Calling All Party Members To Their Polling Places

Politics can be a nasty business.

Some see it as a strategic game of chess
played out with words and barbs, others
perceive the political arena as a stepping
stone to fame and power, and yet others view it as a useless collection of antiquated rules and overpaid laggards who are running the American Dream into the ground.

Whatever your personal view, the current American political system has a lot of twists and turns. It is a web of promises, half-truths, and fickle public perception. It is an aging predicament whose written and unwritten rules have been honed and sharpened over the years and years of saying one thing and meaning another until only one man or woman is left standing.

This presidential election year is no
different.

As much of an improvement as Senators McCain and Obama are over the candidates of the last few elections, they are still playing by those same old rules; they are trapped inside the ever-expanding quagmire.

They are still, in a way, nothing more
than the current reincarnations of their
party's figurehead. Perhaps in reality,
it's not McCain vs. Obama that is atstake-
it's Democrat vs. Republican.

These nominees are supported by droves of men and women whose very careers hang in the balance of the outcome of the election. These
people believe hard and work hard, and they will do almost anything to see their party's candidate in the White House.

Ballot propositions are one avenue in which it is feasible for party leaders to try and pull community-conscious yet still undecided citizens to their side of the presidential election.

Those undecided voters are the people who
will most likely decide the outcome, and
no Democratic or Republican leader is
overlooking that massive throng.

There are a number of strong issues at
stake on those propositions: issues for
everyday people who are too concerned
with subjects like their jobs, income,
children and taxes to really investigate
the presidential candidates and reach an
informed and educated decision.

People care about abortion, drug use, crime, safety, the environment and gay marriage. These are issues that permeate the everyday lives of many Americans, especially in California.

These are hot-button topics that get people's blood pumping. They are topics most Californians have wellformed opinions about.

And that is what the parties are counting on.

It is widely acknowledged that California, politically speaking, is a liberal state. Most political pundits would agree that the electoral votes of this state should already be colored in blue on the map of the U.S. So should the Republicans give up? Should they
just forget about their constituent minority and bail and focus on Ohio or Florida or Pennsylvania instead?

They don't think so.

They are betting that the issue of abortion in the form of Proposition 4 will act as a catalyst for conservative voters who value their pro-life beliefs above everything else.

Stereotypically speaking, those voters will probably lean toward McCain because he shares
their conservative views more so than Obama.

They are betting that the issue of law
enforcement spending on Proposition 6 and the parole sentencing of nonviolent drug offenders in Proposition 5 will get people's feet moving to the polls.

Those undecided, white, upperclass voters who are concerned about the safety of their neighborhoods and their children will be more apt to vote for McCain.

There are also propositions that deal with the environment, renewable energy and alternative fuel vehicles, namely Propositions 7 and 10. The liberals of California have been at the forefront of the environmental issue for years.

Conservatives could be hoping that the people now concentrating more on their daily spending and weekly budgets will get to the polls to vote against the drastic expenditures that may entail.

And of course, Proposition 8, which should be overwhelmingly defeated, is probably only there to get those same conservative Republicans to try and fix what they believe has been broken.

Just like with Proposition 4, the gay
marriage issue will be a red flag to pro-McCain voters.

It's nothing new.

This is the nature of politics. Compromise,
misdirection, ambiguity. It's all in the name of democracy.

Will it even make a difference?

Probably not in this state, but there are 49 more states with undecided voters and hot-button issues and it seems like this year, more than in the past, people truly care.

Something's bound to happen.