Midwest in the House!

I have to admit, the idea of voting for a woman from my hometown for president was rather appealing, but I have a pragmatic side that just can't see the Green Party delivering on anything without a crazy amount of tax increases.  The economic policies that provide high levels of benefits and high levels of incentives to drive behaviors the way you want them generally have unreasonable budgetary costs.  The pragmatist in me tends to be less revolutionary and more liberal - focusing on market failures and externalities.

However, the Green Party managed to run a native Chicagoan.  The Democratic party has a Chicagoan at the top of the ticket.  The Republican Party has a native Michigander at the top of the ticket and a Wisconsinite at the bottom.  Even if Janesville sucks (which it does... believe me... it's even worse than Beloit...), it was pretty impressive to see that many Midwesterners on the ballot this morning.