For The Last Time

This is the last time I'm going to talk about this election. Oh,stop celebrating! And, you over there! The "wave" is totally unnecessary. I didn't say it was the last time I was going to bitch and moan about our elected officials. Hah! I thought that would calm you down.

We Democrats simply cannot be complacent about the coming election, even though we keep hearing about what a blowout it is going to be. Listening to the mainstream media can be dangerous, if you're looking for the truth. ABC says it won't publicize any exit polls, ostensibly because they have turned out to be so wrong the last couple of elections. But, that alone can make one suspicious. If there are no exit polls, how can we make the comparison between wht the voters say when they finish voting, and what the results actually are? Just because there is no exit poll broadcast, doesn't mean the election is honest.

I have already voted, and I made sure that there was going to be a paper trail. Or, as sure as I can be, as I watched the poll worker take the rolls of used tape from one office to another in the courthouse. I don't really think we have to worry that much in Arkansas. If things go the way they seem to be leaning, Arkansas will be a solidly Democratic state once again.

Our Rev/Gov. is term-limited, so the race for his office is hotly contested. It doesn't appear to be a very close race, though, with Asa! Hutchinson trailing in the polls. I have a feeling that Asa! burned his bridges here in Arkansas when he took on the job of running the impeachment of Bill Clinton. Clinton was a very popular Governor, here, and a popular President, and I think a lot of people looked upon Asa!'s role as a kind of betrayal of his state.

Asa! certainly didn't receive much of a reward from the Republicans for his part in the impeachment. They had to find some place to put him, so he ended up in Homeland Security, where he was never seen again. And, they didn't even send him funds for his Gubernatorial race this year, which I thought was tacky on their part. So much for "taking one for the team".

I'm certainly hoping the Democrats take back at least the House. But, I'm also well aware that it won't be enough to just have them back in the majority. We have to insist in this and future elections, that they get back to basics and start acting like Democrats, again. President Bush is going to do everything he can to destroy Social Security in the next two years, and we just can't let that happen. We have to let our congressmen and senators know that we are watching, and expecting them to protect seniors and the poor and the children, like they used to do. And, we have to let them know that if they don't, they can and will be replaced, and their replacements can be replaced, until they do the bidding of the people, instead of the corporations.

Any future Democratic candidates for any office are going to have to prove that there is a difference between them and the Republicans. I've had enough of more than just the last six years.

How about you?