Augh!

Over and over again, I get excited by upcoming elections. This is where it's all going to change, I think to myself. The choices seem so clear and so logical, and I'm convinced that everybody else sees theses things, too. (This is where the construction of the idea of "common sense" comes from -- the idea that everyone else understands things just as we do.)

Then election results come in and I have to recognize my complete disjunction with the majority of the electorate.

I voted yesterday and all of the candidates I supported lost (but for some uncontested races). These were good people who valued things like civic services and public transportation and human beings, and they lost to conservative, corporatist, intolerant japeholes.

And here I thought we were on to something.

After looking at returns before work this morning, I compared counted votes versus census population for Milwaukee County and the city. About 166,160 votes were cast in our race for county executive, with the incumbent keeping the seat. (He's a city services slashing japehole of the type I mention above). The 2006 Census lists the population of the county at 915,097. With 26.7% below the age of 18, that leaves 670,760 eligible voters -- this means a turnout of 25% of the electorate in the county.

Turnout from the city worse: 81,339 voted for mayor; Barrett was a shoe-in, but the votes offer a good indication of total voters. The census lists the city population at 586,941, with 28.6% below voting age. This leaves 419,076 eligible voters, and a turnout in the city of Milwaukee of 19%.

By these numbers, it's clear that most of the county executive japehole's votes from outside of the city, which may help to explain why he's totally willing to cut city services to spare county taxes.

Good grief.

------

Here's a palatte cleanser, clearly left over from yesterday: Muppet bloopers!