My Vote for the Vote

I have been on a quest this past week to try and get the governor of New Jersey, who has announced his resignation, to leave office by Sept. 3rd so an election can be held. So far my efforts have been in vain.

I have never claimed that McGreevey is guilty of anything. He’s innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law.

The FBI has questioned McGreevey about blackmail, but I know little about these things.

McGreevey did something bad enough to announce his intentions to resign, apparently, but not such that New Jerseyans should have a say as to who should run the state until November 2005. Blacks and minorities have no say, and neither does anyone else. A small group of people made this decision. And I’m not quite sure who they are. Democrats?

McGreevey has responded, but I’m not convinced.

A gay Democrat from New Jersey has also had something to say.

I don’t know how all this impacts the national Democratic Party and the Kerry campaign. The deeper political or sociological effects of things like this are unclear, but they hardly bode well. Maybe McGreevey’s resignation will be turned into something that brings about a deeper understanding of sexual identity and sensititvity toward gay issues. I certainly hope so.

But what does this mean about future elections when a sudden resignation by a governor for quizzical reasons takes place. Do we say, “Let’s just let a panel of grumpy old people appoint our next leader, without consulting anyone.” Or, perhaps worse, do we say, “Let’s just a have a single person choose the next Head of New Jersey. That’s the way it’s always been.” We’re stuck until January 2006 with an unelected governor and who knows what the deal is?

Have a freaking election unless a tsunami (or some other such thing) says otherwise. All Americans should have the vote. As a state we in New Jersey have thus far wimped out! A precedent is set in New Jersey for power grabs never before seen.

(I also happen to be a proponent of not voting for lesser evils. If you don’t like the candidates, then stay home.)

Since Beth wrote about informed voting and I’ve demonstrated my interest, I thought I’d run through some of my own news sources: The New Yorker (read it in it print), The New York Times, the local newspapers, the Village Voice, the Christian Science Monitor, the conservative press, the Aspen Times, Tom Paine and of course, MyMac.com

I read a bunch of other stuff as I poke around the Web …. and permit myself to go far and wide beyond the above mentioned news staples. I like the foreign press. They crack me up sometimes, but it’s important to get their perspective. The wider the perspective the better.

God willing New Jersey will survive this. We may even improve. But it may take a while. I’m patient.