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Ron Jackson's Perspective
The Sunday Journal -
Think
Kankakee, Illinois
October 22, 2006
Columnist still has
no decision in
governor's race |
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They’re after me.
Really, it’s true. They are coming to get me. At the risk of
sounding like a paranoid-schizophrenic, I have discovered that I
have been labeled and targeted. I am one in five Americans who is
known as the occasional or intermittent voter. You know that type.
We need a passionate reason to vote. We vote sometimes. Sometimes
we don’t.
Even with all the hoopla being made about Hillary Clinton,
Oprah Winfrey, and Barack Obama running for president in a couple of
years, this election year is just not that exciting. And Bush and
Foley aren’t running this year.
Unlike the serial voter who votes early and often and who would
vote for the weather if given the chance, occasional voters don’t
vote in every election. Even when there is a great intent to vote,
without some really emotional issue or candidate to vote for, some
things just get in the way. Moving into a new district and
forgetting to re-register, lacking a strong affiliation towards any
particular party, or looking for a job can be voting distractions.
When all candidates look and sound canned alike, that is also a
deterrent.
In an election year when the control of Congress is up for
grabs and the Democrats are in a good position to do the grabbing,
voters like me are a hot commodity. However, although we consider
ourselves just as patriotic and civic-minded as regular voters, it’s
easier to find a reason not to vote at all rather than choose
between the lesser of two evils.
For the nearly 40 million of us, we understand that Election
Day is about getting elected. Period. It has absolutely nothing to
do with my best interest or the best interest of the country. We
also understand that, unlike in the presidential election where
there is an electoral college, in every race or issue on the ballot
this year, every vote counts.
This year in particular, especially in the Illinois governor’s
race where there is so much discontent in the regular voter camps,
both Democrat and Republican, intermittent voters like myself can’t
even rely upon diehard voters of either party. A common theme this
year is the need for a viable third candidate in the race for
governor. I’ve heard too many times to count that Governor Rod
Blagojevich and challenger Judy Barr Topinka won’t get their vote.
I didn’t even realize the Green Party was a viable political entity
until this year.
So, what’s a person like me to do? As one who has never voted
along a particular party line and doesn’t find a lick of difference
between a Republican or Democrat, my political party faithful
friends are of little help. When I hear things like, “I have voted
Republican all my life; my mom and dad voted Republican, but Topinka
scares me,” or “I’m a true Democrat, but I can’t see myself voting
‘Boobgovich’ to another term,” offers me no encouragement.
In the race for Illinois governor, my real dilemma is that the
person who I think would make the best governor isn’t running. I’d
vote often and illegally if Lt. Governor Pat Quinn were running for
the state’s top office. For someone who rarely makes the news
headlines, he surely seems to tackle issues that are dear to my
heart. Long before he made public the salaries of ComEd upper
management and challenged their request for a rate hike, Mr. Quinn
was and still is a fighter for the benefits of our current soldiers
and veterans.
On a national level, there is a big push to reach the
intermittent voter. Millions and millions of dollars are being
spent to reach that 20 percent of registered voters who are not too
excited about voting this year. Considering the frustration with
our direction of the Iraq War, occasional voters still may not be
motivated to vote this year. Unconvinced that a change in the
controlling party of the Legislature will make much of a difference,
with less than three weeks until the election, one in five
registered voters is still in limbo.
I will vote this year. How and for whom, I might as well wear
some Ray Charles glasses because I have no clue. The beauty of this
election is that I won’t be alone. And you know how we paranoid
types feel about being alone. |
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