How will Louisville Hotbytes vote in the Election?

[Robin Garr]

GET THIS...I ordered one in the past and guess where it was shipped from? Frankfort Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky. "No big deal" you say....guess what? I called some friends in Texas, Colorado and NM....guess where their signs were shipped from? That's right, Frankfort Ave., Louisville, KY 40206! The George W. Bush PR machine seems to have been based right here in good ole Crescent Hill! Alannis Morisette wrote a song about that.

You know what? I'll bet there's a non-political explanation for this. I'd wager maybe 50 cents that the American Printing House for the Blind in Clifton grabs a lot of those printing contracts for both parties, capitalizing on both their non-profit status and that they're a union shop. (It's still important to Dems, at least, to have a union "bug" on their campaign materials.)

Now Robin, I don't think it would be fair to assume that every Crescent Hill resident is a liberal. That being said, when I ask my Volvo (maybe Subaru or VW) driving, bumper sticker touting neighbors why they like Crescent Hill they always tell me "ah, yes, Crescent Hill, the diversity!" I can hardly keep from asking, "have you looked around?" The only diversity in Crescent Hill is me. A white male republican. Pathetic.

Greg, thank you for bringing diversity back to our neighborhood! We used to have a Republican on our street, but he moved out to Colorado to run some kind of survivalist thing. We do have a few African-American neighbors, but yeah, no question, the nabe is anything but diverse.

That was actually my point, though. I was asking how come all the granola-munching tree-huggers ended up in the same place! (And to my credit, I also predicted that Obama will carry the neighborhood 90-10. Not 100-0.)

Anyway, welcome, neighbor! Go ahead and put up your McCain yard sign, made in Crescent HIll by crafty entrepreneurs. I think you'll be pretty safe in assuming that none of your liberal neighbors will graffiti it or tear it down.

Added by edit: After all, politics doesn't have to be polarizing. We can talk to our neighbors who don't agree with us, just as we're doing on this forum ... we don't have to fight them. I think it's the media that makes it look like a fight.

No, I was agreeing with you on you points. They are good ones and I love the 'hood. sane the fact that it doesn't have a good burger joint/Baxter station/watering hole type place.

On politics...I just don't like my candidate enough to put up a sign. I would love a good strong third party with some good common sense (granted we don't all agree on what that is). On one hand we have a guy way to far left for my tastes...eg. he wants the oil companies to help write economic stimulus checks to each American (that will lower the price of gas ). And on the other hand cranky old McSame. What's a regular guy to do?

On yard signs...We had a bunch of yard signs disappear 4 years ago, including mine. Guess who got blamed for that one? If you knew me you would find the accusation laughable, but sadly many of my neighbors keep to themselves so i don't know many of them after 10 yrs (in fairness many are renters). Anyway, I'll be sitting out on yard signs this year. My girlfriend leans left so that is probably a wise decision on my many levels.

[Robin Garr]

I'll be sitting out on yard signs this year. My girlfriend leans left so that is probably a wise decision on my many levels.

HAHAHAHAHA!!! You are a wise man, Greg.

I'm lucky, I guess, that Mary is even more of a leftie granola-munching tree-hugger than I am. We rarely disagree on the candidates, but we can get into some pretty good debates on the nuances.

What Marsha said....

But about the not voting. I used to believe that not voting was a near criminal offense, or anyway indefensible. But the notion these days that nothing is gained by not voting, or, as others elsewhere have insisted, that not voting means you "get what you deserve," seems perversely blind considering we appear to have gained a whole lot of absolute evil in the past 8 years despite voting, one way or the other. And I'm not sure anybody deserves that.

To recoin an old cliche, What if they threw an election and nobody came? Given the current state of politics, voting seems an exercise in futility any more. I'm also considering voting third party (green). I'm hoping that if enough people finally become disillusioned sufficiently with politics as usual (and nobody's actually doing anything to suggest otherwise, see Marsha above -- you call that "change"? ) that a third party will finally become a legitimate and viable option rather than a novelty.

I live in Crescent Hill, and I'm voting for Obama, however, one of our friends living across the street, who has also been here almost 35 years, is voting Republican,so,there is more than one in the "hood"!

I'm with Doggy. Charismatic change!

I'm waiting for the conventions to decide.....

Most people forget that you vote for a candidate and who he will bring with him for four years in Cabinet and appointed positions...

As a life long Democrat, I like what Obama stands for from what I've seen and read...... But I'm unsure how he will improve on the current situation with his choices for appointed positions....

I really don't like anything about the Republican platform that I've seen or heard yet...More of the same(and look where we are now)...

I'm on the fence and just need to see a little more out of both candidates......

My vote should be evident from my local on the forum moniker at right: I think Crescent Hill/Clifton, the Highlands and Germantown (Louisville's Uppah West Side) is going to go Obama by something like 90 to 10. You can't walk down a street in our neighborhood without seeing an Obama sign in almost every single yard and a sticker on every car, and we're still three full months from the election.

Right next to the 8664 sign/sticker!

Really, don't get me started on that again!

I will happily put a Bruce Lunsford sign or 2 in my corner lot yard!!!!

Ditch Mitch....

I don't care how much he brings in to the state (We couldn't get the Kennedy Bridge painted for less that it cost to build the Damn thing).. How many federal dollars went up in smoke on that project?

I'm a strong believer in voting for what ever candidate you think will do the best job. I have heard repeatedly, mostly from my relatives, that they will have a hard time voting for Obama because of the fear he'll raise taxes. I suggest if you don't want to vote for Obama you find another excuse.

The stark reality is that the nation has spent more than 1/2 trillion dollars on a war we were told would only last 3 months. Our infrastructure is weakening daily. Schools, roads, healthcare are all in desperate need of attention because so much of our tax dollars have been diverted into this seemingly never ending war. Regardless of who gets into office our taxes will undoubtedly go up. That money has to come from somewhere.

Personally I wonder how the current Republican party can now, with a straight face, trot out McCain as a viable candidate after successfully vilifying him 8 years ago.

I'll vote 3rd Party, but in the end it really won't matter who gets elected, as the winner will still do whatever he wants to do and ignore those who put him into power.

A wiser man than me once asked me this question: Given their 225+ year history in America, why would anyone ever believe anything a politician ever said ?

I couldn't give him an answer.

I'll vote 3rd Party, but in the end it really won't matter who gets elected, as the winner will still do whatever he wants to do and ignore those who put him into power.

That's my feeling on this right now. They're politicians, they're going to play the same political games that have always been played.

That being said, I'm writing in Gatewood Galbraith.

from today's New York Times:

Obama Wants Full Voting Rights for Florida and Michigan Delegates

August 3, 2008, The New York Times

Update | 6:10 p.m. It seems like another lifetime ago, but remember all the fuss about Michigan and Florida?

After those states held their primaries in violation of Democratic Party rules, the party cracked down on them and said their delegates would not have a voice at the national convention in Denver. Then in May, the rules committee agreed to let their delegates have half a vote each.
Now Senator Barack Obama, the party’s presumptive nominee, has asked the credentials committee to let the two states have full voting rights at the convention after all.
The request is likely to be granted since it comes from the all-but-certain nominee, who now controls the party apparatus.

[for the rest: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008 ... yt&emc=rss]

One of the guys I work with has decided he's going to write in Christopher Walken, because "who would be crazy enough to mess with Walken?" I may have to join him. I doubt I'll be voting for either McCain or Obama.

Too bad it's too late to organize a campaign that's pretty much the exact opposite of "Rock the Vote," to expand on C. Devlin's sentiments of throwing an election and nobody coming. I'm tired of having to "hold my nose" and vote for someone. Of course, at this point, they're both the same. Both will say anything to get elected, both would sell their mothers to get into office, and I don't trust either one of them. Politicians for you, I guess!

You know, in a way it surprises me how consistent these tree-hugging, granola-munching neighborhoods are on just about every issue - it's almost like the city is a bowl and all the liberals fall down into Crescent Hill and the Highlands. Great neighborhoods, but how did that happen?

It shouldn't be much of a surprise really. A guy named Bill Bishop recently wrote a book named The Big Sort. In it he presents the idea that this is no accident, and we generally live around folks who think and vote like us (birds of a feather, and all). His conclusion is that this trend over the last 30 years is a major contributor to the "us vs. them" polarization in American society today. Sadly, I think he's correct. I've lost some "friends" over the last few years only because I dared voice a political opinion that didn't match theirs.

An interesting tidbit is the author this book moved from Lexington, KY to Austin, TX and comments on the conservative lean of KY vs. Austin.

And to add my 2 cents about the election: I'm surprised at those who don't see a difference between the candidates. I've been voting for many years, and I can't remember a time before where there was such an apparent difference in policy and philosophy. Then again, maybe I've had a few too many sips of the kool aid myself.