I voted for Dean. Yessirree.. straight down the card. Voted for his six delegates. Yep. Dean had seven spots on my ballot. Just to say it once and for all... Dean, Dean, Dean, Dean, Dean, Dean, Dean. God, that felt good.
So, next time I vote it will be for Kerry, whom I still hold in contempt for his treatment of Dean. But, this is the creep that my fellow Dems have chosen, and I will endorse their jerk with my vote. In November. Not today.
What was especially hard today was the senate vote. I was ready to vote for Chico, but in the simple privacy of the voting booth with the stylus in my hand, I realized I couldn't do it. I don't know why. And I wound up voting for Pappas, and feeling pretty damn good about it.
My predictions... I voted a whole goddamn ballot of losers. I probably snagged one on the Water Filtration District and maybe a judge or two, and there were a couple of folks running unopposed that will probably get in, but, it's probably a goose egg of a day for me.
And you know what?
I felt great.
Even if my ballot is held up as the picture of a wasted vote, I voted. I took time away from my busy schedule and walked over half a mile in the blowing snow and up those stairs with my lousy fucking knees and I voted. I cast my ballot and voted my conscience, and let the cards fall where they may. I fulfilled my duty as an American citizen and I did it gladly and I did it proudly.
But as the day has worn on, I experienced a new feeling. It's sort of like reaching the end of a book and realizing that you'll never have that feeling again. Dean is done. I knew it months ago. He will never be allowed to run for another office. It's a miracle he's alive. And now, I feel, for the first time in my life, like "Well, la-de-da... I voted... whoop-di-doo... what a fucking waste of time."
Maybe this is what happens when you actually had someone to vote for instead of just a duty to vote. Or maybe I'm just getting old. But I'm curious... did anyone else feel this way?