Your Vote Is Your Voice, But You Gotta Speak

An article on Politico mirrored through The Arizona Republic asks why people are asking "What's the matter with Arizona?"

And near the bottom, we get the answer:

"Because of low turnout in the primaries and the fact that defections of independents from both parties have left registered Republicans and Democrats more ideological, Arizona has had for many years a legislature that is very conservative compared to the population of registered voters," said Bruce Merrill, a political scientist at Arizona State University who runs the ASU/KAET poll – the gold-standard political survey in the state. "This particular legislature is led by Russell Pearce who is way more conservative than even the conservative Republicans in the legislature."

And that sums it up. If your representatives don't represent you, where was your vote during the primaries? We know a lot of you can't stand either Republicans or Democrats. But independents aren't running for office, leaving the partisans and fringe elements to run the show.

That being said, even though we voted for the people now in office, it wasn't as if we had a choice between Yugos and Cadillacs on the ballot. I would put the choice more at Pintos and Hummers, but your mileage will vary. As I have lamented before, the best candidates aren't running for office. They know better. They are disgusted with the political process and don't want to be a part of it, even if they might have an opportunity to be the wise and principled leaders we keep wishing we could have. Or worse, they don't "party." I don't either.