voting today

I voted today because I live in the 7th precinct of Indiana. Andre Carson (D), Jon Elrod (R), and Sean Shephard (L) are all wanting to take the open U.S. Congressional seat left by Julia Carson (D). Julia held the seat from January 7, 1997, until her death on December 15, 2007.

For those of you not from Indiana, you should know that Andre is Julia's grandson. He was being groomed to run for her seat even before she passed on. His last name obviously brings a lot of recognition, but at least his TV spots didn't say anything remotely like, "I'm Julia's grandson - if you loved her, you'll love me too."

Carson has done most of the campaigning for this seat since he's had the most money - Elrod didn't run any TV spots until this past week. There's only one sign, for Elrod, on my neighborhood block. I've only seen one post about this vote on Daily Kos. Advance Indiana has an election day thread.

I am a registered Democrat, but I don't vote straight party line. I'll let you guess as to who I voted for.

Update: Carson won the seat with 54% of the vote.

Did Julia really want her "seed" to take her seat in Congress?

Ah, family. There's nothing like leaning on your family name to get you places you otherwise wouldn't have gone. If Andre Carson had any other last name - and any other grandmother - he wouldn't have made as many steps to the U.S. Congress as he recently has. Several eulogists at Carson's funeral reported her saying that the constituants who loved her should "send [her] seed," supposedly meaning her grandson Andre. Julia Carson's name, and a bit of confusion, helped Andre Carson win last Satuday's special caucus. Bil Browning has more.

Julia Carson, 1938-2007

Representative Julia Carson died today, losing her battle to lung cancer. She had served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1996 until her death.

Julia Carson's health

Once again, the health of Representative Julia Carson (D-IN-7) is a factor in her (in)ability to perform her duties on the Congressional floor.

Rep. Julia Carson, who has been on a leave of absence to recover from a leg infection, will not return to Washington in time for a Thursday vote on whether to override President Bush’s veto of a children’s health insurance program, according to her office.

“I understand how an athlete feels when they sit one out to recover from an injury,” Carson said in a statement Monday. “The minutes move slowly, and you want nothing more than to be in for the big game. But you need to get well for the rest of the season.”

The 69-year-old Indianapolis Democrat, who has not voted in the House since Sept. 29, had requested a leave until Oct. 15.In the statement released by her office, Carson said she “may be absent from votes a short time longer” on her doctor’s advice.

Although there had been much speculation that the current Congressional session would be her last (mostly by state Republicans), Carson has made it clear that she intends to run again in 2008. I think her advisors would do well in taking her health into serious consideration. She has done much more than just "sit one out" in the past. Hopefully she will be able to fully recover and do her job for this session. I also hope that she seriously considers whether she'll be able to do an affective job through January 2011, should she be re-elected next year.

[Disclosure: I have been a registered Democrat since 1999. I had not lived in Carson's district until I moved to Beech Grove last year. I did not register in time to vote in the November 2006 elections.]