The Biggest Loser

We had a historic election night last night as the country seems to have taken a sharp turn to the left while those of us leaning to the right were left to hang on. Voting republican in a presidential election in the state of Washington is a little like spitting into the wind. This state is, for the most part deep blue. Still though, it is my civic duty to vote.

Valerie voted earlier in the day and told me of the long lines that she had waited in at our neighborhood polling station. She had waited over an hour so I was in a rush to get home from work and get myself down there expecting to face even worse since I would have to vote at 5:30 when a lot of the after-work crowd was showing up. I stopped by home just long enough to pick up Sarah who really wanted to go vote with me and see how it all worked.

When I got to the voting station the lines were VERY long. We had just hunkered down for the long wait when one of the workers called out that they were opening a line for last names starting with U-Z. Woo hoo! We were instantly in the front and voting. Within ten minutes we were home again to watch the results.

As it turned out, we could have probably stayed home.

Here is how I voted in the major issues.

President:
My vote - McCain
Winner – Obama

Okay, I admit I kinda saw that one coming for the past several months. I rooted McCain knowing that he has zero chance in Washington State and had an uphill battle in the rest of the country. I’m okay with the result. I hope for the best and will support President Obama and pray for him as I would any other president. Regardless of political affiliation, you need to still respect the office. The republicans did not lead effectively even when they had congressional majorities and it is time to pay for that.

I congratulate Obama on becoming the first black president since President Palmer who I did strongly support.


Govenor:
My vote – Rossi
Winner – Gregoire

Ouch. That one hurt. I really dislike Christine Gregoire (pictured left) and had been pretty certain that she was on her way out. This one came as a surprise to me. I’m sure that the high liberal voter turnout supporting Obama carried her to this win. This one is the most painful defeat for me.

INITIATIVE 985: HOV LANES
My vote – Yes
Winner – No

That issue wasn’t even unanimous in our own home. Thanks a lot Valerie. ;) I could see both sides of that one so I can live with this.

INITIATIVE 1000: RIGHT TO DIE
My vote – No
Winner – Yes

Washington now joins Oregon as the only two states to allow you to request a lethal drug prescription if you have a terminal illness. I’m surprised this passed as well.

INITIATIVE 1029: CARE CERTIFICATION
My vote – No
Winner – Yes

That pretty much sums up my evening. Looks like I’m not so hot on picking the winning teams.

Incidentally, my favorite sports teams are…

The Seattle Seahawks – 2008 Record: 2-6

The Seattle Mariners – 2008 Record: 61-101

The Seattle Supersonics - Skipped town for Oklahoma City

The Washington Huskies (football) – 2008 Record: 0-7

It has been a rough year.