Yesterday was the Michigan Presidential primary and it showed us all a few things. First off, the people of Michigan have again been screwed by our representatives in Lansing. They decided to move the date of the primary up knowing that they faced penalties from both parties, and sure enough both parties penalized the state. The Republican National Committee took away half of the state’s delegates to the convention and the Democratic National Committee banned the entire Michigan delegation. Which means that anyone who voted on the democratic ballot yesterday could have voted for no reason.
Mitt Romney won the republican primary, which is not at all surprising considering he grew up in the state and his father was a very popular governor. John McCain didn’t draw independents and democrats the way he did when he won here in 2000. Giuliani only mustered a weak 3% and a sixth place finish and I’m wondering what he’s going to do if he ends up losing Florida which is where he’s pinning all of his hopes.
On the democratic side, Hillary ran basically unopposed because Obama and Edwards took themselves off of the ballot when the DNC laid the smackdown when they moved the primary. Even though her major rival on the ballot was Dennis Kucinich, she only ended up with 55% of the vote. Uncommitted came in second at 40%, which is basically a slam against Hillary. It may not even matter in the end because Michigan may not be represented when the democrats nominate their candidate.
The only thing that we know now is that things are more confused than ever.
So I’m already feeling inundated by news coverage, SNL parodies, and online chatter about the 2008 Presidential Election and we are well over a year away from the election itself. The saddest part is that we’ve already spent most of 2007 hearing about potential candidates and wondering if Obama can beat Hillary, or if Guliani is conservative enough for the far right. I’m sick of it all.
I understand that this is important for the future of our country, and I am not apathetic when it comes to politics. But I’m afraid that our representatives in government have become so obsessed with winning elections that they leave little time to actually govern. This is an epidemic that crosses all party lines. The power players in Washington are so consumed with beating the other side that they forget they are there to represent the citizens of this country.
If you’ve read this blog for a long time, you know my favorite show of all time is The West Wing and that my favorite character on that show was Joshua Lyman. There are many things that I liked about that show, but among my favorite parts of the show was how much it demonstrated the venom that can consume many of those who help to run our government. I remember many episodes where Josh would say something similar to, “I hate these people, I want to destroy them” when talking about anyone who is opposing him.
I will keep asking this question until someone in our government can give me a good answer: “When are we going to have a government of the people, by the people, and (especially) for the people?
Here in the state of Michigan, things are tough. We have the highest unemployment rate in the country, the highest gas prices in the country, our main industry (the one I happen to work in) is crumbling, and to top it off we’re facing a $1.8 billion budget deficit. People are selling their homes and moving out of the state in massive numbers.
This week is the annual Mackinac Policy Conference where Michigan lawmakers and civic leaders go to discuss the future of the state and how to keep the state viable. Unfortunately this conference has become more like a funeral for the state’s economy for the past few years, and this year is turning out to be the worst yet. Despite all of the problems this state is facing, lawmakers are considering raising taxes to make up the difference in the state budget. Right now the Michigan state income tax is 3.9%, but lawmakers are proposing a tax increase to somewhere between 4.4% and 4.9%.
What I don’t understand is how our representatives in Lansing can see the struggles we are going through and decide that taking money away from us is the best solution.
My mom asked the question, “Why Barack Obama?” I think it’s a good one to answer.
As many of you know who have read this blog for a long time, The West Wing is my favorite show of all time. I am a bit of a political nerd, and the show was a weekly dose of political drama that was done with a level of intelligence, realism, and wit that no other political show has been able to capture. But more than those reasons, I loved the show because it espoused higher ideals. It showed a vision of a president that we all would love to have. Someone who is smart, honest, humble, and moral. I have talked about how much I wish Jed Bartlett was a real person before.
What I see in Obama is much of what I have been looking for in a presidential cadidate since I was a teenager. He is intelligent, charasmatic, honest, and he has a vision of an America that inspires me. Now I know that there are many criticisms of Obama including his lack of experience and a liberal voting record. I agree that he lacks a lot of the experience that most of the other cadidates have, but in my mind that is a positive attribute. My whole life all I have seen is one wealthy and well-connected politician after another run for office. I don’t want another 5 term senator or 3 term governor who plays the same old political games that every other politician does. I like the fact that Obama is a new face among many familiar ones.
Tonight I watched the first two hours of the new season of 24. I’m not a big fan, but my mother-in-law is a die hard. She barely watches television, but she never misses 24. I can understand why people get hooked to the show. It’s very fast paced and they are skilled in building tension throughout an episode. Having said that, I won’t be skipping Heroes any time soon to watch 24. (They share the same time slot on Mondays.)
Let me say that this next paragraph is probably going to give my father a heart attack or at least cause him to stop speaking to me for the near future.
Yesterday we were at Barnes & Noble and I bought the newest book by Barack Obama called “The Audacity of Hope”. I like Barack Obama and I think that he has a vision of what politics in the future could be. Since we’re in Chicago they just had a story on the news that he is going to announce that he is running for president in 2008 a few days from now. I’m only into the second chapter of his book, but I find myself agreeing with much of what he’s saying. I am hoping that he is the first of a long line of politicians on both sides that focus on being a man you would want to vote for instead of just making his opponent someone to vote against. I don’t know who is going to be running for president in 2008. I could be Hillary vs. McCain (I sincerely hope not) or it could be Obama vs. Guliani. It could be two people who aren’t even on the radar yet. I just hope that the next time I cast a vote for a presidential candidate I will not be second guessing myself when I’m walking into the voting booth.