Election time (House of reps)

As an absentee voter, I will be voting this week. So here are my thoughts. But first, a caveat:

A while ago, the Bad Astronomer got criticized for posting some political thoughts on his blog. I have two words for such critics:

Bite me.

Participatory democracy (and really, is there any other kind?) is dependent on citizens communicating their thoughts in the leadup to an election. It is true that I am not a paid political pundit. But I am a voter, and thus it is my responsibility to look at the candidates, consider their strengths and weaknesses, and choose between them. If you have a problem with this, move to China. If you agree with the principle, but you think my choices are daft, feel free to comment. ‘tis the season.

House of Representatives (NJ district 12)

Incumbent: Rush Holt (D)
Challenger: Joe Sinagra (R)
Third party candidates: none

The incumbent has sounded increasingly like a Democratic party hack as his time in Washington has increased. Still, before entering politics, he was a nuclear physicist. While I disagree with his occasional forays into identity politics and partisan sniping, I think that having a congressman who actually understands how nuclear weapons are built is an obvious asset to the nation these days.

The challenger is an Air Force veteran and small business owner. While there is nothing immediately discouraging about him, he doesn’t seem to grasp the subtlety of complex issues, and his anti-immigrant stance appears to border on the extreme.

For New Jersey’s 12th district, I support Rush Holt (D).

(Senate tomorrow)