I Voted Today

Oklahoma is one of eight primarily Southern-tier states holding a primary today. If you live in one of those states, and have not yet voted, you owe it to yourself and the future of our nation to go to your polling place and do so, pronto.

To hear the commentators talk, this round of primaries is "make or break" for a number of candidates, especially Howard Dean. I don't know about that. I've grown so cynical that I even take what NPR says on such matters with a rather small grain of salt.

I voted for Kucinich. I know many will say I "wasted" my vote. The commentators hardly take him seriously enough to mention his third or fourth place ranking. But my vote would only be "wasted" if I voted for someone I disagreed with just so I could vote for "a winner".

It's likely true that Kucinich is too progressive to be elected by a majority of Americans. I happen to disagree with his stated position regarding our involvement in Iraq (which may surprise some). But, I agree with many of his other positions. My hope is that a strong showing in a number of primaries will give Mr. Kucinich some influence when the party platform is constructed.

Beyond that, I will gladly vote for almost any Democrat, in hopes of effecting a radical regime change. The only Democrat I am less than enthusiastic about is "Holy Joe" Lieberman, the Republican in Democratic drag. In his case, I hope the "pundits" are right, and his campaign is essentially in the toilet.

If you have not yet made up your mind, here's a survey which may help you discern which candidate most closely reflects your own positions on the issues.