Another Election...
...more reflections
comments: 1 addendums: 0
I firmly
believe that the majority of informed voters will make the
right decision. I sincerely worry if the majority of voters
are not informed.
I think
voters in the 2004 elections deserve a pat on the back
regardless of how they voted. While we have a ways to go
towards improving our awareness and knowledge of the issues
I certainly feel that the voters of 2004 were the most
informed of at least recent history.
The Internet
has a lot to do with that. The majority of us are plugged in
to a wealth of information. Some of the information is good,
reliable. Most of it isn't, yet. We have to sort it out and
I think the majority of us did.
And so we
made the right choices.
It wasn't
until I stood in the booth that my choice for President was
fully made. I would lean towards Bush and waffle towards
Kerry. In the end there were not enough differences between
the two candidates, to me, on the most important issue we
face -- war.
President
Bush was soundly criticized for repeating this question to
Senator Kerry in their first debate: How will you [Kerry]
build a coalition of allies for the wrong war in the wrong
place at the wrong time? But Kerry never did provide a clear
and detailed answer to that question.
Mr.
President, get the job done. Defeat the terrorists. Bring
our troops home. And then lets examine our foreign policies
so that we never create the atmosphere, and the Husseins and
Bin Ladens, that breeds terrorism.
For those who
think I'm a neocon: Since 1976, the first election I was old
enough to vote in, President Bush was the second Republican
candidate I have ever voted for. (Carter, Mondale, Bush Sr.,
Clinton, Perot, Gore, Bush for those keeping score).
I am a
staunchly independent voter.
I voted for
Barrack Obama. All the spin about Alan Keyes being the most
honest, upfront candidate Illinois has ever seen just didn't
cut it with me. I found it hypocritical that Mr. Keyes would
criticize Hillary Clinton and then choose the same political
avenue as the DC-to-New York Senator.
You want
honest? You want informed? At the Candidate's Night forum at
the DeKalb County Farm Bureau, Bob Pritchard was asked about
impact fees. He said that impact fees raise property taxes
for existing homeowners.
Bob!?! That
is not a politically correct answer!!! But you got my vote.
It was so refreshing to hear a candidate seeking retention
reveal his depth of knowledge on an important issue. Now,
before all you lovers of impact fees go into a tizzy,
Pritchard also said that he thought such regulations should
be controlled and decided upon by the local units of
government.
Come through
on the education finance reform, Bob.
I didn't
always vote for the winner. I voted for James MacMurdo in my
district for the county board. MacMurdo has talked to me
personally on a couple of occasions and I found him
intelligent, informed and committed. I've never met Mr.
Whelan.
DeKalb County
Democrats kicked some butt. They were much better organized
than the local GOP and they worked harder at the grassroots
level. The local Dems' website is much futher along in
functionality and ability to communicate than that of the
Republicans. The results did not surprise me.
The visitors
of DeKalb County Online sure knew how to pick 'em! We ran
two polls. DC Online visitors, who participated in the
polls, correctly picked Bush, Obama, Hastert, Burzynski,
Pritchard and Matekaitis. In all but the race for President,
DC Online pollsters were shockingly close on the final
margins.
That can only
mean that DeKalb County Online visitors are the most
informed people in the county. The rest probably call
Ear-to-Ear and leave anonymous messages. :-)
Oh! And there
was a referendum in Waterman. If you've visited this site
much then you know that I am for responsible growth. I think
we need more rooftops. I think we need to make sure that we
do not price our homes, new and existing, out of the
affordability level for our current residents (and we are).
I think we need the jobs and the dollars that new
construction generates. I think that government spending
needs to be curtailed, not private sector jobs. I think we
need to balance our workforce to wean our dependency on the
government for jobs and it will take new residents to do
that.
All in all? I
think the majority of informed voters made the right
decisions.
Comments: 1
Date: Thursday November 11, 2004
Time: 09:33 AM -0500
I can't see how anyone could have voted for Bush.
I always ask myself am I better off now than I was four
years ago? I am not, and I ask other working class people
and they are not. As far as Iraq, it's all about oil and
$$$$. My prediction for our future, there will be a draft,
and we will invade the country that sits between Iraq and
Afganistan. I hope I'm WRONG!
Thank You,
Art LeDoux
