So many things about this election really torque me. It's hard to know where to begin.

First I should say that we aren't really having an election in Hawaii. We're having a confirmation party for incumbents, because so many of the challengers are extremist wackos and/or brain dead. Then again, that could be said about some of the incumbents. But we seem to be content with the established brand of extremist wackos, so I don't expect any upsets.

(I'm specifically not discussing the Office of Hawaiian Affairs elections, which were recently opened up for candidacy and voting to those who are not of native Hawaiian ancestry. I don't intend to vote in the OHA elections, preferring to stay out of that can of worms altogether.)

You know it's lame when the most contentious race is for the Oahu at-large seats on the school board. Our September primary cut the field down to six for three seats. None of the people I voted for in the primary made it to the final six, which means that I now get to choose the three lesser of six evils -- some more evil than others. Fortunately, the school board made a heavily publicized ruling yesterday that let some of the incumbents be heard in their own words on an issue that I think is important. I found that I can feel relatively OK about supporting one of them, and can cross out another. A challenger candidate, who happens to be getting the most press because of her family's association with a hot issue in this state and the ridiculous number of yard signs she's coerced people into putting up, was crossed out a long time ago. So that leaves the middle of the field to scrounge around in. The really sad thing is that three of the six candidates have well-known names, and I'd bet that many people will vote for them just because they know the names, and not because they know anything about what the candidates stand for.

I would be tempted to vote for a third-party presidential candidate if there was one I could support. But there isn't. As much as I would like to see the Green party actually get somewhere, I can't support Nader for president. Yes, he has done some great things for consumers and for this country as a whole, but I don't believe that government should be getting more and more into what should be personal decisions, and I don't think that all business is inherently evil.

It would be great if we could vote on individual issues, rather than on candidates that don't support all of the things we want. I want to take bits & pieces of both parties' platforms, and knock both of them over the head for other things.

When I'm Grand Dictator of the World, things will be different.

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I decided to use a vacation day on Monday, which will give me a four-day weekend (election day is a holiday for us state workers). I think I'll have a better attitude on Wednesday.

- posted by Lori @ 4:21:00 PM | permanent link | |