WELL, I VOTED TODAY, on the “Hart Intercivic eSlate” voting machine. The early-voting location was pretty crowded, and one of the poll workers told me that it’s been very busy — like a Presidential election, he said, not a midterm. Apparently, not many voters are deciding to stay home. If this reflects a more general trend, that’s probably good news for the Republicans.

There’s been a lot of speculation, interestingly, on how I was going to vote in the Tennessee Senate contest between Harold Ford and Bob Corker. Take your guess here, and all will be revealed later.

UPDATE: Well, with over 3500 votes in, it’s Corker by a slim margin (40-36). But Frank J. runs a strong third!

That’s pretty much how it was in my mind, too. I liked Harold Ford, Jr. when we interviewed him, and I wouldn’t shed any tears if he were elected; he’d raise the caliber of the Democrats in the Senate. But when push came to shove, I voted for Corker. I liked him, too, and ultimately the combination of Ford’s “F” rating on gun rights and the sleazy “outing” behavior of the Democrats was such that I just felt I had to vote Republican in this race. (In our interview, Corker said he’d look favorably on federal legislation to require states to recognize each others’ gun-carry permits.)

As I mentioned before, the Republicans don’t really deserve my vote — though as Bob Corker hasn’t been in Washington that’s not really his fault — but nonetheless the Democrats have blown it again. Not long ago I was thinking that a Democratic majority in Congress wouldn’t be so bad; but the sexual McCarthyism from the pro-outing crowd, coupled with the Dems’ steadfast refusal to offer anything useful on national security, has convinced me that they just don’t deserve a victory with those tactics. That’s not Ford’s fault, either, really. But I just don’t think the Democrats are ready for a majority right now. We’ll see how many other voters agree.

I split my votes, supporting Democrat Phil Bredesen for Governor, and — of course — I voted against the Tennessee anti-gay-marriage constitutional amendment. In order to pass, that will have to get not just a majority, but a majority of all votes cast in the gubernatorial race, meaning that not voting on it is tantamount to a “no” vote. I hope it won’t pass; it’s not getting a lot of publicity, though I’m sure that the religious-right crowd is pushing it in direct mail, etc.

ANOTHER UPDATE: How did I vote in the House race? Well, there isn’t really one here, as the incumbent, Jimmy Duncan (R), is a lock. But I actually voted for his Democratic opponent, John Greene. Yes, it was a protest vote: Greene’s gotten virtually no publicity and I don’t know much about him.