Random acts of voting

Yes, Americans are committing random acts of voting around the country today. Twelve states are holding primaries and they promise some interesting and, in some cases, downright entertaining, results. For example, will the "chicken lady" win in the Nevada Republican primary for Senator, or will she be defeated by the "prohibition lady"? Will the "queen of the birthers" Orly Taitz win the race for the Republican nomination for Secretary of State in California? I know I'm pulling for her!

And what about South Carolina, that bastion of sobriety and marital fidelity among its politicians? Will the accused adulterer receive a majority of the vote to defeat her three opponents in the race for the Republican nomination for governor, or will she be forced into a runoff? At this hour, it is looking like the latter.

And why, oh why, are the Republican primaries so much more entertaining than the Democratic ones? The Democrats are positively buttoned-down gray pinstripes in comparison to the outlandish Republican candidates.

The most interesting Democratic primary of the day is the one in Arkansas where the conservative Senator Blanche Lincoln is being opposed by the more progressive and populist Lt. Gov. Bill Halter. Money has flowed into the state from outside sources for the race. There was an Associated Press story in the local paper today all about how labor had supported Halter with donations, but nowhere in the story did it mention the fact that Lincoln has received massive donations from the corporations whose interests she has supported over the years. That's what passes for "fair and balanced" reporting in today's journalism.

So will the tea partiers carry the day in the Republican primaries? Will the insurgent beat the entrenched icon of the establishment in the Arkansas Democratic primary? We'll know in a few hours when all the random acts of voting have been counted. Whatever the outcomes today, it promises to be a year for the political junkies to maintain their highs right through to November.

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