So, here it is—Nov. 7th; hopefully by the time you are reading this you will have already cast your ballot. If you haven’t yet, please feel free to close this magazine, throw it on the ground, run quickly to your nearest poling place and in the words of our Senior Editor Mike Jacobs, “Vote your ass off.”
From MTV to CNN we has been bombarded over the last few months with catchy slogans and flashy graphics proclaiming how important it is that you vote–and in no other election year has that been more true. Of course, every presidential election is important, but none in recent history have been this close, which makes every vote extremely important.
Unfortunately, in recent history, there has never been such a lack of real choice in the candidates either. Sure, Gore and Bush differ on many issues, but mostly concerning things like social security or senior prescription benefits, and a bunch of other crap I don’t understand or even really want to. What I do know is that both of them are pretty much political whores who bought their nominations by selling their souls to special interests.
“Wait a second ,Chris, didn’t you just get done telling us we had to vote, and how important it was? Now you’re telling us that we have to choose between two whores?” Yeah, I know, but don’t call me a hypocrite just yet. While it is sad that our options are so limited, it is still a choice we must make for the sake of our countrie’s future. There are a few issues out there that the candidates do actually disagree on that will effect us all. Whether those effects are good or bad all depends your political stance. If you vote for Bush, maybe you won’t mind restrictions on abortion and same sex marriages. If you vote for Gore, maybe you won’t mind stricter gun control and stronger environmental restrictions. Personally,I’m voting for Gore, I know that I just got done calling him a whore, but he isn’t the bumbling dolt that Bush is.
The Last factor to be considered in the presidential election is the Nader Factor. I like Nader, I agree with him on many of the issues and he is probably one of the only honest politicians I have ever come across. Unfortunately, I can not bring my self to vote for him. I know that New York is definitely going to go to Gore, for that reason I should be able vote for Nader, so he can get his five percent of the ballots and the ten million dollars in federal matching funds that comes along with it. But I know that while Nader may not spoil the election for Gore in New York, he could in some of the more important “battleground” states, and I can not in anyway support anyone who could possibly swing the election in the favor of an imbecile like Bush.
The question of who the next president will be, isn’t the only important one that we as New Yorkers will have to decide on today, the other is of course the matter the senate seat vacated by Daniel Moynihan. Here we are faced with what is possibly an even tougher decision. On the Democratic ticket, we have First Lady Hillary Clinton and on the the Republican ticket, we have up-and-coming congressman Rick Lazio. What makes this decision hard is that many people can’t help but to see Clinton as a carpetbagger who has no right to come into our state and take office, but also don’t want to vote for Lazio because they do not agree with his politics. Personally I’m going to have to go with Clinton, though I do agree somewhat with the anti-carpetbagger sentiment, it is not enough for me to compromise my beliefs and vote for Lazio.
There is the argument that since we live in New York, your vote won’t matter because it’s a forgone conclusion that New York is going to go to Gore. Honestly, I’m really not sure how the Electoral College works, but I do know that in the senate race your vote will matter. Clinton and Lazio have been neck and neck in the polls for the past few months and this one could come down to the wire. Your vote will most definitely count in this race, so if your not voting because you don’t like Bush or Gore, I hope you at least voted for a Senatorial candidate, because regardless of whether or not you like them, this is your chance to truly make a difference.
So, like I said, I hope you have voted or are on your way to right now. I know I may not have painted the best picture of the voting process, but I still can not stress enough how damned important it is. I’m not going to tell you whom you should vote for–it’s none of my business–but I shall leave you with this one reminder; if you are totally unsatisfied with your choices you can always utilize your write in option. Remember that it’s Christopher L. Davis–there might be some other Christopher Davis out there and you wouldn’t want the vote counters to get confused.
Christopher L. Davis
Photo Editor
