ARCHIVE: Even When It Matters, Does It Matter?

*** This entry was originally posted to LiveJournal May 7, 2008 ***

So as you probably imagine, I voted yesterday. I was very excited to do it--for once a vote in an Indiana primary was going to mean something at the presidential level!

On Monday I used an online tool from the Indy Star to compare the candidates in all of the other races, except for the judge race--which was a case of voting for 8 of 9 candidates, 8 of whom were incumbents. I didn't take the time to research that one. I carefully weighed the information I got from this tool and I made my selections. I even printed out my choices and took them to the polling place with me so that I'd be sure to vote for the people I'd selected based on their responses to the questions put to them by the Star.

I'm all too accustomed to casting my vote in this state according to my conscience, fully realizing that the outcome will usually not be the one I'd hoped for. I don't consider myself a devotee of the Democratic Party by any means, but for me they are usually--USUALLY--the lesser of two evils. Except for my first election in 1988 (in which I voted straight Republican--my views have shifted considerably to the left over time), I think I've always voted a split ticket. Nevertheless, I'm used to feeling like a "blue" voter in a "red" state.

I didn't expect that in a primary election, in which I was voting only alongside the other "blues."

For all my research, I did not back ONE SINGLE winning candiate in a contested race yesterday. Not one. Again, I'm not counting the 8-out-of-9 judges race or the multiple-winner (and as yet uncalled) Pike Township school board race. And I must also qualify my statement by saying that the gubernatorial contest has yet to be called, and is exceedingly close. Even there, though, the very narrow margin tips in favor of the candiate for whom I did not vote.

What the hell? It would be nice to know that my voice in making these decisions was on the winning side once in a while, at least.

Even so, of course I'll keep voting and of course I'll stick to my convictions. I'll even hang on to hope that someday a majority of voters in this state might just agree with me.

In the meantime, I'll just accept that not only am I a "blue" voter in a "red" state, but I'm also a "sapphire" voter in a "cerulean" state. Sigh.