Kanada Kev Posted November 5, 2008 Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 wow!http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/eastside93/2008/11/i-didnt-vote-for-obama-today.phpI Didn't Vote For Obama TodayNovember 4, 2008, 9:37AMI have a confession to make.I did not vote for Barack Obama today.I've openly supported Obama since March. But I didn't vote for him today.I wanted to vote for Ronald Woods. He was my algebra teacher at Clark Junior High in East St. Louis, IL. He died 15 years ago when his truck skidded head-first into a utility pole. He spent many a day teaching us many things besides the Pythagorean Theorem. He taught us about Medgar Evers, Ralph Abernathy, John Lewis and many other civil rights figures who get lost in the shadow cast by Martin Luther King, Jr.But I didn't vote for Mr. Woods.I wanted to vote for Willie Mae Cross. She owned and operated Crossroads Preparatory Academy for almost 30 years, educating and empowering thousands of kids before her death in 2003. I was her first student. She gave me my first job, teaching chess and math concepts to kids in grades K-4 in her summer program. She was always there for advice, cheer and consolation. Ms. Cross, in her own way, taught me more about walking in faith than anyone else I ever knew.But I didn't vote for Ms. Cross.I wanted to vote for Arthur Mells Jackson, Sr. and Jr. Jackson Senior was a Latin professor. He has a gifted school named for him in my hometown. Jackson Junior was the pre-eminent physician in my hometown for over 30 years. He has a heliport named for him at a hospital in my hometown. They were my great-grandfather and great-uncle, respectively.But I didn't vote for Prof. Jackson or Dr. Jackson.I wanted to vote for A.B. Palmer. She was a leading civil rights figure in Shreveport, Louisiana, where my mother grew up and where I still have dozens of family members. She was a strong-willed woman who earned the grudging respect of the town's leaders because she never, ever backed down from anyone and always gave better than she got. She lived to the ripe old age of 99, and has a community center named for her in Shreveport.But I didn't vote for Mrs. Palmer.I wanted to vote for these people, who did not live to see a day where a Black man would appear on their ballots on a crisp November morning.In the end, though, I realized that I could not vote for them any more than I could vote for Obama himself. So who did I vote for?No one.I didn't vote. Not for President, anyway. Oh, I went to the voting booth. I signed, was given my stub, and was walked over to a voting machine. I cast votes for statewide races and a state referendum on water and sewer improvements.I stood there, and I thought about all of these people, who influenced my life so greatly. But I didn't vote for who would be the 44th President of the United States.When my ballot was complete, except for the top line, I finally decided who I was going to vote for - and then decided to let him vote for me. I reached down, picked him up, and told him to find Obama's name on the screen and touch it.And so it came to pass that Alexander Reed, age 5, read the voting screen, found the right candidate, touched his name, and actually cast a vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.Oh, the vote will be recorded as mine. But I didn't cast it. Then again, the person who actually pressed the Obama box and the red "vote" button was the person I was really voting for all along. It made the months of donating, phonebanking, canvassing, door hanger distributing, sign posting, blogging, arguing and persuading so much sweeter. So, no, I didn't vote for Barack Obama. I voted for a boy who now has every reason to believe he, too, can grow up to be anything he wants...even President. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ollie Posted November 5, 2008 Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 ::puke::I hope he goes to jail for voter fraud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phishtaper Posted November 5, 2008 Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 ollie is jaded Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdy Posted November 5, 2008 Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 ::puke puke::I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_rawk Posted November 5, 2008 Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 I must be jaded too. My first thought was 'that is not a legal vote.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ollie Posted November 5, 2008 Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 ollie is jadedI was kidding about the jail fraud and I am hopeful about last night's events but let's not turn into a bunch of saps.I just find that article so self-serving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phishtaper Posted November 5, 2008 Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 well, y'all may not think this election is a big deal but my nipples have been firm since 11:30pm last night ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradm Posted November 5, 2008 Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 well, y'all may not think this election is a big deal but my nipples have been firm since 11:30pm last night ... I'm now imagining some USA-Today-style graph (or CNN-style hologram) showing election results in nipular form...Aloha,Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_rawk Posted November 5, 2008 Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 I'm now imagining some USA-Today-style graph (or CNN-style hologram) showing election results in nipular form...In. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanada Kev Posted November 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 Nipular ... Word of the fucking day! http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=nipular Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorgnor Posted November 5, 2008 Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 A self-serving opinion piece?!?!?!?!? God forbid!!!!! Puke on your own future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ollie Posted November 5, 2008 Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 A self-serving opinion piece?!?!?!?!? God forbid!!!!! Puke on your own future. Bite me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phishtaper Posted November 5, 2008 Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 any particular spot u wanna get bit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdy Posted November 6, 2008 Report Share Posted November 6, 2008 A self-serving opinion piece?!?!?!?!? God forbid!!!!! Puke on your own future. Just an opinion dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorgnor Posted November 6, 2008 Report Share Posted November 6, 2008 Just wondering why we can't be sincere anymore and why we've got to crap on this for being so. The "Puke" line was harsh, my bad. Still, ever had a sense of innocent nostalgia? GWB beat it out of you? We could just as easily say that any author was "Self-serving" for writing what they wrote but it does us no good in this case. What are you afraid that he's trying to convince you of? Let the guy have some hope for his kid's future, regardless of whether or not you appreciate his rhetorical style. IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanada Kev Posted November 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2008 Good one TB. I agree with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phishtaper Posted November 6, 2008 Report Share Posted November 6, 2008 there's really only one man who can bridge these divides and bring us all together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdy Posted November 6, 2008 Report Share Posted November 6, 2008 I can't speak for Ollie, but I'm certainly not trying to take away from buddy's hope for the future. The article just seems a bit sensationalistic and my "puke puke" agreeance was primarily about the rhetoric, not the actual kid voting for Obama itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phishtaper Posted November 6, 2008 Report Share Posted November 6, 2008 I can't speak for Ollie, but I'm certainly not trying to take away from buddy's hope for the future. The article just seems a bit sensationalistic and my "puke puke" agreeance was primarily about the rhetoric, not the actual kid voting for Obama itself. [color:purple]thats not how i interpreted it "agreeance"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattm Posted November 6, 2008 Report Share Posted November 6, 2008 (edited) I say:::puke:: ::puke::but not to the story or the dude that wrote it, to those of you that came on here and immediately said puke. It was a fun cute little story and man, the first black president and he let his kid vote for him, that'll be pretty cool later on when the kid's a little older and the only one his age to participate in something this big.Great post.My nine-year-old daughter filled out the presidential choice on my absentee ballot. We video-taped it and I think I'll put it on the utube and post a link on TPM.This is one she'll remember her whole life. She made her own campaign posters and yard signs. Last night when I put her to bed we talked about how we hoped the world would change today.This feels about a hundred times more important than any election in my life. Edited November 6, 2008 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freak By Night Posted November 6, 2008 Report Share Posted November 6, 2008 I'm noticing that the people who think this article is sappy (myself included) do not have kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdy Posted November 6, 2008 Report Share Posted November 6, 2008 I don't have kids. Not trying to 'imply' anything here , or even remotely trying to say what this guy was implying with this article, but... seems a little to lend itself to the side of those who voted for Barack because they were voting for a historical landmark. I really, really don't think this is why this guy (er, kid) voted Obama, but the rhetoric (in itself) paints that picture. Hence, the vomit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdy Posted November 6, 2008 Report Share Posted November 6, 2008 "agreeance"? Definition of agreeance :. (ə-grē-əns) 1. 1. (n.) The state of agreement; when two or more people possess the same opinions or ideas. Origins: While this word was once found in dictionaries, it is now considered obsolete, and was removed for some strange reason. Example: John and I were in agreeance about the future of the business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booche Posted November 6, 2008 Report Share Posted November 6, 2008 ::reads MattM's reply, begins slow clap:: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwa. Posted November 7, 2008 Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 ::reads MattM's reply, begins slow clap::really. why take everything so facking serious? honest question. (thinks back to the BWM post about the crackheads) seriously. wtf.here's one for the masses. a crackhead let his little boy fill out his absentee ballot in iraq while kicking a dog....GO![color:gray]**just re-read my post and it looked like i was coming down on Booche....quite the opposite and totally agree with the 'slow clap'** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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