(I respect the guy for responding to these questionnaires, and others, in a thoughtful, forthright, and open manner. Such transparency is altogether uncommon in today’s politics. As a voter with a blank slate in Rhode Island politics, I was hoping to find some reason to split my ticket this year. But I saw little on his web site that I could support.)

However, Mr. Anderson has lost any chance of earning my vote with an e-mail message he sent to fellow members of the GOP, in which he said (emphasis added):

For the past three Presidential elections, I have been able to take an active role in the campaigns, but this year is different.

I want to help John McCain, but my own candidacy requires that I stay here where I have a small chance of unseating the Democrat Majority Leader of the House of Representatives.

So my thoughts go to those of you who are near PA and might be able to spend a day or two in PA to help John McCain there.

…

I have never been so worried about a candidate’s experience, honesty, and intentions as I am about Mr. Obama. I think he might win, not based on his platform and record, but on the generosity of voters who think it is time to give a “minority guy a break.” It’s an affirmative action impulse taken too far.

Please pass this along to others as you see fit.

I would like to urge Mr. Anderson to spend some time driving through the district he hopes to represent. I want him to count up all the Obama lawn signs he sees and all the McCain lawn signs he sees. I know from my own experience of getting to know my neighborhood/district, I see far more Obama signs.

And I want Mr. Anderson to ask himself one important question: why does he want to represent a district that he thinks is as naive as this?

And I want Mr. Anderson to know that I am asking myself an important question: why should I vote for a man who thinks his hoped-for constituents are as naive as this?

The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations has made this particularly easy for me this time; the Secretary of State’s office posts to its website a sample ballot for each district, so you know in advance what offices and ballot measures are up for the vote.

In a nutshell, there’s not much going on this election cycle. Besides the elephant in the room, senior senator Jack Reed is up for re-election, Patrick Kennedy is seeking another House term, and we have two elections for the state assembly. Rounding out the pack are two ballot measures.

So, here we go. Candidates are listed in the order in which they appear on the sample ballot. Candidate links go to Project Vote Smart; party links are to the official website of the political party.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS FOR:

Barack Obama / Joe Biden (Democrat)
John McCain / Sarah Palin (Republican)
Bob Barr / Wayne A. Root (Libertarian)
Gloria La Riva / Robert Moses (Socialism & Liberation)
Ralph Nader / Matt Gonzalez (Independent; link is to Nader’s campaign site)
Chuck Baldwin / Darrell L. Castle (Constitution)
Cynthia McKinney / Rosa Clemente (Green)

SENATOR IN CONGRESS:

John F. Reed (Democrat; incumbent)
Robert G. Tingle (Republican)

REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS DISTRICT 1:

Patrick J. Kennedy (Democrat; incumbent)
Jonathan P. Scott (Republican)
Kenneth A. Capalbo (Independent)

SENATOR IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 3:

Rhoda E. Perry (Democrat; incumbent; running unopposed)

REPRESENTATIVE IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 4:

Gordon D. Fox (Democrat; incumbent)
David V. Anderson (Republican)

BALLOT MEASURES:

Question 1 is a transportation bond question that would allow the state to borrow money to fund transportation improvements in RI–$80 million for roads, highways, and bridges; $3.5 million for commuter rail; and $3.6 million for bus service.

(Tom Sgouros, a policy writer who blogs at RIFuture.org, has a piece there analyzing this bond measure.)

Question 2 is an open-spaces bond question, authorizing the state to borrow $2.5 million to purchase and preserve open lands and parks.

NOTES: The Rhode Island ballot lists, as La Riva’s running mate, one Robert Moses. The party’s website, however, says the running mate is Eugene Puryear. At 22 years old, Puryear would be disqualified by law from serving as Vice President, because he doesn’t meet the 35-year-old age threshold set out in the Constitution. Finally, a VP candidate even less qualified for the office than Sarah Palin.

Rhode Island, you may be amused to learn, has exactly two House districts. The first district is repped by Patrick J. Kennedy, and yes, Patrick is one of the Kennedys–Ted’s third child with his first wife, Joan Bennett Kennedy. This is the first election I’ll vote in, in which a member of the Kennedy family has been on my ballot. Ted’s presidential run was six years before I was old enough to vote.