Casting My Vote
A few minutes ago, I completed filling out my ballot, folded it neatly into its envelope, and readied it for the mail. Filling out this ballot was much easier than filling out the ballot during the primary held a couple of months ago—probably because there were a) fewer choices now that each office was down to two candidates and b) because the issues on the ballot have been talked about quite a bit already, so I didn’t have to do a lot of research.
I won’t go into all of my selections here, but just a few high profile ones.
US President: Obama / Biden (Democrat). Pretty easy choice here, as I believe Romney is an egomaniac who will say or do anything to get elected. Having Romney in the Whitehouse would cause a repeat of the dumb-fuckery of the George W. Bush years. With Obama, you know what you’ve got. I believe he has good intentions, and is on track to restore the world’s view of American leadership by respecting other countries, not by disregarding them all as inferior. Given something other than an obstructionist, do-nothing Republican Congress, Obama will continue to grow America through evolving the education system and the tech sectors (including green energy), while clamping down on polluters.
US Senator: Maria Cantwell (Democrat). It’s critical for America to progress that the Democrats continue to control the Senate. Cantwell’s a two-term Senator, and has done a good job of representing Washington State. While I think she cow-tows to Boeing / Big Defense a bit too much, I appreciate that a lot of Washington State citizens earn their living on or near Joint Base Lewis-McChord and at the Navy Yards in Kitsap County and Everett. I don’t see those going away soon. Until the world doesn’t need navies or armies, they might as well be here, I guess.
US Representative: Denny Heck (Democrat). The 10th district is a new one, and Heck is running against Tea-Partier Dick Muri, who plans to repeal the ACA if elected. This was a very easy choice as well. I believe we should have full, single payer health care for all Americans, and that the ACA is just the first step to that. Repealing it for anything less than full coverage is just plain wrong.
Washington State Governor: Jay Inslee (Democrat). Inslee can stand on his own record, but his opponent, Rob McKenna, was one of the State Attorneys General who filed suit to repeal the ACA. That fact alone disqualified him, in my eyes. That said, I think this race will be extremely tight, and will likely be caught in recounts for months.
State Initiatives and Referendums
I-1185 – Requirement for 2/3rds majority for any tax increases: No. This is another creation of Tim Eyman. Eyman has plagued Washington State for years now, destroying the state’s ability to maintain roads and bridges and schools through his constant initiatives which gridlock the statehouse. If Eyman ever proposed that fresh air should be a right of everyone, I’d vote against it because he brought it up, and because he undoubtedly has a hidden agenda.
I-1240 – Charter Schools: Yes. I had a hard time with this one. But it comes down to the fact that my kids have been in an alternative private school for over two years, and I believe that there is more than one way to learn. We should be trying to find the best way for all kids, and that should be the parents’ choice. Do I worry that some ‘for-profit’ company comes in and starts creating curriculums that say burning coal is good for the air because plants need carbon dioxide, or that evolution doesn’t exist? Yes. I worry a ton a about that. But I am just as worried that there are generations of unengaged students out there who need an alternative learning methodology that cannot be met in overcrowded public schools.
R-74 – Marriage Equality: Yes. Love is hard enough for just two people to figure out. Other people’s religion shouldn’t factor into anyone else’s lives.
I-502 – Marijuana Reform: Yes. I’ve never used it. The smell of it makes me ill. But I don’t see a huge difference between pot and beer. Legalize it. Release our police officers to track down violent criminals. Bring the Mary-Jane trade out into the open to eliminate the drug cartels. Reduce the number of prisoners in our jails who are there only because they lit up a toke in their own home on a Friday night. And if the state makes a few bucks taxing it, all the better. Seriously, we have much bigger problems to deal with these days.
Now that I’ve opened my ballot for the world to see, I’d love to hear where I went wrong (or right). Thoughts? Opinions?
Joe Beernink 
I think you had good reasons for all your choices, and I’m not telling which ones I disagree with. However, I love the fact that WA votes by mail. I’m so over the nasty ads and misleading, insubstantial “debates”.
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