February 05, 2008
Super Duper Pooper Tuesday
It's Mardi Gras!
Oh wait, wrong post. Today is Über Tuesday, the biggest primary election day in US history, as the reporter so breathlessly spewed on the AM news show today.
In the past, the single best thing about the-election-day-formerly-known-as-Super Tuesday was that it meant the END of the primary campaign. Most years, the nominee is well and established by the end of TEDFKAS Tuesday.
So I find it more than ironic that the closest primaries in many years come down to what I will henceforth refer to as "Breathless Tuesday", given all the hype.
I suspect that this means that the few states that actually chose to hold later primaries are doing the "Nyah Nyah" routine. We shall see.
From my sheltered vantage, high on the cliffs of denial, it looks like McCain is a shoe-in over Mitt Slick-ney and I am really unsure where the Democrats are going. If anything, I suspect the "blue" picture will be MORE muddled than previously, after today.
Speaking of the Democraps, I heard a mind-blowing commercial this morning. The gist of it was "Vote for Hillary, because she is not beholden to special interests"
I literally sat up in bed and screamed at the radio (at 5:30 AM, mind you): "What the fuck kind of crack are you smoking and where do I get some? Do you know what the fuck you just said?"
The (still dozing) hub was clearly not amused. Of course, at the end of the commercial, the speaker introduced himself as a descendant of Cesar Chavez and announced that Hillary loves farmworkers and poor people, so vote for her. And I had this moment of clarity.
Of course he doesn't see her as beholden to special interests! He IS one. Know your source, peeps. Know your source.
On the other hand, the same morning news show provided what was perhaps the single most insightful news story of the election. On the ballot today in CA are a series of propositions (94-97) which would force four very large indian tribes here (mostly in SoCal) to hand over a LARGE chunk of their profits to the state in return for being allowed to install more slot machines. Most folks are actually FOR these measures in that together they will bring the state several hundred million dollars in new revenue without raising taxes on ANYONE (except the gamblers, so to speak). The opposition is mostly funded by some Vegas casino owners and some racetracks that also have gaming. Clearly, this would be HUGE competition for them, so they are naturally against it.
Both parties are officially "neutral" on these propositions, and a lot of people are confused as to what they mean. So the local NBC channel did some investigating...
What amused me, though, was that the reporter cut right through the BS in reporting the story. He explained the meat of the propositions, laid out who the supporters and detractors are, pointed out that the propositions require state audits of the casinos, and summed it up by saying "Some people say we should ask the casinos to give the state MORE of their profits, but supporters point out, this is more $$ than the state is getting now"
But back to Breathless Tuesday. I will likely not vote, as my registration is not updated, and even after filling out the proper forms at my old polling place, LA county would likely discount my vote anyway. But we shall see.
If I were voting today, this is what I would be voting for:
President: John McCain (but with much regret. FREEEEEEEEDDDDD!)
Prop 91: No
Prop 92: No
Prop 93: No
Prop 94-97: YES