Election Musings - Part II

Long time, no post! Not only have I been busy the past month, but also uninspired to write. I find the candidates in this election year to be lacking. While a few of the negative ads are amusing, they are starting to turn annoying. But since there’s only a few day left until Election Day, a few more musings:

Governor’s Race
I wish the Blagojevich camp would quit calling Judy Barr Topinka “George Ryan’s Treasurer.” The Illinois Treasurer is an elected position; not appointed by *any* governor. Blagojevich must think all the voters are really stupid. If we analyze things by this measure, JB Topinka is also Blagojevich’s Treasurer too.

Some of the latest polls are showing a tighter race between Blagojevich and Topinka. I am somewhat surprised, given that Blagojevich has much more money in his campaign war chest and Topinka hasn’t really ran a good campaign. Still, I think Blagojevich will win on Tuesday, but only by a small margin. This man will never, ever be a popular governor. Lastly, I think Green party candidate Rich Whitney has a good possibility to gather 10% or even more of the vote.

Aaron Schock
While the flurry of negative ads run on the airwaves, Aaron Schock’s campaign ads have been mainly positive. This biggest thing that I’ve noticed is that individuals that are endorsing him actually give their name; many of them prominent in the community. I’m not a big fan of Aaron, but I have to give him credit for this category. I don’t think Spears has a chance in this race.

96th Senate Race
The race between Dave Koehler and Ernie Russell has been put into high gear. And I am surprised over the past month with the number of Russell signs and ads everywhere. I think Russell beat Koehler to the punch in ads. I originally believed Koehler had this one wrapped up, but now I’m not so sure. I still think Koehler will win, but by a slim margin; he probably wishes the Republicans were still pitting Blair Gambill against him.

Illinois Democrats
It will be the best of times come Wednesday morning. I predict the Illinois Democrats will have taken all the top elected positions in the state, being the Treasurer’s office, Attorney General’s office, Secretary of State, Comptroller, etc. They will also retain the Governor’s Mansion (figuratively, of course) and have majority control of the legislature. It will be a true, blue state.

It will later become the worst of times for the Illinois Democrats. This state is in poor fiscal shape, despite what Blagojevich and other Democrats say. Illinois is unable to pay its bills right now. What will happen when expenses from Blagojevich’s AllKids program exceed budget predictions? Which pension funds will be raided next to pay Medicaid and other entitlement expenses? How long can these “quick fix” solutions last until the real problems come to light? How soon will it be when the deficit will surpass George Ryan’s balance of $5 billion? When this shit hits the fan, who are the Democrats going to blame? The Republicans do not have a majority in the state legislature. They do not hold any high offices in the state. This will be a time for them to regroup for 2008 while the state Democratic Party will begin to cannibalize themselves and blame one another for the state's woes.

Common Sense of it All: Get out and vote. While our candidates appear to be lacking, we should still perform our foremost staple of freedom; to vote for our leaders. Too many of our countrymen paid the ultimate price to ensure we have this freedom. It does not come cheap. It does not come easy. Please vote on Tuesday, Nov 7.