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Blue City In A Red State Blues
Nov. 2nd, 2004 11:11 amNew Orleans is heavily pro-Kerry; Louisiana is predicted to go strongly for Bush.
From my circle of friends who've expressed who they were planning to vote for, it's something like 35 for Kerry, 4 for Bush, 3 for Nader, 2 for Badnarik. Of others whom I don't know who they're planning to vote for, I know it won't be Bush.
Down in the Quarter and Marigny this weekend, pro-Kerry and anti-Bush buttons and signs were nearly ubiquitous. I saw exactly one person openly for Bush, carrying a Bush & Cheney sign, but as he was costumed as the Grim Reaper, I suspect it might have been sarcastic.
I havn't seen anything like this sort of energy and determination since the stop David Duke (Neo-Nazi governor candidate) movement back in 1990.
Most of Louisiana, however, is not New Orleans.
An aquaintance who regularly goes back & forth from the city to St. Charles Parish said she sees almost all Bush signs and bumper stickers outside of the city.
****
One of the few things I like about my hometown being part of Louisiana and this state's idosyncratic politics is our open primaries. I'd been a voter for years before I found out that this was unusual. It has seemed reasonable to me.
Rather than having party based primaries, we have open elections. If no one gets more than 50% of the votes, there is a run-off.
This way, we get to vote our conscience the first time around, and if there's a need to choose a lesser evil to stop a greater evil, that happens in round two.
Of course being able to vote against any given candidate rather than just for one would be even better still.
From my circle of friends who've expressed who they were planning to vote for, it's something like 35 for Kerry, 4 for Bush, 3 for Nader, 2 for Badnarik. Of others whom I don't know who they're planning to vote for, I know it won't be Bush.
Down in the Quarter and Marigny this weekend, pro-Kerry and anti-Bush buttons and signs were nearly ubiquitous. I saw exactly one person openly for Bush, carrying a Bush & Cheney sign, but as he was costumed as the Grim Reaper, I suspect it might have been sarcastic.
I havn't seen anything like this sort of energy and determination since the stop David Duke (Neo-Nazi governor candidate) movement back in 1990.
Most of Louisiana, however, is not New Orleans.
An aquaintance who regularly goes back & forth from the city to St. Charles Parish said she sees almost all Bush signs and bumper stickers outside of the city.
****
One of the few things I like about my hometown being part of Louisiana and this state's idosyncratic politics is our open primaries. I'd been a voter for years before I found out that this was unusual. It has seemed reasonable to me.
Rather than having party based primaries, we have open elections. If no one gets more than 50% of the votes, there is a run-off.
This way, we get to vote our conscience the first time around, and if there's a need to choose a lesser evil to stop a greater evil, that happens in round two.
Of course being able to vote against any given candidate rather than just for one would be even better still.
