piasharn | Election Day

Thank goodness that there were no morning or day classes today. If there had been, it would have been hellish for me to get out to vote.

And please let Granholm win the govenor's election... Posthumus is the epitomy of the stereotypical Michigan Republican. Gods, what a jackass... near the beginning of the race, he stated that he is the better candidate because Granholm doesn't have those "good, Michigan values." (She was born in Canada, grew up in California and got her degrees from Berkley and Yale.)

Y'know... I actually got insulted a while back when someone found out that I'm from California. Have I ever mentioned that those "good, Michigan values" that so many Republicans around here love to talk about include insulting anything that is different from them? Basically, if you're not white, Christian, heterosexual, Republican and conservative, you're out of luck.

Well, actually, that's more true for the west side of the state than the eastern side... they're much more diverse and open-minded.

And I really don't mean offense to those who do vote Republican. I vote for whomever I think is the best candidate, regardless of party. Given the rather conservative nature of my area, however, I end up voting Democratic more often since they are the ones that tend to support me and my beliefs. For example, being gay, I can't bring myself to vote for a person who actively opposes gay rights. Looking through information on the various candidates, the only ones who did support equal rights for homosexuals are Democrats, Greens and Libertarians. The only ones who opposed equal rights are Republicans.

I'm sure Republicans in places like California are much more sane than the ones over here. (At least I hope they are...)

(Sorry if I sound rather defensive. Besides being insulted for being a native Californian, I get bashed a lot for admitting that I lean to the left. And I still have no bloody clue why being a liberal is seen as such a bad thing.)

Still, I have more respect for people who voted for Posthumus than the ones that didn't vote at all. If you don't bother to get off your ass to vote, then you don't have any right to complain about the results. You can whine all you want about how "My vote doesn't count anyway..." or "These issues really don't have anything to do with me or my life..." but I really don't give a damn. Yes, this does influence your life, and you have a chance to directly influence it.

Of course, the voting system isn't perfect, but that's a rant for another time.