Do Your Duty

Go Vote today. Ironically, we think that neither Serach nor myself are able to vote today, as we are still registered under our old address. If we have the time (Elianna's sick, so there's a good chance not) we'll go anyway to see if we can - it's the same polling place, after all - but I have a feeling we're going to be shut out of this election. It's actually strange - according to the Board of Elections, they keep track through change of address forms filed with the USPS. We filled one out, so we should have gotten registration cards here... but we didn't.

If you haven't decided who to vote for yet and you live in New York, here are the suggestions of SerandEz...

[Ez: To be clear where I'm coming from, so you take this into account before reading my suggestions... I am a registered Democrat; I currently prefer the GOP on a national level, for economic, defense, and most social issues; I generally prefer conservative judges who emphasize personal responsibility; and I usually prefer local Democrat politicians. In 2004, I voted for President Bush, abstained regarding Schumer, and primarily Democrats the rest of the way. And yes, I know I don't need to reveal any of this.]

Governor:

• Eliot Spitzer (D)
• John Faso (R)

I actually thought I'd go with Spitzer at first, but after checking out his website vs. Faso's, I'm going with Faso. Spitzer's site says "Day One: Everything Changes" - but doesn't really say what he plans on changing. His interview talks about how great the state used to be and could be... but doesn't say how. It's spoken like a man with a large lead who really doesn't want to say anything to get himself in trouble. (He's not stupid.) He has one small link to the page which actually discusses the issues, and those discussions are very vague in how to address the problems. Faso's site, meanwhile, discusses front and center the tax cuts he wants to make and why, how he wants to reform health care, improve public education, and cut government spending.

State Comptroller:

• Alan Hevesi (D)
  
• Christopher Callaghan (R)
  

This one is pretty simple. Hevesi has been nailed by the Ethics committee for having a chauffer for his wife and not reimbursing the state for it, and even the NY Times, who endorsed almost no Republicans, endorsed Callaghan. I actually heard Callaghan speak a few weeks ago to a small gathering - he's an accountant who clearly knows his stuff, even if he's not exactly Mr. Suave Cool out there. As the Times noted: But one of the main jobs of the comptroller is to make sure people who handle taxpayers’ money understand the very clear line between their personal expenditures and the public treasury. There is no way Mr. Hevesi can fulfill that vital role anymore. I'd say that Callaghan can.

Attorney General:

• Andrew Cuomo (D)
  
• Jeanine Pirro (R)
  

An underwhelming pair of choices, but Cuomo seems to have done a decent job over the years while Pirro seems just a bit nuts. I can't claim to know much about this one, but that's my feeling.

US Senator:

• Hilary Clinton (D)
• John Spencer (R)
  

This is a straight-up "against" vote. I'm voting against Hilary. As far as I know, Spencer isn't accused of any wrongdoing, so I have no qualms in saying I'd rather have him in office than Hilary Clinton.

Other offices:

• Anthony Weiner (D) - 9th Congressional District

I'm not sure what else is in my area, so I'll hold it there. If you're in New Jersey, please vote for Kean over Menendez. Go Vote!

Tags: Election, 2006, Clinton, Hilary, Spitzer, Faso, Spencer, Callaghan, Hevesi, Cuomo, Pirro, Weiner, New York, NY, Kean, Menendez, Senate, GOP, Democrats, Republicans.