The November 7th Midterm Elections

Well, the Midterm elections yesterday appear to have become a spectator sport... interntionally as well as domestically. Did you vote on Nov 7th? Why or why not?

Locally speaking, I noticed something interesting. The results for City Council seats in various towns showed a curious pattern. I'll show the results for Campbell, Monte Sereno, and Willow Glen as an example. See the next post for comments.

QUOTE

Campbell 4,391 (22.6%) Jane P. Kennedy 4,316 (22.2%) Dan Furtado 4,249 (21.9%) Evan Low 3,777 (19.5%) Tom Francois 2,680 (13.8%) Margie MitchelL Monte Sereno 616 (22.3%) Don Perry 595 (21.5%) A. Curtis Wright 594 (21.5) Alan Aerts 498 (18.0%) Joann Olvera Trembath 460 (16.6%) Burton Craig Willow Glen 5,798 (30.4%) Pierluigi Oliverio 4,128 (21.7%) Steve Tedesco 4,027 (21.1%) Clark Williams 3,923 (20.6%) Jim Spence 687 (3.6%) Art Maurice 481 (2.5%) Brad Imamura

What's interesting is that the top runners in all the races really got a very close share of the votes. In the Willow Glen council race, there was one clear front runner, but behind that, the remaining serious candidates really got very little separation from each other. I'm no statistician, so I'm not exactlly sure what this means, but it seems like people are randomly voting for names that they've seen lawn signs for if they have no clear favorite. That's not a huge stretch of the imagination, but if that's true, then I'm surprised at how close the to a uniform random distribution the vote distribution ended up at. I'd figure that more than one person would have done enough above and beyond campaigning to take a solid lead above the rest of the pack.

I don't know what you mean by spectator sport. I don't remember another election where people were more active than this. There were phone banks by MOVE ON, there were more flyers, more mailings and more lawn signs then I can ever remember. Judging by the commercials on TV, I think it was more active there too. War is a popular thing to protest. It seemed to have that effect accross the country.

My nephew just got back from Iraq (intact, thank goodness) but I would still like to see improvements for american military safety. Sending our troops without all they require was driving me nuts (60 minutes special on unamoured jeeps and inadequate radios).

The deficit spending coupled with the tax cuts for the wealthy still drives me crazy ($354 billion/year, SJMN).

I got a little sanity back when the two richest people in the world said " the tax rate is too low, we don't need the flat tax" and they recommended a more progressive tax. In Fact, Warren Buffet said the tax code is so lenient to the rich that he would never have to pay income tax as the code is written now. (FYI, He would borrow against his stock and settle up after his demise with more favorable tax rates). This was on a PBS special named "Going back to school" and featuring Bill Gates as well.

To all who voted, thanks, no matter your opinion.

Ah Joe, by spectator sport, I didn't mean there were tons of people on the sidelines. I meant that the degree of attention being paid to the mid-term election was a lot more like a presidential election in domestic and global media.

Mary mentioned to me that a friend of hers in Norway was following the elections up to the minute. I know that the whole world follows the American presidential elections, but I wasn't aware of our midterm elections being that huge of a deal abroad. Mary's friend's comment made me realize the degree of media coverage for a midterm election was quite astonishing.

Yes, I've been told that Europe is really angry at Bush and his foreign policy, so everyone over there is keeping their eyes on our election to see what happens. Imagine how surprised I was to see a Norwegian news video clip that featured W. and Laura Bush coming out of the Crawford, TX polling station! Even the most mundane things have become news fodder over there it's being watched so closely.

I was really disappointed by the voting for Campbell City Council. A total of 19,431 votes were cast in the race. But, each person voting was allowed 3 votes. If you divide the total number of votes cast by 3 to obtain the total number of people voting, you're only getting 6471 voters voting in the City Council Race (give or take a few, who chose to vote for only 1 or 2 people). In a city of approximately 40,000 people that's not a good percentage of the population. And, as Sheldon pointed out, no one seemed to really distinguish themselves in the race, even, surprisingly enough, the incumbants.

What do we need to do to teach people about the vital role that the City Council plays in our lives here and in the atmosphere of the community? How can we better educate them about the candidates? How can we get the candidates (and the City Council Members) to interact more with folks on the street and increase communication to all of us?

I agree then, the election did draw alot of attention. FYI, my understaniding is that "Spectator sport" means that people are watching, not participating. It was quite a Spectacle in that lots were watching but as I observed, more people than usual were participating. The turnout was better than projected, finally.

I personally think it is all a conspiracy by the republicans to make sure the democrats are in power right before the presidential elections. Then the democrats can be blamed for something to come and lose the presidency for eight more years. The situation was worse for the Republicans last presidential election (2004) with the lies about Iraq, deficit spending and church intrusions. We even threw a war hero with an impeccable record at them and Bush (Mr. Avoided service) still won.

The 2000 election was another democratic "can't lose" with a world of peace, booming economy and a budget surplus, the first in 15 years since Reganomics "trickle down" deficit spending. This 2006 elections is looking even more suspicious.... uhhhhhh. Where is Scully and Mulder when you need them.

Local races get lost in the shuffle. Our California voter package made national news because it was so big (over 200 pages). I was voting totally democratic so no candidate research involved and I barely had time to research the props. I could not read any of the propositions. I had to rely on the endoresments on their respective websites to know if it was in my best interests. Basically I relied on people in gov't to tell me what was good to vote for. Hopefully they did the research. I bet I did more than most people.

The local elections would be better served to stand alone, on off years. And don't fret if people don't vote. IF only the people who care vote, then we are probably better off. People who take their vote seriously will make better decisions. For example, I don't vote on some items like school districts, college boards, etc... I let the invested people make the decision. I don't care. I would just dilute their vote. If I am asked to vote for three and I only support one, I vote for one.

We would be better off with no advertising, lawn signs etc... What does a lawn sign say... It would be great if we only used the internet for research, newspapers and the candidates' speeches, but that would be unrealistic, and probably against the law (free speech or something like that).

Sheldon, You need to add another choice to the poll. I voted Absentee but I always drop it off at a polling place on the day of the election. For those who don't know this, you can sign up for Permanent Absentee status and get your ballot early. That way you don't have to stand in line to vote. When I went to drop off my ballot, there were a good 20+ people in line (at 7:30 pm), and I was able to just walk right by and drop my ballot in the ballot box. You can drop your ballot off at any polling place in your county. This is extremely convenient for me.

As for getting more people involved, I really don't know. I think the major roadblocks are apathy and ignorance. I myself really don't understand what the city council does, so it's hard to vote when you don't know what's going on. I know several co-workers who do not contribute to their 401(k) because they don't think it will make a difference. We get a company match of $1,000 a year, so people are basically turning down free money! While this isn't related to voting, my point is that human nature is funny sometimes. Even when faced with common sense, people still don't always do what they should. It worries me that people are so flippant about funding their retirement, and the same goes for people who don't think voting is important.

Arizona had it worse, Joe. They had 90 questions on their ballot. One of them was the proposal to randomly pick one voter to win a million dollars per election just for voting. It got voted down, but the kicker is that if it had been passed, you actually had a better shot of becoing a millionaire from voting than from playing the lottery.

If I feel so overwhelmed by the ballot choices before me, I'd rather withhold my vote than to go straight party line. I guess you can rationalize that you're likely to agree with most of the endorsements that come from your party, and if you end up regretting one of the later, I guess it'll average out in the end. On the other hand, you can get tricked into voting for some awful stuff when you go straight party line. Even if we suspend all disbelief and say that the endorsements are always for genuine reasons, there are lots of operations out that play tricks on straight party line voters.

I got two mailers that I saved that were obvious attempts to trick registered Democrats into voting for something they otherwise wouldn't have. One of them had Diane Feinstein's picture on the front and it read "Democratic Voter Guide." It looked real enough, but with one exception. It flipped the endorsement for the Oil Tax (Prop 87).

I got another mailer that targeted Asian American voters. It instructed you to vote a straight Republican suit. A dead giveaway that something was suspicious is that it endorsed the White guy running against John Chiang. Hmm...

Anyway, I'm glad we're not Ohio and I'm glad we're done with fun with elections for a while.

In this environment, I don't have a problem voting straight party line. We need a dissident voice in a government so screwed up that they don't react for five years to a congressman harassing minor pages. We have a goverment that can't pay its bills but gives the richest 10% a $54 billion tax break every year. We have a government that doesn't know that stem cell research can cure some the most devastating diseases known to man but would rather throw the stem cells/ embryos away instead of using them for the betterment of mankind. And lastly, we have a government that will call you a traitor/unpatriotic if you disagree with it. I don't need to look at the credentials of the candidate, I need a solid force of resistance to these policies. WE COULD NOT DO WORSE. If the democrats went on a spending spree of social programs we would not be worse off. At least someone that needs help would benefit from the deficit. We are going into debt for the rich. I would trust the libetarians, probably the communists in running a more effective government for the people. I don't know how these people sleep at night.

I also am permanent absentee ballot status and I deliver my ballot to the voting station. I call that voting in the polling station. To me absentee is when you mail it in. I like to wait to the last minute so I hand carry it in.

This is little something about the elections, i do not like the way Democrats work. Some of the things they support are just irrational and i have a feeling that as soon as 2007 kicks in Bush will be out and soldiers will be coming home...and that is a very bad thing...

Maybe some changes need to be done around the government but people just do not want to understand what is actually happening! Democrats taking over the Houses is going to make this war into a WORLD WAR!!!!!(unlikely but still a possibility) If Americans pull out of middle east, they will admit to defeat, Islam will gain more confidence and more followers, meaning...WW3 but only religions against religions...in my opinion Democrats should have stayed where they were because pretty soon they are going to do more bad than good...


Look...Bush is not a bad president. That’s the first thing I am going to say...second...the only reason the public hates bush so much is because of the war they DO NOT UNDERSTAND!!!! Everyone thinks this is a war on IRAQ....it has nothing to do with Iraq. Iraq is just where everything is happening. This war is the next biggest movement of the Human civilization! RELIGION!!! its all about faith...Islam is really strict and i know because i am part Muslim, although i never practice it i know allot about it and most other religions due to the fact that its my subject of study and i like to learn more about it...its not terrorism...its all Islam, Americans meddled in their affairs to many times trying to change their culture and they took the next step by killing 5000+ people on 9/11. No person can force another to change someone’s way of lifestyle just because they do not like it. It does not work that way and people need to understand that. Faith in Islam is the most important part of their life, and now they wish to expand their religion. We cannot let that happen, no way no how. If this gets out of hand, there isn't going to be a civil war, nor a world war, there is going to be a massacre everywhere. Islam is based of the fact if you kill for your god; you still go to a place of happiness, heaven. They will kill everyone that opposes their god, like I said, this is not a war for profit, land or popularity, this is a war for control. Bush had the right idea and POWER to send troops to Iraq; this religious movement needs to stop. Many more would have died in the Middle East if Bush didn't decide to go to war.
People need to look at this war from a different point of view, right now, politics and governments mean jack, nothing...nadda...its a religious movement that threatens our whole civilization in general, all countries and all people...

so before anyone thinks about this war in profit, think between the lines for a second. What is driving this war? What purpose?

I grew up in Europe, in Bosnia/Serbia wtf ever it is now days...i was there during the civil war...and one thing i have learned being part Muslim and part Christian Orthodox....Muslims fight for their religion...nothing else...

If you are interested about hearing more about my explanation of this war and want to learn more send me a message on MSN or Email me at Darskngh@hotmail.com

For those wondering about this…I don’t practice any religion and I am an atheist, I study religions to learn about the humanity and why we are the way we are….

(im not trying to disrespect/offend/hurt or anything to anyone in any way about this...i only say what i learned over the years...so if i did do any of those things to anyone in the post above...please let me know)

Dars

This post has been edited by Dars on Nov 23 2006, 05:08 PM

QUOTE (Sheldon @ Nov 9 2006, 02:49 PM)

I got two mailers that I saved that were obvious attempts to trick registered Democrats into voting for something they otherwise wouldn't have. One of them had Diane Feinstein's picture on the front and it read "Democratic Voter Guide." It looked real enough, but with one exception. It flipped the endorsement for the Oil Tax (Prop 87). I got another mailer that targeted Asian American voters. It instructed you to vote a straight Republican suit. A dead giveaway that something was suspicious is that it endorsed the White guy running against John Chiang. Hmm...

I thought it was odd that I received a "Vietnamese Voters Guide" when I am not Vietnamese. Just because I am Asian does not mean I am Vietnamese. These people are pretty dumb because I think they'd have a better chance of reaching more Vietnamese in San Jose than Campbell. I'm glad they weren't that smart though.

I also knew about the fake "Democratic Voter Guide" because I am on the mailing lists for a lot of Democratic groups like MoveOn, NARAL and Planned Parenthood, and they warned me against these. It's pretty dispicable what people will do.