael Bloomberg.
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