patgund | Civic Duty

Went to vote before work, having spent a couple of days reviewing people and propositions.

President and Vice-President - The question with any incumbent is "are we better off now than we were four years ago. For me, that answer was "No, we're not". The economy is on the skids, the job market is crap, we're in recession and are facing the worse deficit in our nations history, having had a surplus four years before.

The person who masterminded the worse case of mass murder on our nation's soil is still at large, and we've faced a constant stream of half-truths and outright lies from the White House for four years now. He's governed like he has a mandate, (even though he lost the popular vote), and has shown a complete disregard for most of the people in this country. Given all that, there was no way, as a freedom-loving citizen of the US, I could vote for Bush. I realize some of my friends may disagree with me on such, and such is their right.

While Kerry wasn't my first choice in the primaries, (I would have preferred General Clark), none of the third party choices appealed either. Therefore, I voted for Kerry / Edwards (Democrat)

US Senator - I don't much like Sen. Barbara Boxer(D). I respect Bill Jones(R), but respect doesn't mean agreeing with. My vote went for James Gray,( Libertarian).

US Representative (52nd district) - There's no way, short of nuclear weapons, that we're going to dislodge Rep. Duncan Hunter(R) from his district. Even though I think he's done a horrible job of representing. I didn't much care for Brian Keliher(D) though either. Vote went to Michael Benoit (L).

State Assembly (77th district) - Don't much care for Assemblyman Jay La Suer(R), nor did I like Randy Hall II (L) either. Choice went to Chris Larkin(D).

As for the measures:

Prop 1A - I was torn on this one. My choice could have gone either way. Finally, I opted for a "no" vote.
Prop 59 - Voted yes. Open meetings and records is a good thing.
Prop 60 - Voted no.
Prop 60A - Voted yes
Prop 61 - Voted yes
Prop 62 - Voted yes. I support open primaries, and this, I suspect, is as close as we're going to get in California.
Prop 63 - Voted yes
Prop 64 - Voted no
Prop 65 - Voted yes
Prop 66 - Again, torn. I don't much care for some of the more draconian aspects of "three strikes". But I don't much like the way this was worded either. Left blank.
Prop 67 - Voted yes
Prop 68 - Voted yes. I don't have a problem with expanding gambling in this state.
Prop 69 - Voted no.
Prop 70 - Voted yes, same reason as Prop 68
Prop 71 - Voted yes.
\ Prop 72 - Voted yes.
Prop A - I didn't like the wording, and it seemed like too much was being given to the developers. But since developers pretty much own San Diego county, we can't avoid that. Reluctant yes vote, roadgeek though I am.
Prop B - Voted yes.
Prop C - Voted yes.