Lacking any enthusiasm for both major party candidates, I
decided to go with a different tack: Who will be the most beneficial for the
arts?
Both Ted Budd and Kathy Manning are disastrous for the arts
community.
The case against Budd is that he represents almost
everything that I’m against—a reliable rubber stamp for the president, he’s a
disciple of Grover Norquist and his economic philosophy (IOW, a reliable
rightist). He also enthusiastically supported the dreadful tax law which
includes a provision that adversely affects musicians. If Trump wants a budget to eliminate the National Endowment
for the Arts, Budd will back it without reservations.
The latter is one of the chief architects of the STPAC
boondoggle, which will decimate local arts by further widening the gap between
the haves and have nots. Once the venue is up and running, Manning’s big money
pals will have (even) less time for unconventional art projects.
On a side note, the Downtown Greensboro clique Manning remind
me too much of Southwest Raleigh residents that I had to deal with during my
days as a student at NC State: Arrogant, elitist, and dismissive of anyone
deemed “lesser” than them.
Either Tom Bailey (Libertarian) or Robert Corriher (Green) would be better for Congress but I decided to back the latter since a vote for him would be a vote for something better than merely casting a protest vote against an ancient two party system. Also, it is not my responsibility to bail out a party that doesn't want to save itself merely because the majority party is so vile. It was that type of thinking that resulted in enough voters staying home two years ago.
