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hafoc
Politics is a subject I want to avoid. Except this time it might be entertaining, so here goes.
We had our primary election on Tuesday. You don't have to be a registered member of any party to vote, but you can only vote among the candidates of one party or the other.
I voted in the Republican primary, for several reasons. Chief among these is that in my part of the world most of the local offices don't HAVE any Democratic candidates, so you vote in the Republican primary or you don't have any vote at all.
But another reason was that one of the Republican candidates for Governor was completely unacceptable to me. I had to make sure to vote for the guy who wasn't quite as bad, yet who still had a chance to win.
This was a gentleman by the name of Pete Hoekstra, yet another of these guys from Grand Rapids, where if you ain't Dutch, you ain't much.
Now, Michigan has been abandoned by the United States and has been going down the crapper for a couple-three decades now. This recession the rest of the States have? That's better than our GOOD years. The economy is the number one issue here. Wouldn't know it from the campaign, though; all I knew about Mr. Bad and Mr. Not So Bad was that both of them were 100% pro gun rights and 100% anti-abortion. There was a more moderate guy named Snyder who DID talk about the economy a little, but he had no chance to win, so I didn't waste my vote on him.
Should have. He won. I can live with that. Best darned governor this state had, at least in my lifetime if not ever, was a moderate Republican named William Milliken, and he endorsed Snyder. If I'd known that I'd have voted for the guy. Heck, I'd vote for Milliken, if he was stupid enough to leave a comfortable retirement to run again, and I don't care that he's 88 years old.
On the Democratic side some guy named Benero won. He's an old style Union Democrat. Doesn't stand a chance in the general election, but at least he's a Democrat; his chief opponent, Andy Dillon, was just another Republican.
What's most interesting to me, though, is the primary race for the First Congressional District. There were about seven Republican candidates and one Democrat. The positions of each Republican were 100% pro gun rights, 100% anti-abortion, and if there was any mention of the economy at all (unlikely) it was along the lines of cut regulations, cut taxes-- which is all we've been doing since Reagan. How's that working out for ya?
I voted for a fellow named Benishek based on his printed opinions being a little more coherent than the rest, in my opinion. 'Course if I'd known that the Detroit Free Press, a newspaper I respect (not much but some) had endorsed another candidate named Allen, I probably would have voted for him. But we're out in the sticks and the paper in the office break room shows up late in the day, when it shows up at all.
When all the votes were tallied, Benishek beat Allen by one vote.
Vote early, vote often!
We had our primary election on Tuesday. You don't have to be a registered member of any party to vote, but you can only vote among the candidates of one party or the other.
I voted in the Republican primary, for several reasons. Chief among these is that in my part of the world most of the local offices don't HAVE any Democratic candidates, so you vote in the Republican primary or you don't have any vote at all.
But another reason was that one of the Republican candidates for Governor was completely unacceptable to me. I had to make sure to vote for the guy who wasn't quite as bad, yet who still had a chance to win.
This was a gentleman by the name of Pete Hoekstra, yet another of these guys from Grand Rapids, where if you ain't Dutch, you ain't much.
Now, Michigan has been abandoned by the United States and has been going down the crapper for a couple-three decades now. This recession the rest of the States have? That's better than our GOOD years. The economy is the number one issue here. Wouldn't know it from the campaign, though; all I knew about Mr. Bad and Mr. Not So Bad was that both of them were 100% pro gun rights and 100% anti-abortion. There was a more moderate guy named Snyder who DID talk about the economy a little, but he had no chance to win, so I didn't waste my vote on him.
Should have. He won. I can live with that. Best darned governor this state had, at least in my lifetime if not ever, was a moderate Republican named William Milliken, and he endorsed Snyder. If I'd known that I'd have voted for the guy. Heck, I'd vote for Milliken, if he was stupid enough to leave a comfortable retirement to run again, and I don't care that he's 88 years old.
On the Democratic side some guy named Benero won. He's an old style Union Democrat. Doesn't stand a chance in the general election, but at least he's a Democrat; his chief opponent, Andy Dillon, was just another Republican.
What's most interesting to me, though, is the primary race for the First Congressional District. There were about seven Republican candidates and one Democrat. The positions of each Republican were 100% pro gun rights, 100% anti-abortion, and if there was any mention of the economy at all (unlikely) it was along the lines of cut regulations, cut taxes-- which is all we've been doing since Reagan. How's that working out for ya?
I voted for a fellow named Benishek based on his printed opinions being a little more coherent than the rest, in my opinion. 'Course if I'd known that the Detroit Free Press, a newspaper I respect (not much but some) had endorsed another candidate named Allen, I probably would have voted for him. But we're out in the sticks and the paper in the office break room shows up late in the day, when it shows up at all.
When all the votes were tallied, Benishek beat Allen by one vote.
Vote early, vote often!
