With the presidential primary just a day away, I'm still vacillating. Apparently, I'm in good company. Wisconsin, a swing state, likes to keep 'em guessing.
As CNN political analyst Bill Schneider said
in the 2004 primary, "They like underdogs and outsiders in Wisconsin. that's why (Howard) Dean put his bets on Wisconsin. . .And just to show in another wildcard, this is an open primary. Anyone can vote. Independents and Republicans can vote. So, they could really stir things up, up there."
This campaign season has shown that we're not alone in our independent streak. People just aren't falling in lockstep this year with the old-line opinion leaders in political and religious circles. And that's good for democracy.
Wisconsin primaries in hotly contested elections are vulnerable to tricksterism. People from one party can vote for the other party's least electable candidate. Tomorrow, some conservatives will vote for Clinton because they think McCain can beat her more easily than he could beat Obama. It's legal, but it's a form of false witness. If you care about things like honesty and integrity, I hope you'll stir things up by voting for the candidate you really want in office, not the one you don't want. Clinton, Huckabee, McCain, or Obama--in alphabetical order.
In the past, we've cast our votes in Wisconsin for candidates who appeal to dreamers and those who speak to harder realists ("gritty," in the words of one NPR reporter last week). The split isn't just a matter of personality: the media say it's a socio-economic "thing." The affluent and college educated fall on the dreamy side, while the folks who know that tomorrow, in this case February 19, can make a difference in next month's paycheck, fall on the gritty side.
I feel like a piece of toast that just hit the ground peanut-butter-side down; well-fixed enough to be dreamy, but intimately aware of what it's like down here.
Underwood School, where I vote, usually has a bake sale on election day. The goods are neatly wrapped and haven't touched the floor, I'm sure. I'm not promising a sale tomorrow--I don't know if they are doing it this year. But I'll see you at the polls anyway!
