Election Day

So today is election day, where people all throughout the country are voting for Governors, Senators, Representatives, and the hundreds of Propositions that most people have never heard of. There are three big subjects to the California election this year: Governor, Senator, and, of course, Prop. 19. The problem, however, is that these have become three completely ridiculous races. Let's look at each and see where we went wrong.

The Governor's race has become nothing more than a farce on itself. Watching the debates and listening to the different campaigns, it has become fairly evident that neither of these candidates truly deserves to be in office. Lets take both sides for a second. The fact that the Republican party had to decide between Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner for its candidate is a sad look at the state of the GOP. Even across the country, there are no strong Republican leaders that are making their mark on the political scene. Whitman has shown absolutely no sign of having a real plan for governing a state in crisis. She has kind of taken the Obama approach at campaigning, spouting a lot of ideals but not giving the public anything to really digest. Of course, Obama was ahead in the polls by election day which is something Whitman does not enjoy.

The Democrats, on the other hand, had to go with Jerry Brown. Again. Take this into account: Good ol' Moonbeam didn't even have to put up a primary campaign until weeks before the election because there was NOBODY else making even a scratch at the Democratic nomination. Now, during the campaign season I've found that Brown has been much more honest and direct, especially during the debates in which Whitman appeared to be bound only to her talking points. However, Brown doesn't leave me with a warm feeling that everything is going to be okay if he becomes Governor. Brown's campaign also makes more relevant the Lieutenant Governor's race because of his age; yet nobody has paid any attention to this part of the race.

Honestly, I would love to see a candidate run on the platform of only showing ads about themself instead of attack ads on the other candidate. Yes attack ads can be effective, but they always leave a sour taste in my mouth for the candidate who pays for them. Give me someone who just runs on the sincerity of their ideas and their plans. That would be a candidate worth voting for.

The Senate race is even worse. I completely agree that Barbara Boxer has been in office way too long for someone with a not-so-good track record. I frankly don't care for either of California's Senators. However, do I want Carly Fiorina to be the one to replace her? I don't think so. I mean, did anybody see Fiorina's Demon Sheep ad??? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRY7wBuCcBY       Anybody who creates an ad like this, for any reason, should not be in Government. That's not to say that I like Boxer's opera ad either.

As for Prop 19, the legalization of marijuana, people need to understand that this is a moot issue. Marijuana is a federal law, meaning the state has no authority to legalize it. The Obama administration has already said that they take it to the Supreme Court if they have to in order to make sure marijuana stays illegal. And really, I know that we're in a budget crisis here, but is the right answer to legalize something that is illegal just to tax it? Even such, if it did pass and somehow found its way to total legality, the current proposition would make it the responsibility of the cities and counties to tax it and regulate it. This is just chaos waiting to happen.

The point is that all of the major components of this election year are not setting California up for healing. None of the candidates running, for any office, appear like they are ready to make an honest-to-God difference. This is shaping up to be one of those "lesser-of-two-evils" elections, but frankly I don't want to have to decide between a lesser of two evils. Everywhere I go I see people telling me to "GO VOTE," but I say, "Give me something worth voting for and I will." Call me a disgruntled voter if you want, but if it is my civic right to vote, it is also my civic right to hold my vote for someone who is worthy of it. When I vote today, it will be because of issues such as Prop 23. Who then will I vote for? Count me in for a big NONE OF THE ABOVE.


I'd like to end each blog post with a brief summary of what I wrote about.
1. This election is an example of the degraded state of California political parties.
2. If you didn't watch it, you need to watch Carly Fiorina's Demon Sheep ad.
3. You can't legalize marijuana through a state initiative.
4. Meg Whitman is going to have wasted A LOT of money after today.
5. There needs to be a "none of the above" box on ballots.