Tuesday, November 04, 2008

 

Election Day is Here



All across America today, voters are excersizing their right to choose their leaders and pick policies for their states, cities, counties, and neighborhoods. Many believe today's historic vote will draw record numbers of voters.

Here in the Valley, voters have seen a highly combative campaigning season, and many will not be sad to see it go. Some of the most important issues to Valley Voters:

-Not immune to national politics, the Valley is energized by the campaigns of Barrack Obama and John McCain. Although the coast is shaded blue and the mountains are red in California, the Valley is diverse politically, with both parties claiming large sections of the population. Even though California is almost assuredly going to go with Obama, the Republicans have made their voices heard here with their support for the McCain-Palin ticket.

-Proposition 8 is the hottest initiative in years for California. The Proposition seeks to change the state Constitution to only recognize marriage between a man and a woman. Of all the items on the ballot, this issue seems to have caught the passions of Californians. It has been framed as an issue concerning civil rights, religious freedoms, parental control over the education of their children, and whose side has "family values" right. Supporters on both sides have made headlines (and traffic jams) by taking over intersections throughout the region. Also, in a darker side of local politics, both sides have claimed vandalism and theft of their sides signs. Arrests were made in Roseville of two adults who stole dozens of "Yes on 8" signs from lawns.

-Sacramento's Mayoral Race has been tight. It has also not been a clean fight at all. Incumbent Heather Fargo and challenger Kevin Johnson have been fighting since before the primary, in which Johnson one the highest number of votes. Although originally Johnson claimed he had recieved a majority, no candidates had, leading to a run-off between the two. Since then, information about Johnson being investigated for improprieties with a minor during his NBA playing days in Phoenix were released to the press. Fargo gained the support of teacher's unions, who were mad at Johnson's takeover of Sacramento High School to begin St. Hope's operations in Sacramento. Johnson was endorsed by the police unions. Fargo has been critical recently of the police captain's budget cuts. Also, tensions rose after Johnson took an improper tour of City Hall after hours and tried out the Mayor's seat on the council. A video was released, and silliness ensued.

-Allyson Huber and Jack Sieglock fought strongly for the right to represent a section of the Valley in the state assembly. Their campaigns were marked by almost nothing but being negative against the other. Those anti-Huber characterized her as a "San Francisco Lawyer", a huge threat to our small town Valley values. The anti-Sieglock group showed him as a career politician, dressed him up as Santa Claus, and said he is a big spender. It would be almost funny if it wasn't so tragic.

-Proposition 1A is ValleyVue's pick as the most important ballot item. Although it hasn't recieved a lot of exposure, supporters advertised it as a way to create construction jobs in the development of High Speed Rail, followed by a huge number of permanent jobs as a result of the completed system.

-The energy propositions gained noteriety by the endorsements of the no campaigns. In fact, proposition 7, for renewable energy generation, was not supported by either the Democrats of the Republicans. The claim was made that the energy propostions were attempts by a "Texas Oil Man" (T. Boone Pickens) to ensure future and higher profits.

It has been exciting. We'll see what happens, and review some of the results soon.

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# posted by Dan @ 3:44 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

 

Democratic National Convention



Barrack Obama's nomination celebration is underway in Denver this week. After selecting Joe Biden as his running mate last week, the Democrats plan to use this week's Democratic National Convention to show a united front and a desire to dethrone the GOP by highlighting the errors of the Bush administration.


The Central Valley of California is a study in politics that mirrors the larger American electoral map. Largely agrarian, vast portions of the Valley side with the conservative principles of the Republican party. Valley Republicans value the importance of laws reflecting religious morality, the protection of individual freedoms such as the right to bear arms and to do what they want with the property they own, and put a prime importance on the government taking as little tax from it's people as possible.


Meanwhile, much more concentrated in the urban areas such as inner Sacramento or the small University outposts such as Davis, are the Democrats. Valley Dems are more likely to favor growing government power to provide social, health, and educational programs to the most disadvantaged. Democrats value the importance of laws reflecting morality, including the Christian belief in charity, hoping to institutionalize the practice through the shared responsibility of governance.


A growing segment of the population, however, does not subscribe to either party. These voters agree with somethings in each party, but not everything. Or, they may agree essentially with almost all of one party's fiscal beliefs, but not their social programs.


In many respects, Barrack Obama has made an attempt to bridge these gaps, an attempt that is inspiring and hopeful. Obama may see what so many politicians do not appreciate. The nation, although polarized between red and blue in recent elections, is no longer a country with two parties of voters. Now it is a country with independent voters deciding between two parties. As the Republicans and Democrats increasingly polarized over the last couple decades, moderates in both parties lost a voice in decision-making. John McCain himself has made a career of being separate from the general GOP mindset, now advertising himself as "the original maverick". Obama has long centered on this theme of change, which most believe set him up to eventually defeat Hillary Clinton in the primaries.


However, Obama's choice for the Vice President, Joe Biden, makes some worry his message of change is being lost in his attempt to stop McCain's surge in national polls. In fact, many experts believe Biden may actually hurt his poll numbers, as Biden is seen as a Washington insider, a poor evoker of change. In the convention this week, Obama must recapture his earlier momentum by refocusing his campaign's message on a more hopeful and prosperous future.

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# posted by Dan @ 2:07 PM 0 comments

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