John Carrier

It’s going to be a long day.

My wife and I woke up early this morning to vote.  We walked two blocks to our polling place, arrived around 7:10am (ten minutes after the polls opened), and waited in line approximately an hour and a half.  We conversed with a genial fellow in line behind us, and the weather was unseasonably pleasant (50’s, on the way to a high in the 70’s).  Some ladies from a local coffee shop pulled up in a station wagon and handed out free cups of coffee to the waiting voters.  Awesome.

I think this is the first time I voted first thing in the morning, and it was certainly the longest I have waited in line to vote.  I wanted to get it out of the way so that I wouldn’t be scrambling to vote tonight, but mostly I wanted the “I Voted” sticker so that I could hit as many Starbucks as possible over the course of the day.  See here for the low-down on local specials, and here for an interesting article in the LA Times on the commercialization of Election Day.

But now tht I’m done voting, all I have to look forward to is the results, and that’s going to take forever.  It’s going to be more difficult than usual to concentrate on work, and with no polls closing for like 10 hours, the only news to watch will be stories about voting disruptions, long lines, and other totally predictable bummers.

Nevertheless, I’m glad I got it done.  You should get it done, too.  This past weekend I was in New York visiting the Jewish Theological Seminary, and I had the good forture of spending Shabbat morning at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun.  After delivering a great sermon on parashat Noah, Rabbi Bronstein exhorted the congregation to be sure to vote today, recalling his childhood in an autocratic and anti-Semitic Argentina, reminding us that as citizens of a free and democratic country, we are not merely able but obligated to cast a ballot.

 Do it for free coffee, do it for Bronstien…I don’t care.  For God’s sake, vote.

Tonight I attended my first live political rally. I was there as a volunteer for the Franken for Senate campaign, wandering the hall with a clipboard, asking people to sign up for volunteer shifts over the final two weeks before the election. In the bargain I got a great spot in the crowd to see a galaxy of local, state, and national stars of the Democratic party. I only wish the camera on my phone wasn’t terrible.

You know who you are, Motorola Q.

Featured speakers: Chris Coleman, R.T. Rybak, Amy Klobuchar, Ashwin Madia, Hillary Clinton, and of course, Al Franken.

One thing I picked up at the rally that I didn’t consider before: Even if we elect Obama president, unless we have 60 Democrats in the Senate (enough to override a filibuster), it will be difficult for Obama to make the changes he’s running on.

I’ve come across a few people who are true-blue Democrats and planning to vote for Obama but are on the fence about Franken. Maybe they were keen on Mike Ciresi or Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer. Rather than pull the lever for they guy who beat their favorite, they might skip that section of the ballot, or worse, just re-elect incumbent Norm Coleman.

Look, people…if you like Obama, and you want to see him succeed, the most important thing you can do (after voting for Obama) is give him a strong Democratic majority in the Senate. For me Franken is an easy choice, but if you’re wavering, just remember that if Coleman gets re-elected and if that costs Democrats the 60 seats they need, it only takes one Republican knucklehead to filibuster any and all laws that need to get passed to see any real change in this country. This scenario doesn’t do you, me, Ciresi, Nelson-Pallmeyer or America any favors.

Franken for Senate!