Welllllll…some definite mixed feelings going on here. Great news locally, bad news nationally. I mean, hell, when a Kennedy can’t win a major race, it’s not a good night for the Good Guys. However, Tip O’Neill, a good Demo to his dying day, said that all politics is local. So, therefore, I’m conflicted. Just a few observations along with some reader mail mixed in.
VOX POPULI
First of all, I received a few e-mails from people not voting, trying to explain why. Michael Kidd said that it was his democratic right NOT to vote. To that, I have to say that that action isn’t a right, it’s a self-denial of a right. What’s worse, denying yourself of a right or not having that right at all? There are too many people in this world who either don’t get to have any voice in what their countries’ leaders do, or whose votes are a complete joke. Not in this country. People had a say, and a critical one given the narrow balance in the Senate and House.
Nameless46 articulated this position quite well, well enough for me to respond to it:
The way I see it is that if I don’t see anything or anyone worth voting for, I am not going to vote. Consider it a protest if you will. Everyone has been all gung-ho about being patriotic since September 11th, 2001. I don’t see anything wrong with that, as long as they are patriotic because they are proud, and not because it’s the ‘thing to do.’ America has lately taken on a real ‘love it or leave it’ attitude. That is wrong, in my opinion. Because there always has to be room for a dissenting minority, or else we as a country will stagnant and die. I agree that voting is important. However, the way I see it, by not voting I am sending out a powerful message. Feel free to disagree, but that is the way I see it.
Of course, your statements about the post-September 11th patriotic orgy do echo mine, especially as stated in my own September 11th, 2002 column (look for it on here; I don’t have time to find it and link it, or you can go to Gamble’s column this week because he did the gut work for me on that). The problem is that your logic is a bit skewed. In order to be a dissenting minority, you have to dissent in the first place. Saying nothing is not necessarily a dissent; it could be a dissent or it could be mute acquiescence of the status quo. By not sending a message, you’re sending a mixed message. That effectively mutes the effect of your being mute. Not voting is the political equivalent of Rick Scaia’s “Thumbs In The Middle”.
This links in directly to what Irish Bureau Chief Ian Wright asked me last week: what exactly is a “caucus” in American political terms? Specifically, I think what the Taoiseach-In-Waiting is asking about is the Iowa Caucuses, that every-four-years combination of the ultimate in participatory democracy and weird-ass media event. Essentially, what happens in the Iowa Caucuses is this: a person in the community is officially recognized as the local representative for a particular presidential candidate. The community gathers in some convenient meeting place (a high school gym, for instance, or even someone’s living room). They listen to all the representatives pimp their candidates. Then, they vote to see who did the best job pimping his person. The local winning representative moves up the ladder to a larger convention. Lather, rinse, repeat, until the people of each party in the Hawkeye State have a slate of delegates for the national convention. In a sense, it’s more like a beauty pageant than an election. However, it’s grass-roots democracy at its finest, albeit inefficient.
Also, Ian, on your question of gerrymandering, everyone does it, and Iowa isn’t an exception. Reapportionment has to be done every ten years by law (for the first election after the Census, which this one happens to be) in order to prevent the equivalent of an English “rotten boroughs” situation cropping up. Both parties take advantage of reapportionment to create districts favorable to them. There were laws put in place recently to lessen the more obvious bits of geographic weirdness, but it still happens. In fact, Illinois Democrats effectively used reapportionment for this election to win back the state Senate. Gerrymandering still lives.
There’s also a number of people who asked me what of these two is worse: Not voting or voting yet uninformed (Lee Baxley was especially eloquent on the subject). This is going to sound a bit wishy-washy, but to me, those two essentially amount to the same thing. Naturally, there’s going to be a lot of people out there who are complete sheep, not keeping up with the issues but voting on a party line simply because 1) they’ve always done so and/or 2) Daddy was a member of said party, and so was Granddaddy, and so on and so forth (oh, don’t you DARE look at me; besides, my father was a conservative Democrat).
There’s sort of an analogy to be made between uninformed voting and being a mark. Of course, the difference is that we’re fiddling around with something here that’s a helluva lot more important than wrestling. We need to be informed about the issues, since we ourselves give priority to what they are. I remember hearing a few GOPollsters saying they were shocked, absolutely shocked, that terorrism wasn’t high on the list of voter priorities. Maybe if you listened to the people instead of the FUD that your Grand High Poobah was spouting out of his ass, maybe you wouldn’t be shocked.
All in all, I’d give the Lesser Of Two Evils Award to Uninformed Voting, because we wrestling fans know that marks are necessary in all forms of activity. Besides, how we can smarks act smug about our knowledge without marks out there?
Of course, there are people I will forgive for not voting. Frequent writer Rob Bemis is one. He just moved and didn’t beat the deadline to register. But at least he’s out of Jersey, and that’s a good thing.
Now on to the smart-ass portion of this section…
Six years ago, they were standing next to their hubbies as they accepted their respective party’s nomination for the presidency. Today, they’re the junior senators from New York and North Carolina. This would be a surprising, historical-paradigm-shifting development if not for two things: Monica Lewinsky and pimping Viagra. Given those factors, it’s almost expected that this would happen. Congrats to Liddy Dole, one of those entries in that short “Republicans I Respect” list.
Jeb Bush back in the governor’s office. Katherine Harris in the House instead of doing life in a federal pen. Can we just seal the borders to Florida and nuke the place now?
I don’t know who the biggest winner of America’s Chronic Short-Term Memory Deficiency is, Dubbaya or Governor Gray Davis of California. Weren’t they writing this guy off completely after the rolling blackouts debacle of last year? You know, folks, there are times when I admit to not liking Democrats. The high-level Demos in California represent the full set. Davis is an idiot, Boxer’s one of those liberals that make me ashamed of being a liberal, and Feinstein opens her legs for any movie company or media conglomerate that makes goo-goo eyes at her (and she tried to shut down the sex industry in San Francisco when she was in the city council and later as mayor).
My fascist bud John King admitted he voted for Ed Rendell for Governor of Pennsylvania. Oh, John, I meant to convert you, but not in that way. However, I do love this line: Good senator and Dick Durbin go together like fine wine and cottage cheese or good sex and Dr. Ruth..jesus have some pride man. 60% of Illinoians can’t be wrong, John. And as for having some pride…oh, come on, you voted for Ed Rendell. I think we’re both a bit short in that department today.
I could say things about the Georgia governor’s race. Specifically, given my proximity to the industry, the Perdue-chickenshit analogies are plentiful. However, I will defer in honor of Jimmy Carter, Nobel Peace Prize Winner.
Advice to Steve Largent, locked in a recount for Governor of Oklahoma: give it up. Jim Zorn can’t audible you out of this one.
I’ll forgive my pal BFM for anything, but the fact that he admitted he was going to vote for Talent in the Missouri senate race was stretching my friendship to the limit. However, I understood, even though it was that race that tipped the balance of power in the Senate and put it into the lap of Mad Dog (for the moment, results from Minnesota pending…my God, am I rooting for Norm Coleman over Walter Mondale right now; anything, ANYTHING, but not Mad Dog having the tie-breaker, please). The Widow Carnahan simply could not stay, period. So, you’re still forgiven, BFM.
Let’s go reasonably local for me…
So Scott McCallum’s out on his ass in my former state of residence, Wisconsin. It’s a damn shame to think that I didn’t have to move to get a Democratic governor (after not having one since 1976). However, the Damn Vaninator would have been in a grave by now if I hadn’t. One good trend: the 11% vote for the Libertarian candidate in the WisGov race. Politically, Wisconsin’s always marched to a different drum, so this is sort of expected. But it’s gratifying to see that you don’t need a Jesse Ventura type to get significant support in a major race for a third party.
And we can’t let this go without a knock at the spawns of Satan known as Illinois Republicans:
I have been reading your columns for a while and I realize that you are a very witty and intelligent person, however, I do have one question, and yes I know politics is all opinion and that is pretty much all I am interested in at this point, but how can you, a very politically savvy individual, shill for Rod Blowjobabitch? This man is one of the biggest weasels I have ever laid eyes on and I do not think he would know the truth if it came up and bit him on his behind, not to mention the fact that he is a puppet for Jesse Jackass. Now do not get me wrong, Ryan is a putz as well, but I am just curious how you consider Rod the lesser of the 2 evils here. – Daniel Stephenson
1) Because he’s a Democrat.
2) Because he’s a spawn of the old Chicago Machine, and I know how to relate to him.
3) Because he’s a Democrat.
4) Because he did a decent job in Congress considering the shoes he had to fill with having to replace Rosty.
5) Because he’s a Democrat.
6) There is no Answer #6.
7) Because he’s a Democrat.
Remember, I’m a former employee of the state of Illinois. Anything’s better than Republicans as your bosses in a political situation.
As for being a tool of Jesse Jackson, what about new Illinois Representative Reverend James Meeks, who decided to revive the old Election Day tradition of having your supporters rough up your opponents’? I live just north of his district, which means I was paying attention to this one. The complaints have already been filed with the state’s attorney.
On behalf of downstate, we’ll see you next time around… – Charles Vanhorn
Come on, say it. “Governor Blagojevich”. Let it roll across your tongue a few times. You’ll get to enjoy it over the next eight years. Or is “Blagojevich” too hard for your downstaters to pronounce after twenty-six years of Thompson, Edgar, and Ryan?
Stephanie McMahon…uh, Lisa Madigan became the state Attorney General. At the same time, her power broker dad became the most powerful man in Springfield as the Demos gained control of both houses here. Pate Phillip is out on his Wood Dale ass, thank God! I loathe that motherf*cker. Du Page Republicans…sterilization is an option. Memo to the Madigans: Priority One: get rid of the f*cking toll roads. They’ve paid for themselves already.
As for me, for the first time ever, I voted for EVERY SINGLE WINNING CANDIDATE. Even the one Republican I voted for won. That satisfies me more than you could ever think. Godhood is just one confirmation away for me, you know.
THE PIMP SECTION
Ortega likes the direction Raw is going. I’m not going to argue with him, since it’s too damn early.
Livingston didn’t register, so f*ck him.
SMACKDOWN SOMEWHAT SPOILED
Well, Nason was at ringside, and he must have been confused since there were more than two hundred people in the arena. He’s just not used to the majors anymore after covering the indy scene for so long.
From the first match listed, I’m not as high on the show as Nason is. The Greasy Little Twink and His Ten-Buck Trick versus the Trailer Park Trash, Mixed Tag? Not encouraging.
So, how is the Ten-Buck Trick going to like having the Twenty-Buck Trick as her new stepmom? You know, every time someone puts up the virtues of Smackdown as opposed to Raw, I have to remind them of stuff like this to prove that Smackdown’s not the pristine slice of French Silk Pie that people think it is.
Tag Title Match. Rey-Rey and Edge versus Angle and Benoit. Two out of three falls. Hold it. This is WWE. This is an organization that has devoted its entire energy to making me as a wrestling fan miserable. This is an organization that, earlier in the show, gave us Rikishi and John Cena doing dueling rap promos. How can this organization present something like this to me? Okay, I’ve said it in the past and never followed through, but this time it’s for real: I’ll tape this one Thursday night. If it’s half as good as Nason says, it’s the free TV match of the year, no question.
Lesnar’s face turn is proceeding apace, hesitancy among the backstagers or not. Hey, if it sets up Lesnar/Angle for WM, I’m all for it.
AND IN OTHER WRESTLING NEWS…
So Hogan was supposed to come in and do the job to Lesnar at SurSer, huh? And he said no, huh? What’s wrong, Terry? Couldn’t get yourself out of another commercial shoot with Alf or what? If I had a choice between doing the job to get the organization over or getting out-acted in a phone pimp commercial by a puppet, I’d do the job. But that’s just me, I guess.
Boriquaa71 makes this remark:
i consider Steiner a great performer with a real attitude and he can kick ass in real life( ask DDP)i hope he goes to Raw ,and in my book he is the last true WCW heavyweight world champ he tell it like it is i would love to see an angle of him reclaiming his WCW belt from HHH,you know i was the real WCW world champ and that would put Booker into it too im no expert but that would bring some people back to Raw a Scott Steiner ,Booker T and HHH program would help Raw unless HHH bury him.Just a thought…
Not much of a coherent thought. Slightly more coherent than a Scott Steiner promo, in fact. He “kicks ass” in real life because of ‘roid rage, you silly goof, not because he’s legit tough like a Ken Shamrock (just to pull a name out of a hat). The problem with your idea is that the Big Gold Belt has been divested of its WCW past (Booker refers to his championships in the abstract and doesn’t explicity refer to the fact that he once wore Trip’s belt). Steiner doing that kind of angle would serve no purpose. Steiner’s presence, in fact, serves no purpose other than another Two-Week Pop In The Ratings.
I will not comment on the Lesnar/Ventura possibility due to the fact that I don’t comment on the ridiculous.
And that’s it for me this week. Yeah, light on wrestling for a Wednesday, but there’s more important things in the world than that to think about. Like, for instance, the fact that I didn’t have time to do my laundry yesterday. Or how to escape the Wrath of Big Daddy for saying things against the Ohio State football team. Let’s face it, we all have our own list of personal priorities. Mine right now is to sign off and hand this over to Grut. So I shall do so…now.
About Eric Szulczewski
