Propositions and Questionable Candidates

I keep hearing the upcoming election is a big deal. While it is, I will be very happy when the phone calls, TV ads, radio ads, street signs, emails, and mailers stop. However, I will miss the entertainment of their misleading information and poking holes in their claims. Below are a few ideas for your consideration when voting.

Propositions
If you are looking for some comments about the California propositions, check out this voting guide James prepared. My votes will look very similar to these (except on 22) and for most of the same reasons. I was going to say some nice things about the politics of James, but after I read his next blog post I must hold off.

Ideology and Practicality
In looking at candidates running for office, one question has often come up. Is it better to support a candidate who is close to you ideologically but less likely to win, or should you vote for a candidate who has a better chance of winning but is ideologically only slightly better than the other leading candidate? I have two examples.

In the race for Governor I am voting for a candidate I do not like, Meg Whitman. She has some red flags and at least one position I want nothing to do with. However, I am voting for her because she is better than Jerry Brown, who has been in California politics for longer than I have been alive.

In the Lieutenant Governor race I am writing in a candidate who has no chance of winning. I will not vote for the nominee of my party, Abel Maldonado, because he has shown on many occasions his political values are far away from mine. For the past few years Maldonado's name has been a joke among my friends as someone who is in the wrong political party and a questionable character.

I am disappointed that in a state as large as California these are the candidates at the top of the ballot. However, I am excited to vote for a lot of other good people. Now back to the question I brought up before. Is it better to vote for a candidate who has a good chance of winning who is far from perfect ideologically, or a harder to elect candidate you agree with on many things?

I make my decisions on a case by case basis, but I am favoring the later. I have knocked on doors and made phone calls for candidates with platforms I was not thrilled with, only to be rewarded with policies I was less than happy with when they took office. However, if I vote for a third party or write-in candidate instead of one from a major party, I could end up with the worse of the two major candidates in office.

I do not have any easy answers. All I can suggest is that you look into the candidates you are voting for and realize what compromises you are making.