Primarily Speaking

The primaries are in, and the worst guy for the job (in my opinion) got the Democratic nomination.

So I've decided to change parties.

Right now I"m registered in the Green Party. Yes, I know, they don't have any chance of putting a candidate in power anytime soon, but my idealism led me to join. I want to support a 3rd party, and I agree with the Green Party's emphasis on the environment. AND, by being a part of the Green Party I'm helping build their numbers. I think in NM if they have 5% of the population they get money and the ability to participate in the debates. So there was a reason I joined.

But the thing is, I've missed out on two primaries now. First, Scott Brown, now Tim Collins. I'm beginning to realize how important primaries really are. I called the city to find out where I could vote for the primaries, because I didn't want another Scott Brown moment, and was told I couldn't vote. Doh, that's right, I'm not a Democrat. Either everyone else is registered Green, or just didn't vote. There was only an 8% turn out in South Boston.

Now I'm stuck deciding if I'll vote for the Republican candidate, who I liked better than Tim Collins, or not. The lingering problem I have with Patrick Brennen, at least after listening to the primary debate hosted by our church, is that he shot down spending for all programs we (as a church) said we wanted to see in the community (gotta tighten the purse strings) but didn't offer any options to help those that would be cut from spending. It's a problem I frequently sense from the GOP.

Now, I tend to agree with balancing a budget, and recognize that some programs probably SHOULD be cut. I mean, if a state is overspending, it can't continue indefinitely. But what are you doing to do about the people who still need benefits?

From Brennen I heard he couldn't support the Substance Abuse Recover Act (which taxes alcohol and uses the money to fund recovery programs). He couldn't support allocating money for YouthWorks, a program that gives youth from underprivileged areas jobs for the summer so they can build skills and experience in the workforce. He wouldn't support moving state money from Bank of America to local banks that cap usury at 10% interest.

There was always something wrong with the bill that was introduced. There was always a reason to tear it down, but never an answer. Never a suggestion that we could improve the acts or money allocations by one means or another. In other words, lets just cut spending without resolving issues. It's like the businesses that cut employees but keep expecting everyone to do the same amount of work. Eventually it falls apart. And frankly, the Alcohol Recovery Act is self funded, tax alcohol. The Bank of America move doesn't cost any money, it saves it in reduced interest.

So Nick Collins said he'd do everything that we wanted. Do I believe him? Not sure, he was a little unclear in his speaking, a little slick in his bearing.

By next election I'll be an Independent (although it won't matter by then, at least this year). In Massachusetts (so far the only good thing I've seen politically in this state) an Independent can vote in either the Republican or Democratic primaries.

Sometimes I want to just withdraw from politics entirely. But then I think of the kids I teach and the problems our communities face, and I know we need to keep fighting to ensure programs get the funding they need to flourish. Who would pick up the slack otherwise?

And case in point? At the Catholic organization where I work there's a food pantry. People get one bag of groceries once every TWO MONTHS. We give out bags of groceries every day. That's a lot of people with very little food. Even if the private sector would take over charity, there wouldn't be enough to go around.