Disillusioned Mom

In my continuing series of political discussion with my mom I find her becoming more and more disillusioned. To recap: Mom lives in Virginia and has a history of voting independently. She will vote for the best person regardless of party including: Anderson, Nader, Rockefeller, and Stevenson. She is a retired school teacher, but since she is a Virginian, has never belonged to a union. She grew up in a small rural town, lived in NOVA for 4 years, and Richmond for over 30, and now lives in a distant Richmond suburb...kind of like living in Leesburg or Fredrick.

So she hates her choices in the Virginia Senate race. I really can't blame her. She has to a certain extent been given no choice. There is a Bush Republican and a Reagan Democrat. I would be upset with such a choice. She bemoans the "shouting matches" that the VA Senate debates have become. I worry that the tactic in place will work.

Several weeks ago the RNC released to the press their strategy for the 2006 midterms: Character assassination and negative ad blitz. It seems that our "fair and balanc3ed" media thought that it would be fine to just put out the release and not comment on it. It seems to me that if a political party announces that it will engage in a mean spirited campaign, and mentions assassination of any kind, that good honest people would say, "Hey, this is bull shit."

Normally I don't swear on the blog, but it's just gotten stupid out there and I ma determined to call a spade a spade. My mom thinks now that her only choice is to vote against someone, namely Radical Racist George Allen. For me, that would be enough, but she does want to like the person she is voting for, so I suggest that she look at it this way: Not looking it as voting against Allen, but for a Congress that is actually a branch of government and not a ATM for a President that is obviously insane. Righting the ship is a positive choice for 2006, so a vile as one might consider the alternative to a "bull shit" incumbent, choosing new management must be considered a positive vote in this election year.