Election Time Dilemmas

It's the day before the elections and it's my last chance to say what's on my mind. After this none of this might seem relevant. In Berkeley, are people talking, not about whether to vote for Bush or Kerry but whether to vote for Nader, Cobb, Kerry or Leonard Peltier.

This is tough time for liberals. You know you don't want Bush in the White house for 4 more years but is Kerry going to be any different? The man seemed to have a integrity in his past but as the campaign proceeded he morphed into something that didn't look very different from Bush even saying that he would find the terrorists and KILL them!? Well, we say atleast he is better than Bush in terms of abortion and gay marriage. Is he doing this just to win the election? If he is, is he going to be carry on being this way to win a second term? None of this bodes well for the American people.

And then there is Nader. I saw him speak on C-Span the other day and it was refreshing so see a candidate not speaking in sound bites or playing a political game but actually genuinely saying it like it is. My global vote goes to him! Kerry had said at one point that he would take votes away from Nader by taking his issues but that obviously hasn't happenned. It is ridiculous that people say that he should not be allowed to stand for election. Getting rid of the electoral college would make this less of an issue but as long as there are the two parties of the system benefit from it that will not happen.(Jon Stewart did say though that someone who does not have a chance of winning has the luxury of taking straight. I can't believe I am quoting Stewart! But did you see the guy on "Crossfire" or hear his less dramatic appearance on Charlie Rose. He is becoming a serious presence outside of his show.)

I mourned the fact that Nader wasn't part of the debates. Now that would have been interesting to watch. No bull**** would be allowed to go on. Watching campaign speeches or any kind of election coverage has become an absolute bore. Same old "facts" repeated a million times, false ads, accusations and spins. Osama really put the spin masters in a quandry though. Some said that this was a Kerry endorsement. But what if Osama knew that people would hesitate to vote for his choice of candidate and Osama did all this to get people to vote for Bush. One camp spinned it saying that people would look at this as a reminder that terrorism was very present danger but the other camp saw it as a reminder that it had been three years and that Osama was still alive and well!

It is scary to find oneself agreeing with the terrorist. What was it that Osama said about Bush's " tyranny and suppression of freedom" or about Bush "still exercising confusion and misleading you and not telling you the true reason." Hearing the piece about rampant voter fraud on "This American Life" and seeing "Control Room" only made me more uneasy.

Inspite of all this it seems like a lot of people are doing there part to get the vote out. Here on affluent 4th street, even the store dedicated to selling high end pet products pet is endorsing Kerry. Another poster in a fancy clothing store says "Let's Kerry Bush back to Texas".

Anirvan and I called South Asian voters in Florida for SAKI. Though I got a lot of people who supported Kerry I also got a few people who hung up, one who said that he was going to vote for "Mr. Bush" and another who wouldn't tell me who he was voting for and instead put the question to me. When I said Kerry he sarcastically congratulated me in a tone that sent shivers down my spine. I guess it was ok to call people to ask them to support Kerry.This last Sunday we called voters in Ohio to remind them to vote. In swing states I wonder how would asking people to vote for Nader work?

One of our friends put it really well. She said that it was, after all Halloween season and that we were all Liberals dressed up as Democrats. Come election day no matter who wins we will take to the streets in our true colors for there will be work to be done.