Books and other stuff I feel like discussing
By education and experience - Accountant with a specialty in taxation. Formerly a CPA (license has lapsed). Masters degree in law of taxation from University of Denver. Now retired. Part time work during baseball season as receptionist & switchboard operator for the Colorado Rockies. This gig feeds my soul in ways I have trouble articulating. One daughter, and four grandchildren. I share the house with two cats; a big goof of a cat called Grinch (named as a joke for his easy going "whatever" disposition); and Lady, a shelter adoptee with a regal bearing and sweet little soprano voice. I would be very bereft if it ever becomes necessary to keep house without a cat.
Mood:
Relieved!
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Purple State
The blizzard of paper and the tidal wave of robocalls have stopped. Perhaps in dismay over the unrelenting calls, my land line has stopped working, although the internet is still functioning.
I will try to get the phone company to come out and check things over in a few days. But for now, I'm enjoying the silence.
Colorado is traditionally Republican. Yet as I write this, we have a Democratic Governor, two Democratic Senators, a Democratic majority reclaimed in the state representative wing of the legislature. Our electoral votes also went to Obama.
I am not affiliated with either party on my registration information, and I try hard to evaluate each candidate on her or his own merits. So sometimes I vote with one national party, other times with the other. This year my decision making for a local race was put to the test in a big way.
The redistricting after the 2010 census created a new Colorado house district. Thus, no incumbent. Two women ran for the office. None of their printed material indicated for either one which party she belonged to. To find this out, you had to do some research on your own. Each set of printed material was generic: support for working families; support for job seekers and small businesses; support for quality education. When each was interviewed by the Denver Post, each adroitly steered clear of anything remotely controversial.
Each came to my door, unfortunately never when I was home. I would have liked to ask them both about the history of various economic proposals from both conservative and liberal politicians and policy wonks. Since both are women, I would have liked to know how each of them felt about the various issues featuring women that seemed to loom so large in the national coverage of the election. Knowing how each of them felt about these issues and others would have helped me decide.
I eventually cast my vote for state representative, more from a gut level feeling of connection than from anything else.
Which leads me to my main point. The current style of political campaigning in this country doesn't provide any of the kind of information I would find helpful, especially in a contest where the candidates are totally new to me. I've been able to base my vote for other offices by knowing something about the candidates, reading the news and following events during the last 12-15 years. But the state representative's race this year dismayed me.
As it happens, the person I voted for won the election, by a decisive margin. I suppose I'm happy about that, but I'm going to have to see how she does at the State House before I know for sure.
I will try to get the phone company to come out and check things over in a few days. But for now, I'm enjoying the silence.
Colorado is traditionally Republican. Yet as I write this, we have a Democratic Governor, two Democratic Senators, a Democratic majority reclaimed in the state representative wing of the legislature. Our electoral votes also went to Obama.
I am not affiliated with either party on my registration information, and I try hard to evaluate each candidate on her or his own merits. So sometimes I vote with one national party, other times with the other. This year my decision making for a local race was put to the test in a big way.
The redistricting after the 2010 census created a new Colorado house district. Thus, no incumbent. Two women ran for the office. None of their printed material indicated for either one which party she belonged to. To find this out, you had to do some research on your own. Each set of printed material was generic: support for working families; support for job seekers and small businesses; support for quality education. When each was interviewed by the Denver Post, each adroitly steered clear of anything remotely controversial.
Each came to my door, unfortunately never when I was home. I would have liked to ask them both about the history of various economic proposals from both conservative and liberal politicians and policy wonks. Since both are women, I would have liked to know how each of them felt about the various issues featuring women that seemed to loom so large in the national coverage of the election. Knowing how each of them felt about these issues and others would have helped me decide.
I eventually cast my vote for state representative, more from a gut level feeling of connection than from anything else.
Which leads me to my main point. The current style of political campaigning in this country doesn't provide any of the kind of information I would find helpful, especially in a contest where the candidates are totally new to me. I've been able to base my vote for other offices by knowing something about the candidates, reading the news and following events during the last 12-15 years. But the state representative's race this year dismayed me.
As it happens, the person I voted for won the election, by a decisive margin. I suppose I'm happy about that, but I'm going to have to see how she does at the State House before I know for sure.
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