Every four years, this feels like an exercise in futility.
And every four years, I exercise in it anyway.
Tuesday, I will exercise the greatest right we have as Americans -- the right to vote -- and cast my ballot for who I believe should represent me at all levels of government for the next two to four years. (As we have no national Senate race on the ballot here in Missouri, there is no six year term of governance to contemplate this time.)
I know some people consider the ballot box to be sacrosanct, to be private, to be between you and whoever or whatever. I don't. Below, I will lay out who I am voting for, and if it helps shape your vote, spectacular. If it just makes you laugh, even better. But no matter what, I hope you get off your ass Tuesday and vote for whoever or whatever you feel is best for this nation, if not for your own personal life.
To see my 2016 ballot -- proof that I said Mr. Trump would win when few if any others did -- you can click on this link.
To see my 2012 ballot, you can click on this link.
(Note: I could not find a 2008 ballot on this site. I must have sent it by email, as this site had just begun when the 2008 Election was held.)
Here then, is Stevo's 2020 Ballot.
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President / Vice President: Donald Trump and Mike Pence (R). I honestly prefer Joe Biden, and my despise of damned near anything Trump is fairly well known. But in the end, there's three things that drove me to hold my nose, choke down a gallon of vomit, and vote to re-elect the President:
1. The childishness of the Left. Do we really want these whiners who still cannot accept an election result from the previous decade in charge of the free world? Because I sure as hell don't.
2. The health of Mr. Biden. If he'd picked anyone other than Kamala Harris ...
3. Mr. Reagan's Question. Are you better off today than you were four years ago? I unquestionably am. The President had some kind of a role to play in that for me, especially economically.
And for what it's worth, here is how I think the Electoral College map will look, when it is all said and done:
Governor: Nicole Galloway (D). I'm sure Mike Parson is a decent dude and has our best interests at heart. But he's also a god-awful governor that has accomplished nothing to be proud of in his two years of service. Ms. Galloway is my choice and has my vote.
Lieutenant Governor: Alissia Canady (D). A former Kansas City councilwoman, she did a solid job representing the East Side in her years on the job. If you doubt me, take a drive around 31st and Troost, 31st and Prospect, hell the whole 31st Street Corridor. You'd never recognize it from ten years ago. Ms. Canady has earned the promotion to statewide office.
Secretary of State: Yinka Faleti (D). Like the Carnahan's, the Ashcroft's just need to go away. This brings us one step closer to the dream of an Ashcroft free state.
State Treasurer: Scott Fitzpatrick (R). Only a fool votes to put the Democrats in charge of the Treasury. And I say that as a registered Democrat.
Attorney General: Eric Schmitt (R). He's done a good job in the office. He deserves re-election.
US House of Representatives, District 5: Ryan Derks (R). You could put a gun to my head, pull the trigger, then drag my dead non-pulsating hand towards the circle for "Carwash" Cleaver, and somehow, someway, my dead non-pulsating hand would revive long enough to thwart your plans for evil. "Sleazy" Manny Cleaver is the worst thing to happen to Kansas City politics, possibly ever. I will never cast a vote for that "Man of the Cloth", and I hope you won't either.
Missouri State Senator, District 7: Greg Razer (D). Pretty much running unopposed; no Republican filed a challenge.
Missouri House of Representatives, District 25: Patty Lewis (D). Is running unopposed.
Jackson County (MO) Prosecuting Attorney: Tracey Chappell (R). Jean Peters Baker has failed miserably at her job, and worse yet, she's a partisan hack who has headed up the Jackson County Democrat Party for years. It's time to put her out to pasture. Especially for someone who would shake the DA's office up to its' foundation, as putting a Republican in charge of it would.
Jackson County (MO) Sheriff: Daryl Forte (D). Is running unopposed.
Judges: vote to retain all. They haven't done anything negative to my life in four years; I might as well return the favor.
Missouri Constitutional Amendment 1 (Term Limits): not just no, but f*ck no. Why would any sane person want to term-limit out a success in office? I've never understood that. There's a reason why successful corporations don't have term limits; why should government have them?
Missouri Constitutional Amendment 3 (Lobby Reform): no. This is the proverbial solution in search of a problem.
Jackson County Question 1 (911 Fee): yes. This question probably should have passed ten years ago, if we're being honest here. I haven't had a land line since sometime in early 2007. It's insane I have contributed $0.00 towards our 911 service since that date. (Although, thankfully, I have never had to utilize our 911 service, so I've gotten what I've paid for?)
Jackson County Question 2 (Statue Removal): no. If you're triggered by a statue of a dude who's been dead for nearly two hundred years, perhaps the problem is not the statue. Just sayin'. And provides full symmetry to the ballot, because going back to the first vote cast -- who the hell wants to put someone in charge of this country, that can't muster the emotional maturity to walk past a statue?
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That's my ballot for this election. Whatever else you do today, please making voting a priority, no matter who you cast your vote for.
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