I'm ready for my public Ledge flogging
 

Oh boy, this is worth than a Catholic confession. Hold on, lemme get the strength to get this out. Ok, here it is:


I voted for one REPUBLICAN:shocked: :eek:


His name is Jim Ramstad and he represents the third district of Minnesota which includes Hennepin county. Jim is a wonderful man and personal friend who DOES NOT follow the party line. In fact, he was recently cited as the Republican in congress with the second most votes against Bush policies.

I must tell you a personal story with regards to my friendship with Jim. I used to work at a gas station in a town called Wayzata near my home. Jim would come in every weekend on his returns home from congress and we'd always chat aboiut things. He didnt like Tom DeLay that's for sure!:laugh: Anyhoo, one time I was talking with him about how the only time I'd been to Washington I'd never gotten a chance to see the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution. SO he gave me the number of his secratary in D.C and told me to call her and they'd set things up. now I know mos congresspeople will do some sort of favor for a constituent that writes and says theyre coming to D.C. Jim went way above the acll of duty. First of all, I got a tour of the FBI, which was fascinating. Second, a VIP tour of the White House in which his chief of staff and a secret service agent escorted myself and one other couple on a peraonal tour. That was cool because We didnt have to wait in the long lines outside. Finally, and this is the real kicker, on my last day there he told me to meet him at his office at 11:45 A.M for a special surprise. I was eager with anticipation as I arrived. First thing when I walked into his office he introduced me personally to all his staff as his friend David from Minnesota. The came the surprise. He said Let's go to lunch. SO I was like where are we going. He said You'll see. We proceeded to walk into a private side entrance to the Capitol building and entered the MEMBERS ONLY DINING ROOM!!!! I was completely floored. You wont believe who sat at our table as we ate lunch. here's the roll call:

Hilary Clinton
Tom Daschle
Arlen Specter
Barney Frank
Paul Wellstone

SO after we finished lunch he had one mero surprise for me. We went out onto the front steps oif the Capitol where a photographeer was waiting to take our picture. I truly wish we could all have a representative as decent and kind as Jim Ramstad. That's one reason I keep my voting up there instead of Austin. And as Paul Harvey says, "Now you have the rest of the story.":nod:

Hey - I think that's great.

If you felt he was the most qualified candidate for that seat -then why not vote for him!

I rarely vote strictly on party lines - that's not healthy...unless, of course, you feel that's what's necessary - but often there are a couple of Repubs or Independents who get my vote...

I think the strict "must vote along party lines" is what keeps things from changing a lot of the time - some people refuse to look beyond party affiliation...

To each their own - but I don't think it's horrible that you voted for 1 repub. :o

Oh I was totally being toungue in cheek there.

Well...
 

dont feel bad, I voted for 4 of 'em, though only 2 won their elections (Frank Lucas-US Congress District 3 & Bob Anthony-Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner).

My favorite named candidate E.Z.Million (I) only received 7,992 votes for Lt.Governor, which is just 2.4% of the total tally.

Weird, that the Oklahoma State Senate almost became Republican controlled for the first time ever-The Democrats lost 2 seats, but will be in control when Lt.Governor elect Jari Askins is sworn in (She will be the deciding vote in a 24-24 Senate.)

OK Repubs kept the State House.

E.Z Million. Is he like a rapper or something?

Sounds like it...
 

but he is a 60-something year old business man. He ran on the strength of his rather amusing name (Which is indeed his real name)

Oh ok. so he chenged it to that. Hell I give the guy credit for at least having an interesting name!

Nothing wrong with voting for who you believe in, Repub, Dem or no. The fact that you ARE voting is the important part. Well done.

I know this may sound wishy-washy, but I truly identify myself as a centrist. Not that I'm that smart or anything. I believe very strongly in everyonebeing heard. Too bad that's not the case in politics much these days.....:rolleyes:

Centrist? *brain overload* too...much....jargon...

Yeah I figured you'd say that.:lol: Maybe I'm just a pussy that's all.

Consider yourself flogged.

;)

Oh my. This part was getting me all hot and bothered. Current congressional dalliances withstanding.

I voted straight Democratic....I felt the times called for it.

HAHA You anticipate the Demon too easily David! =)

In this case - and in your state - you're right! :laugh:

I said I rarely go straight ticket - but it's been known to happen _ I voted for on Indie yesterday - otherwise I would have been straight ticket..

But if candidates from only 1 party meet your qualifications then people should by all means vote that way...I guess I am more annoyed with people who blindly vote straight ticket and refuse to listen/educate themselves to anything else (mostly I'm referring to the horrid night I spent with scary Repub. Party faithful.)

Now I'm not even totally anti-Repub...but the ones I've encountered in groups here - Good God. I can't stress enough how much they frightened me.

David..........I dont know if we can be friends any more :distress:

Yeah but voting Dem, JUST to be voting Dem isnt right either. You have to look at the candidates and what they say they stand for. Maybe it's a lost cause, or maybe it's just easier to "pick a side"..?

um, in this election and in my state I felt it was the thing to do :shrug:

and you obviously missed my irony. oops.

I thought you were being serious with ole Davey there. Just throwing in my 2 cents. I try not to make it personal, or take it too seriously anyhow. That's my problem laid bare.

David knows I love him to death, and he'd be the first to appreciate a joke I think.....Im surprised he hasnt seen this yet but oh well.

No worries, its all good :nod:

Sometimes Im surprised other countries get as interested in American politics as they seem to do and then I remember that we are busily interfering with world situations and its vitally important to other nations to see which way our philosophical wind is blowing....

other countries. hardly. I'm am American living here and the people could care less (in general)

oops, I saw the Wellington, New Zealand in your "location" and figured you were a foreigner. sorry.........

HA! Thats mmmkay. My co-worker Tim was asking how the House/Senate thing works and why they were making such a big deal in the news about it. I told him it happens fairly often they just seem to be hyping it of late.

Another friend of mine here who wondered how Bush has been voted (yes the negative Bush media is here as well) was baffled to hear that less than 50% of the voting public turns out to vote...and that only 48-50% of THAT small # of people voted for Bush. They dont understand that here. They think whoever wins the popular vote should win and to hell with all that electoral stuff.

Yeah, we don't care - but its fun seeing all the ****ed up **** that goes on in American Politics :laugh:

Yeah, I have NO idea how your voting system works - its seems like alot of hassle :shrug:

In New Zealand we vote every four years, on party vote (i.e. Labour or National) and one vote for your town/city government representative. Whoever gets the most for the party vote wins, and the same with your representative....

yeah well methinks maybe one day they will change it. EVERY single time we have an election now its marred by accusations, lawsuits and complaints of inaccuracies, scandals, bribes, etc...They need to come up with a fail-safe way to vote.

yeah. they need to do away with electronic machines. we got along just FINE without them thank you very much. you can hardly argue with a purple felt tip pen marking a box by a name............

Good point. Love your sig too. Bizarre, but funny!

No...
 

he was born with the name E.Z.Million!

his parents were jokesters apparently! :nod:

EXACTLY!!
It's not about Right and Left.... it's about Right and Wrong! :wavey:
Never apologize for speaking up for yourself.... besides, your an admitted fellow Red Sox AND Fleetwood Mac fan so you must be in your right mind at least part of the time. ;)

I voted almost exclusively Dem this time, because I truly believed they were the better candidates. The one exception was our state comptroller Alan Hevesi - he was recently busted using government vehicles & drivers to drive his wife around to & from MD appointments. Granted, she is ill and he did pay the money back AFTER he got caught. But I don't trust him now. So I voted for some chick from the Green Party. Hevesi won, btw.

The one race I'm very upset about was between Jack Davis & Tom Reynolds. Reynolds won, despite the fact that he had knowledge of the whole Tom Foley thing. His appearance here after our huge storm claiming he was trying to get us help for the cleanup must have suckered people in. :(

Log Cabinner...

Me too but that likely goes without saying. Actually, I think I may have already said so.

I was very disapointed (but not terribly surprised) that Tom Reynolds won. The man IS money..that's the one thing he's good at - he brings in BIG bucks..and I didn't think he'd be going anywhere....

He's an ass - I HATED covering him, and not that this has anything to do with anything, but he ALWAYS had the worst breath. Yuck.

Well, you see, I've finally seen the light. Ann Coulter came to me in my dreams and told me a few things and there you go....;)

ewwwwwwwwwwww