I remember Election Day Eve 2006, as a senior at the University of Delaware. We decided to hold an Election Day Eve party at our apartment because the entire school had off the following day. We told everyone to dress in either red or blue. The party was a huge hit.
I remember watching the numbers come in the following day, excited that "my party" had come in with many gains--after losing in the Presidential election in the previous cycle. The cable news channels were aflutter with eager Democrats, including names that I was only hearing for the first time, like Barack Obama and Rahm Emanuel, names that would affect the next four years of my life, without my knowing it.
Fast forward to Election Day Eve 2010. A man who was elected governor of New York in 2006 on the coattails of national Democrats, Eliot Spitzer, once mired in political scandal (around the 2008 election cycle), is sitting with a lovely journalist cohost on CNN, making his predictions for tomorrow's "Republican Rout" while I watch him on the treadmill at the gym, listening to Cat Stevens' "Peace Train."
So much can change in four years.
In prior years, I voted for a myriad of reasons, none all too rational. In 2004 I voted because I was so anti-Bush it was scary. I believe that man turned me into a Democrat. I watched every primary and caucus result that year to see which Democrat could beat the man I loathed as our President. That's a lot of liberal lingo. In 2006, I was still riding that Democratic wave, angry that Kerry lost, but voting absentee, I didn't see the value in my vote, and just wanted to have an excuse for a party.
I was glued to the Presidential election in 2007 and 2008, now as a teacher obsessed with equality, racism, tolerance, and worried about my job in education. Therefore, I was thrilled to support Barack Obama, someone who would change the face of America as we knew it.
Now in divisive election year 2010, I am going to the polls tomorrow as an educated voter. I have seen a Democratic party that has had many legislative achievements in the past two years--and I fully support many of its leaders, including the President and most of their policies of these years especially in health care, education reform, the stimulus packages, Wall Street reform--but I am disappointed in their overall message. The Democrats and the President did a lot of explaining in 2009 when they were trying to pass the health care bill, but it wasn't the right time. More needed to be done the first ten months of the year to promote the message of health care for all, civil rights for all Americans, and why the votes and legislation on these issues are important for America, and why this SHOULD be the direction the country is going in.
Instead, the Democrats seemed to cave under their record, and with some good reason. After all, they did not create as many jobs as necessary, or decrease unemployment or the deficit. So while I have found solace in most of the work done by my elected officials over the past two years, I'm not necessarily sold. The leaders I'm voting for this year are getting my vote for the first time because I truly believe in the power of one vote, and I want to exercise that power to promote policies of human advancement that I absolutely agree with.
So here are some people I'll be voting for tomorrow:
U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gilibrand - Schumer is a major advocate for New York State, valuing human rights and education. He is a strong figure in Congress and will continue to provide his constituents and all Americans with dignified service and integrity. While Gilibrand is new, she has done nothing to dissuade me to vote for her, and I truly believe she too has the right mindset to represent New Yorkers in the Senate.
U.S. Congressman Tim Bishop - Tim has brought jobs home to Long Island and has truly represented my community in I think an exemplary way. He loves this area of eastern Long Island and votes the right way on issues that promote the advancement of Eastern Long Island. I strongly support Tim Bishop.
Ken Mangan for State Assembly and Ira Bernstein for State Senate - I will be voting for these two gentlemen because of their belief in the power of education and in the power for unionized labor. NYSUT is strong here in New York, and I am lucky to have a job that has the strength in unity and realizes the importance of its individual members. I have seen the power of unions over the past few years in improving working conditions and I will vote for these two political outsiders knowing that they will bring a different voice to the monotony of Albany.
Finally, I will not be voting for either the Democrat, Andrew Cuomo, or the Republican, Carl Paladino, for Governor. I think Paladino is unjust, irresponsible, and intolerant: he looks down on gays, Muslims, the President, probably African Americans in general, and I just don't find him rational enough to lead one of the most powerful states in the union. And I am not sold on Andrew Cuomo. He has not done enough to persuade the young Democrat like myself, who did not know his father or his time in Washington or in Albany, that he is worthy of my vote. He has simply laid low and acted like the heir to the throne, which by all intents and purposes, he is. But that's not enough for me. I have heard that he would open a Constitutional Convention if he were elected, but he hasn't been pressed on the issue. I have heard he has his hands in lobbyists' pockets and vice versa, but he hasn't been pressed on the issue. I have heard that he does NOT value unionized labor, or teachers, or education reform, and I don't know why he hasn't been pressed on the issue.
I watched the carnival of a gubernatorial debate, and the only person who wasn't a former hooker on the stage who actually made some sense was the Libertarian candidate, Warren Redlich. I don't usually see myself as the less-government Libertarian, but for whatever reason, his issues resonated with me. In addition to his "stop wasting money" slogan and general ideas on cutting down the deficit with cuts to unnecessary state programs, he DOES find the value in education. Here are some talking points that he emailed back to me, personally:
*Education is not on my list of cuts. Personally I like the voucher concept but it is not something I would try to do. Not politically viable.
*I'm not fond of our current "no administrator left behind" policy.
*Don't really like charters. Half assed voucher that doesn't work well and makes vouchers look bad.
*Biggest problem in education is not in the schools. It's everything outside them - home, parents, media etc.
It's not a lot. But it's enough to take a vote away from someone who I don't really trust, who hasn't taken the time to put himself out there to a young voter who cares about the future of this country and this state. I think it's disingenuous for a politician to assume they deserve holding high office; it should be a privilege to be elected as a REPRESENTATIVE of the people, whether it is in governing or legislating. I have seen so many missteps in politicians over the past four years, but feel comfortable in casting my vote tomorrow for people who represent me and my values for moving this country forward.
I will end this Election Day Eve rant with a montage of videos from MSNBC's latest ad-campaign, entitled "Lean Forward," as that is surely where I hope the direction of this country is headed come Wednesday morning.
