I feel Irrelevant

It's February 6th, after a stunning Super Tuesday, it appears John McCain will be our nominee, though Romney and Huckabee both will continue the fight until... who knows when.

As I watched returns last night, I began to feel irrelevant as a Wisconsin voter. Even my position, laying on my couch, sinking further into the cushions conveyed the depressing truth that was setting in.

Our primary is not until,February 19th, 13 days from today. We still have Louisiana, Kansas(R) and Nebraska(D) primaries on Friday. Maine will have it's Democratic caucuses on Saturday. Next Tuesday will bring the Potomac Primaries with Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia....and then finally, little ol' Wisconsin will vote a week later along with Washington and Hawaii(D). Gee, what three states could be less important?

I feel as though my vote doesn't count. How is it that I, a Wisconsin elector, am having an impact on our nominee? 13 days from now it'll likely be secured- long before I even trudge through the snow mounds to my polling place. If I was smart, I'd stay holed-up inside and absentee ballot... but who are we kidding? Should I even vote?

Now my vote will only count in the November election. And sorry to all those Rudy "moderate Republican" supporters (disclaimer: not I) in Madison and Milwaukee- I know how excited you were about him, and now he had to drop out and he's not even on our ballot! I guess you can use these next two weeks to start stomaching McCain. We're such a late, irrelevant primary that only 3 candidates, and Crazy Ron Paul, could even last this long.

While we joked early on about the Iowa and NH voters who by some stroke of luck are considered worthy of having every candidate shake their hand and look them in the eye, all while holding their baby, kissing their grandmother and standing in their living room, I now realize I actually do envy those voters. Wisconsin brings me nothing in the way of voter-clout. I suppose at least Wisconsin voted for Reagan in '84, but then again, who didn't? Well, Minnesota didn't. But we have no claim to fame. We have no pattern. We are a trend-less state. We couldn't be won for Bush in '04, but we had a Republican governor for 14 years. And that was before I even lived here, so I really feel left out.

Am I a little premature with my prediction? Perhaps. I suppose I can still drown these sad voter-history sorrows in beer. There is plenty of that here. Oh, and cheese.

And no, they can't take that away from me.