ELECTORAL KINDERGARTEN: Ballot Issues vol.1

Besides the obvious choice for the new Ruler of the Known Universe, there are quite a few issues on the ballot if you live in Florida, especially if you live in that miasma of mysterious Bermuda-Triangle-energy known as Miami-Dade County.

Knowing on the spot, in your polling booth, exactly what the issue is and who it affects can be daunting to say the least. You could let the mass media inform your opinion, and there’s Google and Wikipedia of course, but the Palmetto Patriot has been spelunking around the internet while we examine our absentee ballots.

We’ve found the following web resources of extreme value in synergy with the above named ones:

Project Vote Smart could permanently alter the way you vote. This website tabulates all the issues and candidates on the ballot by your ZIP code. There is a considerably valuable option here which looks at incumbents’ past voting behavior, with a zoom-in on the individual docket issue and outcome available.

We found this extremely useful in digging up some dirt on Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Sen. Gwen Margolis. There is also a tab on each candidates’ nav panel for their opinions on important issues, which was very telling when we considered Diaz-Balart’s rival for the upcoming Congressional seat, Mr. Raul L. Martinez. Martinez is a multi-term former Mayor of the eyesore/headache known as Hialeah, Florida, thank you Wikipedia. In the early 90s, Martinez was indicted multiple times on many charges of racketeering, extortion, and conspiracy, and has refused to speak to PVS regarding his stances on important issues in this election. Nice one, Raul, thanks for all that. Diaz-Balart represents older, Cuban exile and staunch Catholic interests, as you can see by his voting record HERE and HERE. He also voted against the recent federal bailout, which delivered even more of our financial fate into the hands of the Federal Reserve and ultimately, the World Bank Group. So even though we voted against Diaz Balart last time around in favor of Libertarian Frank J. Martinez, we’ll give hm some credit. So as you can see, in the 21st Congressional District it’s a clear battle between minor evils: lawful/smarmy and the chaotic/criminal.

As we mentioned, Sen. Gwen Margolis has popped her antediluvian head up on a different spot this ballot, since she has decided to resign from the Florida State Senate. This time, she is pursuing the post of Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser. The Senator’s voting record is clearly posted on PVS, but little was known in cyberspace about the candidates for this new Miami post. So we’d like to thank Eye on Miami, who’d elaborated on the candidates’ campaign practices in the illuminating “Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Race: Who Gives a S***?”. Well, we give a big ole dookie, considering the hurricanes and insurance and real estate busts in the last few years. The Palmetto Patriot gives a shout out and a thank you to Eye on Miami for revealing both Margolis’ heavy-handed gang-busters “I want it” approach to campaign funding, and that of her lead competitor, Jim Shedd, an ex-law-enforcer whose contributions primarily come from one gracious benefactor, who’s caught like a dear in headlights by the Margolis machine. Resistance is futile.

These two issues on the ballot are going to have a direct impact on your congressional voice and your property taxes, Miami-Dade County. We suggest you draw your own conclusions, but vote, baby, vote!

L. Grant Pooka
Editor-in-Chief