BlogForArizona Editorial Policy on Endorsements

I don’t think anyone is actually looking to BlogForArizona for candidate endorsements, but I love policies. So what the heck; I’m going to have one on endrosements. I’m not going to do them. They’re dumb. The people who do them are dumb. Often the candidates are dumb. Why bother?

The people who come here are generally politically astute enough to make up their own damn minds without me. But I’m NOT neutral, I don’t even try; you know that, or at least you should… I have opinions about the candidates, and I share them. That’s not reporting, that editorial, and it’s not a neutral activity. I won’t make any pretense that it can be. But I don’t endorse candidates, anyhow. What’s the point? All it does is piss people off and cut into what piss-ant access a blogger gets.

I have written a voter guide for Propositions (they are legal texts, they don’t change or evolve; I’m a lawyer, and I’m comfortable with telling people whether a legal document is a raw deal – seems like a good fit), but I am not going to get into the business of candidate endorsements, with two exceptions.

I always prefer the Democrat. Which Democrat is up to an informed electorate to decide (the informed part is what I try to help with, a little). When Democrats select a candidate by a primary election, preferably a fair one, that’s my candidate. Simple as that. Except when it’s not. More on that later.

The ugly truth is, I don’t really give a crap who you vote for. All I’m concerned about is that you actually vote, and preferably that you don’t say, "Damn, I wish I had known THAT!" after the election. That’s why I run this blog; that, and due to some personality defect, I find it fun.

I think it is ridiculous that publications, whose mission is putatively to educate people about civic affairs, think their readers are such idiots that they need to be told who to vote for (I’m talking to you AZRepub, Citizen, city weeklies, and just about every other damn dead tree merchant). Rather than just giving people sufficient information on which to base their own decisions, they black out political coverage until the day of the election, except for telling you who to vote for. That’s a mockery of democracy: a mockocracy.

I don’t always get everything right, but I try to correct the record when I don’t. Sometimes I’m making wild-ass guesses in the middle of an information vacuum. So sue me (good fucking luck on that…). Those who expect me to kiss their asses if I make a wrong call are cordially invited to go first.

I try to bring to you the best original information about candidates I can obtain (such as the interviews I have done), ferret out the interesting original sources and information from public sources, such as candidates’ campaign filings, and gather and analyze the opinion, gossip, and media surrounding a candidacy. I won’t pretend that there are times when I’m going to take sides (how can you remain ‘objective’ about Bill Johnson?), but I try to pose useful, and difficult, questions of all the candidates (even Bill Johnson).

I can’t do it alone, I’m just one man. I suggest people start their own efforts, affiliate with and contribute to their own favorite blogs. I am currently looking for affiliates in areas of the state I’m not familiar with. Citizen’s media is infantile (in more ways than one) at the moment, but it is the future of journalistic coverage of things that really matter to us that the MSM can’t find a profitable publishing model for (nor can I, for that matter…).

I hope that all the campaigns I cover will always be a little upset with me. I don’t take retainers, though I do often by necessity communicate with and socialize with various campaign staff to get the information I need. My coverage isn’t always ‘balanced’, because, let’s face it, no one’s ever is – there are just various levels of hypocrisy about claiming to be balanced.

Nor are all candidates and races and issues equally interesting. My reporting and editorial reflects my interests (eclectic), opinions (and they are strong ones) and my biases (and they are many); but I try to keep an open mind, and not to act like a filter so much as a sieve (I just remove the big steaming piles of… well, you know). This is citizen media, not CNN. Don’t try to work the ref with me like you would with a MSM outlet. All you’ll get is a raspberry and an invitation to go… well, you know.

That said, you should expect no list of BlogForArizona approved candidates. I will endeavor to arrange pertinent information conveniently for you. Check the little candidate pictures on the right sidebar for an interview with that candidate. Other sources of candidate information will be integrated with that section.

One exception to this ‘no-endorsement’ rule is coming soon. For those of you, my poor readers, trapped in a GOP dominated legislative district such that you have no hope of electing a Democrat (defined by the Clean Elections Commission as LDs 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 26, and 30), I am preparing a guide to State legislative Republicans who aren’t insane, and a ‘Single-Shot’ guide for strategic voting. One of the few ways you unfortunates can have any impact on state politics is by re-registering strategically as Independents (pdf) and voting in the Republican primaries. That should be your first step. Go do it now.

I’m waiting.

Seriously, go do it. Be an Independent. Get your friends to do it. The deadline is Sept. 1st this year for the primary elections. [UPDATE One of my knowledgable readers pointed out that the Aug. 14th deadline for registration has passed. I checked. Indeed, the new registration deadline and the party change deadline are one in the same. You can still update your personal information now, but not your party affiliation. So, this trick, will have to wait until next time around.] Once you are done, you need to specifically request a Republican ballot at the polling place. The guide to ‘not insane’ Republicans in non-competitive districts will be coming soon.

The second step is by using your general election vote wisely, which
entails restraining yourself and excercising only part of your
franchinse. This is so-called ‘single-shot’ voting where the state party is suggesting Democrats give both their votes to ONLY a single representative candidate to increase the relative percentage of the vote for that candidate running in a Democratic minority district in which we stand a only a small chance of taking only one of the seats. There is overlap between the ‘not insane’ primary strategy and the ‘single shot’ general election strategy. I will also post a guide to single-shots this cycle.