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The Time Has Finally Come: VOTE!

After waiting 1459 days since the last presidential election, election day 2008 is finally here.

That 126 million second countdown to finally changing the direction of American is finally over.

It has been a long haul, covering over 1200 blog entries and countless hours of research and writing, but the point of this journey, as the name of this blog suggests, was that following the disappointment of Bush's 2004 re-election I wanted to dedicate myself to doing my small part in covering the political issues facing us up through this election. Many felt the 2004 loss would lead to a collective funk and depression on the left, but what happened instead was the emergence of a true grassroots uprising of a politically activist citizenry in the form of what is now commonly referred to as the blogosphere and netroots.

My personal sights were set on 2008, and now election day is here, and it will certainly be an historic one as Barack Obama is almost surely going to win it if the indications of a massive Democratic turnout, and the polling numbers pan out. I have thought for quite some time that Obama would be the best candidate to help heal this nation and turn things around. Unfortunately for us all, the damage of the Bush years just continues to get worse, so Obama will have a huge job ahead of him. Will he be able to solve all our problems? Of course not. But I think he will have the wisdom to make a great many of the right decisions needed to set us on the right path, and hopefully his term will be extended another four years come 2012. I truly think he has the ability to be one of this nation's greatest leaders.

Other races closer to home will be tighter. I do not expect we'll know the winner of either the Washington gubernatorial or 8th CD races until after several days of vote counting given how close these races are projected to be.

On the initiative front, indications are that Eyman's I-985 will go down in flames with, believe it or not, Eastern Washington leading the charge. I-1000, the Death with Dignity measure looks like it will pass. Hopefully voters will finally vote for a real transit package in Proposition 1 and pull this region into the 21st Century.

But we're not there quite yet. None of the ballots have been counted. Hundreds of thousands have yet to vote. But this is it, this is what we've been waiting for. The time to vote is finally here, so do us all a favor, act on your civic right and duty and

VOTE!

Burner's Final TV Ad

Reasons to Vote for Darcy Burner

There are many good reason, and here are just a few:









And here is one other important reason:

Hungry For Representation

I couldn't have said it better myself:

I found the P-I endorsement of Dave Reichert for re-election to Congress perplexing.

Why should the citizens of the 8th Congressional District pass up the opportunity to vote for a "smart, well-informed and progressive candidate" like Darcy Burner in order to provide Reichert with another term? You say it is to provide balance in Congress because there are too few moderate Republicans there. But we in the 8th District are hungry for a representative willing to think analytically and independently about the crucial issues facing the country.

Reichert is not that representative.

As your editorial pointed out, "Reichert was absent without leave" during the worst periods of the Iraq war. Reichert has seemed more than happy to go along with "the Bush Doctrine" and not make waves, hoping to retain his seat by choosing relatively easy issues to run on that most people in the district can agree upon, such as the environment or education. He has also been a proponent of the Bush economic policies that favor corporations over the middle class. These have been disastrous.

His opponent, Darcy Burner, has done her homework and taken the initiative on the Iraq dilemma, writing with Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton and other retired generals and foreign policy experts a comprehensive plan to bring the war to an end using military, economic and military options. A former group program manager for Microsoft, Burner has long advocated for fiscal responsibility and tax relief for the middle class. She is a creative thinker and proactive problem solver who would go to work for us and that, I argue, is what our district, and Congress, needs most.

Janet Kranz

Mercer Island

Last Week To Register To Vote In Person!

This is the last week one can register to vote for the upcoming elections. You will have to do so in person. You will need to contact your County Auditor for assistance and information.

You may want to check if you are registered as you'd hate to discover at the last minute that you are not.

With so much at stake you owe it to yourself to do what you can to register before it is too late!

Newcastle Chamber of Commerce Forum

Election day is just three weeks away, but there is at least one more chance to hear from the candidates, including Darcy Burner and Dave Reichert, and to learn more about a couple of initiatives on the ballot. The Newcastle Chamber of Commerce Forum is hosting a couple of events of note this week at The Golf Club at Newcastle.

Tuesday, October 14th, at 4:30 pm
Happy Hour with Attorney General Rob McKenna and Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg at Golf Club at Newcastle. Come have a drink and/or happy Hour food for only $3.95. Both will speak for 10 minutes and join the crowd.
RSVP requested to CandidateForum@NewcastleCC.com
For additional information please call John Jensen at 206-241-5774

Saturday, October 18th, 9:00am to noon at The Golf Club at Newcastle
RSVP required to CandidateForum@NewcastleCC.com
For additional information please call John Jensen at 206-241-5774

Schedule:
9:00 Opening
- Death with Dignity, Initiative 1000 (Pro Arline Hinckley, Con To be determined)
- Nonpartisan King County Government Initiative 26 (Con Governor Mike Lowry, Pro Joe Fain, Initiative Sponsor)
9:45 Darcy Burner, candidate for 8th District Congress
10:00 Break
10:20 Newcastle Style Forum (Debbie Berto, Issaquah Press Publisher will moderate)
- 41st District Senate race, Fred Jarrett and Bob Baker
- 41st District Representative race, Marcie Maxwell and Steve Litzow
- Representative Judy Clibborn, uncontested
11:15 Break
11:30 Congressman Dave Reichert, 8th District
11:45 Open or early end of event

So You Think You're Registered To Vote? Think Again!

Hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians have been scrubbed from the voter registration rolls since 2006:

(Seattle PI) Since 2006, more than 450,000 voter registrations were canceled; of those, nearly 95,000 were ineligible felons or dead, and almost 55,000 were canceled because they duplicated registrations that already existed. The rest were people who moved out of state, asked to be removed, or had not voted in the years covering two federal general elections.

Time is running out to register to vote if you're not registered. You can check to see if you are registered at the Secretary of State Web site.

You can also register to vote online until October 4th. After that you have to register in person up until 15 days before the election.

Don't delay only to find out the hard way that you're not registered when it is too late. It only takes a second to find out now.

2000 Days

The United States has now been occupying Iraq for 2000 days.

Will it ever end?

3

Three years later, Gustav reminds us of the disaster of Katrina, and brings disaster anew to New Orleans and the Gulf coast.

72

John McCain turns 72 today.

Don't Forget to Vote in the Washington State Primary

It is time for the Washington State Primary.

Let your voice be counted: Vote!

100

100 days until the November 4 elections.

Sound Transit 2 Fifteen Year Plan To Go To Ballot

Good!

Time Running Out to Register for Primary Voting

There are only 32 days until the Washington State Primary elections on Aug. 19, 2008.

With the primaries only 32 days away, that means there are ONLY 2 MORE DAYS to get registered by mail to vote, or 17 days to register in person to vote in them:

Registration Deadlines

The deadline for registering or transferring your voter registration is 30 days before an election. If you register by mail, your application must be postmarked by the 30-day cutoff or it will not become effective until after the election.

If you are not already registered to vote in Washington and you miss the 30-day deadline, you can register in person at your county elections department until 15 days before the election. Contact your County Auditor for assistance and information.

You can even register online.