Another depressing day at the voting booth has passed, but I couldn’t let this one go by without voicing my displeasure about the quality of candidates we were forced to choose from this year.
Amid all the controversy about undervoting, hanging chads, etc., let it be known that for me, my undervote was completely intentional. The choice between a flagrant party hack (Rod Blagojevich) and an out-of-touch, ineffective leader (Jim Ryan) was so repugnant to me that I chose not to vote for either. Neither one of these candidates did anything during the campaign to show he deserved my vote.
The fact that Illinois voters, strong-armed by the oppressive Illinois Democratic machine, rejected Paul Vallas will surely be recognized as one of the true tragedies of modern politics. Vallas had the experience, dignity and intelligence to lead and inspire us, but petty political aspirations sank his ship.
I am not native to Illinois, and I must say I have been shocked by the crass, undemocratic elections I’ve been forced to vote in here. I hope some day that the political powers-that-be choose to support the candidates that Illinoisans truly deserve.
