Tuesday Is Election Day In California

Just so you know, I'm voting with labor this year. I'm also doing Get Out The Vote (GOTV for those ITK) for the next 2 days. That means I'm voting for Angelides, a politician I liked before this race. He's for increasing the tax base in a time when California funds everything with bonds. I know we need to pay for things, but reliance on bonds makes investors richer and puts the repayment on the backs of future generations. It's a scheme I despise. Rich people win all kinds of tax breaks and get richer by making loans for public services like schools and roads that already subsidize the production of their goods and services.

The LA Times has a voter apathy piece that must be intended to make people feel good for not voting. I'm so tired of journalism that feeds and develops the contrived sentiment that people can't be bothered to vote because the candidates are soooo negative. I've seen some of the ads. Angelides has an ad showing photo after photo of Westly with the current governor (insinuating he's gay or a Republican). Westly has one showing environmental degradation in Sacramento that is all Angelides's fault. The holier-than-thou sentiment, the one that can't stand one more negative ad, was invented to keep turnout low and let people off the hook for being lazy and dumb. I just can't believe this supposed group of nonvoters are all so perfect and never treat people poorly. I can't believe they're not just like me -- full of gossip and willing to trash even their closest friends and relatives some times. The least they could do is get out and vote for the nicest guy.

Surprisingly, the Chronicle has a comprehensive piece on Angelides and Westly -- the latest campaign stops, expenditures (YIKES!), and positions on things that matter to me like health care and education. It baffles me, however, that the paper thinks there is no difference between the two. I guess a Republican might think there's no difference, but this is the primary race. The Republican is supposed to be the big contrast! Schwarzenegger, and his support of extensive border patrol and assaults on workers' rights, provides the ultimate comparison. We get to vote on the big differences in November.

I see differences that matter now. Angelides understands that California has to get revenue from tax sources; bonds and the Lottery aren't cutting it. Angelides takes the bold step of supporting a single payer plan to solve California's health care coverage crisis, and Westly doesn't.

Even if you don't agree with me, make sure you vote on Tuesday. If you already have, good for you!