Watson Wire

Today is a day made just for you.

Tuesday, November 02, 2010 |

Go vote.  Today.

Go during lunch. Go during a coffee break.  Go during what you might call a voting break.  If you've got appointments, bring them along.  Hold the meeting on the way to vote and back.

If none of that works, go straight to your polling place – which is, by definition, right around the corner from where you live – after work.  Or, run by the house first and set a good parental example by grabbing the kids and taking them.  The poll workers will love it.

The only acceptable excuse is that you've already voted.  In which case, you need to bug your friends at least as much as I'm bugging you so that they'll vote too.

(By the way, if you're in Travis County, you can find your polling place by clicking here.  If you're not, try finding your county polling places here.)

This is it.  You're out of chances.  There is no tomorrow.

Go vote.  Today.

Boldly in favor of sanity

Increasing voter participation was a pretty big part of the Austin edition of Jon Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity.  Somewhere between a couple thousand and a few thousand people came out to the Capitol Saturday.

Folks watched a broadcast of the rally on a big TV screen that had been set up.  And there were a few interludes for musicians to play some songs and local Austinites to address the crowd.  It was a fun event on an absolutely perfect Austin day.

Here are a couple of pictures from the event.  And here's what I had to say:

Isn't it a great day to be in Austin, Texas?

Thank you all, and welcome to the Austin edition Rally to Restore Sanity.  It may say something about the politics of these times that I’m this happy to see this many people standing in favor of ... well, acting like normal people.

This is our chance to come together, join hands, and make our elected leaders stop calling each other names, stop throwing food at each other, stop stealing each other’s toys ... and stop doing all the other stuff that my boys stopped doing when they turned six.

And I’m glad we’re doing this in Austin, because, you know, this is kind of a weird political event.

Today isn’t about a particular candidate or party or even policy.  Instead, we’re rallying for a change in tone – a new process for getting things done.

We want to support those true leaders who will build coalitions and achieve real, broad-based progress for all Texans and all Americans.

This election has to be about something more than Democrats versus Republicans, or Progressives versus Conservatives, or Coke versus Pepsi, or Tea versus ... your drink of choice.

Let’s remember – really remember – that we Texans have so much that unites us.

We all want affordable insurance and electric bills.

We all want a tax system that makes sense.

We all want better schools, better universities, and better health coverage for our kids.

We all want a budget that isn't $20 billion in the hole.

But more than even all of those things, we want a Texas that aspires even as it achieves.

And remember – just because you think Texas can do better doesn't mean you don't love Texas.

We want true leaders who are more interested in fixing things than fighting over them.

If you haven't voted – vote, and get others to vote too.

My friends, thank you for being here.  Thank you for your passion for making Texas a better place.  And thank you all for being sane and supporting sane people.