The three ballot questions in the upcoming Nov. 6 election, which I discussed in my last column, weren’t very difficult for me to figure out. Neither was deciding which candidate deserved my vote.
Of course, on the federal, county and state level, there’s usually not much uncertainty anyways. The leaders of my own Massachusetts Democrats are very considerate. They almost always remove any potential anxiety caused by making difficult election choices because they almost always remove most of the opposing candidates.
U.S. Congressperson Richard Neal, State Senator Benjamin Downing, State Representative Gailanne Cariddi, Berkshire County Clerk of Courts Deborah Capeless, and Northern Berkshire Register of Deeds Frances Brooks, are all Democrats. Not one of them has an opponent.
Wait, I apologize. There is one contested race, for Governor’s Council. These officials vote to confirm or deny judicial appointments. Beyond that, I’m not sure exactly what they do, and I’m willing to bet neither is anyone else. Strangely enough, there is a real-life Republican still in the mix. Go figure. At any rate, the Democratic candidate is former Springfield Mayor Michael Albano and the Republican candidate is Holyoke resident Michael Franco. I have no idea for whom to vote.
There are two hotly contested, very important races.
The U.S. Senate battle is one where traditional
But Warren is no slouch. She has waged a tough, aggressive campaign.
Polls have shown both candidates swapping the lead within the margin of polling error several times in the past month.
I was convinced I was going to vote for Brown early on, seeing him as someone who would be good for middle class Massachusetts. But Warren has proved to be such a fighter that she has been difficult to discount completely.
But then, in the second debate last week, in an election where she has hardly been identified as a fervent anti-war candidate, she suddenly decided to resurrect the ghosts of 2008 and play the war card. Clearly hoping to cash in on whatever anti-war sentiment exists in our state, she pronounced that we should withdraw our troops from Afghanistan immediately. She was obviously willing to play to the cheap seats with a theatrical declaration which can only undermine those who serve at a time when they deserve our strongest support.
She’s not ready for prime-time. I’m voting for Brown.
In the main and certainly most important contest on the November ballot, I’m voting for Obama. I didn’t vote for him in 2008, but I decided early on to keep an open mind this time around.
This superb politician has proven to be a good president. He shrewdly abandoned the far left wing very early on in his presidency. He’s supported the troops and the country by ordering an aggressive, world-wide war against the terrorists of Al-Qaida. He’s also done the best he probably could with an economic crisis which has baffled and hamstrung the entire world.
I believe that the welfare state mentality has done tremendous damage to our country. There is no free lunch. I also believe unabashedly in old-fashioned, flag-waving patriotism. I honestly believe that America is the greatest nation in the history of the world because it truly is the land of the free and the home of the brave. In short, my presidential vote should be easy pickings for Republicans every four years.
But Romney leaves me cold. He’s about as warm and appealing as moldy margarine. And his baloney about his tax returns dampened any possibility of me taking him seriously as a national candidate. Plus, a man who has been running for president for most of his adult life should have been a better judge of just how negatively Americans would react when they found out he dumped millions into offshore tax haven accounts.
Bill Donovan writes regularly for The Advocate. Feedback is welcome at news@advocateweekly.com.
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