Journal

two days to first quarter
november 9, 2002 ~ 11:46 p.m.

Obligatory post-election entry...

I was very pissed off two years ago when less than a month barred me from the right to vote, since I've been following politics and thinking about voting since I was at least 16. So I was really excited to vote this year, because it was my first time, even if it is only mid-term, and even if I do have to vote absentee and not in a booth. So I voted for the primary a month ago, which is usually more important than the actual election for local races anyway since DC is so uniformly Democrat.

And then, due to the annoying slowness of the Board of Elections, my ballot for the actual election didn't arrive until the same day I had to send it back, but I did manage to get it sent out in time. I voted for the Statehood Green candidate for mayor, Steve Donkin, who is so much cooler than Williams and it's not like Williams would lose anyway, for Eleanor Holmes-Norton who is our (non voting) House Rep, for Phil Mendelson for DC Council, and yes on the two initiatives that were on the ballot, one for treatment instead of jailtime for certain drug charges, and one for a District Attorney for DC (not that Congress will ever let us have one anyway). And all of those turned out how I voted, except for mayor.

As for the rest of the country: I was really pleased with Van Hollen winning Connie Morella's seat in the House for Maryland, and really pissed about Townsend losing to Ehrlich for Maryland governor. And the only Senate race I was paying any attention to was Minnesota, since I live near there, and Wellstone was such a fanastic senator and Coleman is such a complete asshole, and my gods I was so upset when I found out about the crash. Mondale is not quite as cool as Wellstone according to an article I read online somewhere, but he's a helluva lot better than Coleman, so it really kinda sucks he lost. I don't understand how a liberal state like Minnesota elected him, but maybe it's not as liberal as it seems. And jesus we're really screwed with the GOP controlling the House and the Senate and the White House. Not that Democrats are that great anyway, especially in the last 14 months, but this is really going to be bad. At least Jesse Helms is out of there now, even if it is Dole replacing him; she's not as bad.

Anyway...all in all, this was not a very good election. But it was my first, and at least my local ones turned out good.

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