Why increased care for the elderly is wrong and Democrats suck, and why Obama's election is bad for black people. Sometimes and kind of.
There were three state-wide measures on Washington State's ballot:
- 985. Ridiculous transportation measure proposed by initiative-fanatic Tim Eyman:
Washington's answer: No.
Correct!
- 1000. Death with dignity.
Washington's answer: Yes.
Correct!
- 1029. Elderly Care. "This measure would require long-term care workers to be certified as home care aides based on an examination, with exceptions; increase training and criminal background check requirements; and establish disciplinary standards and procedures."
Washington's answer: A resounding "Yes" with 73% of the electorate voting for the measure.
WRONG! Trick question. Yes, the principles behind this bill are great, but Washington, do your research! It is very rare that the two main Seattle papers, the P.I. and the Seattle Times, AND The Stranger all agree on an endorsement. Their answer: NO! So, has the Seattle media been united by their joint scorn for the elderly and the disabled? NO! All three papers offered the same rationale: there was a better bill in the legislature addressing the same problem, a bill that would be dealt a legislative death by the passing of 1029.
Almost 60% of Washington voters passed the Tim Eyman test, i.e. Tim Eyman equals BAD. And clearly, with almost 60% of the electorate voting for death with dignity and a much higher number expressing an interest in elderly care, we pass the liberal social conscience test. But apparently we fail the do-more-than-simply-read-the-ballot-blurb-and-scan-the-endorsements-test. Research is a civic value!
More anecdotal support for the importance (and lack of research): I told my dad that I was considering voting for the Republican instead of the Democrat for Lt. Governor. "Shame on you," he says. I proceed to inform him that Brad Owen's central cause is his personal war on pot, which he wages while touring the state with his "preachy" rock band. "He's been traveling around the state with his idiotic rock band, torturing middle-schoolers and high-schoolers," one medical marijuana told the Seattle P.I. But regardless of how one feels about pot, Owen has a poor record on gay rights and abortion rights.
Who is his opponent? Marcia McCraw, a pro-pot legalization, pro-gay rights Republican endorsed by NARAL. Now, I don't know if Marcia McCraw would have won had more Washingtonians done their research; there were, however, probably a significant number of people like my father who automatically voted Democrat, but would have been swayed had they known more about where the candidates stood on social issues.
But is Lt. governor really an important position? Well, it could be if, as has been rumored, Gregoire gets tapped for a role in the Obama administration. Then, welcome Governor Brad Owen! Aside from the probable conservatizing of our state, what if the unthinkable should repeat itself and an unqualified governor, who is on the highly conservative end of their party, should be tapped for vice-President? While this is highly unlikely, it should inspire fear.
Finally, I promised election downers from Washington State to Washington D.C. Mr. Freedman, the Civil War is NOT over. This would be like claiming that the first poor individual to make it big signaled that poverty had been successfully defeated. I understand Freedman's sentiment, however. This is HUGE, but it alone does not change the state of racial inequality in our nation. In my short life, I have found that some of the hardest people to convince of the necessity of taxpayers and government assisting the poor are those who were poor and were able to work themselves into wealth. I hope that Obama's election is never used as evidence that efforts to ameliorate the legacy of slavery and discrimination are no longer as necessary.