Vote or Die?

Well, I don't know if anyone will truly die if they don't vote, but that's what all those tee-shirt wearing, wheat grass drinking, Hummer - oops, I mean Prius driving - rich as hell celebrities keep telling us. Right?

This year I am voting absentee b/c I'll be in Seattle on Election Day. Gotta love the efficiency of our LA County Registrar. It took them 2 internet requests, 1 phone call & 43 days to send my ballot. It arrived last Saturday. I didn't vote until this morning.

I wanted to take my time, especially on all of the ballot measures (CA loves it's ballot measures!). I have also been on the fence about WHO to choose for President. After almost 2 years of campaigning, negative ads, (c)overt racism, comedy sketches, late night monologues, discussions (err, arguments) w/ family & friends, and waiting for the VP choices to be made, etc. I have flip flopped many times over as to who might get my vote. But today the time had come to decide. So I did.

Let me just say one thing. I'm flippin' tired of people making assumptions about my political ideology! What the hell does anyone know about how I feel about one issue or another? And really, how is it any of their business?

My GOP family thinks I'm a liberal pinko commie. Yes, it's true. I was raised by a bunch of Republicans. Though at least my parents were Old School vs. the hijacked version of the GOP that reigns over our country today.

My Conservative Right-leaning friends assume that b/c I'm tattooed & like "alternative" music (among other reasons) that I'm a Left-leaning nut job who wants a National health care system & free social services for every poor bastard ever born (I don't btw).

Then when my Liberal friends find out that I am not a fervent supporter of Barack Obama, or that I don't believe in Bailouts or Illegal Immigration, that I believe Business Owners should be able to run their business however they see fit (I hate Politically Correct BS more than just about anything), they of course leap to the wrong assumption that I'm going to vote for John McCain & his dolled up hench(wo)man, err, I mean Sarah Palin.

Really? Am I that easy to peg? Is it possible that after all these years my friends & family really have no idea who I am? Or is it their lack of courage to cross party lines that's clouding their ability to see that there are many Americans unwilling to vote w/ their registered party.

My problem is that I feel like I have ZERO choices this time around. I was born/raised in CA, I've also lived in NY, PA, two foreign countries and I was an AZ resident for almost 12 years. I was a registered Democrat for many years, but left the party more than a decade ago. And no, I didn't register w/ the GOP.

There was a time when I really liked John McCain. Sometimes he STILL cracks me up, even though I do think he's lost his damn mind. Note too that during my time in AZ, I was a LOT more liberal than I am now. Admittedly, I've also always liked the Clintons, despite their many foibles over the years. Even so, I couldn't really see myself voting for Hillary even though I think she is far more qualified to be President than Obama is. There were other candidates earlier in the Running Game that I liked even better; Bill Richardson being one of them, but of course he didn't get very far in the race. Sigh. I could go on... but I think you get the idea.

So what to do? What to do? In the end "my friends" (to borrow a phrase from my old buddy McCain), I ain't telling. My vote has been cast. I don't want to talk about the election, or the candidates, anymore. I am really tired of all the mud slinging and pundits talking out of their necks about things that do not impact my daily life.

All you need to know is that I voted. Ultimately, no matter what you think about the candidates, or what you think you know about the political leanings of your friends & family, or strangers like me... YOU should really think about voting too. IMO, this election is far too important to sit out. If for no other reason than the fact that there are several thousand American women & men deployed overseas who are fighting for YOUR right to do so.

I hope you're registered. I hope your city/county is taking great care to make sure your vote gets counted fairly & accurately. I hope you'll take a moment and really THINK about which candidate best represents your beliefs & your dreams for the future of this country. I hope you'll not be swayed by all the lies & rhetoric. Please remember, a President can only do so much! I hope you'll also consider voting every single incumbent that is running for Congress OUT of office, regardless of their party affiliation.

Most of all? I hope to see the pendulum swing in a more SANE direction come January! And I believe it will, regardless of who actually "wins" the election on November 4th.

See y'all on the other side!