filed in Daily Life
National Day for Soul Searching
Dear readers, you know I don’t write about politics much unless it rises to a special occasion. Trump becoming the standard bearer of the Republican Party is one of those times. My soul aches over the thought of 6 more months of his race baiting and misogyny, and the possibility that he could be the leader of the free world. Now it’s up to us. If you’re a U.S. citizen and not registered or not in the habit of voting, get it together. Think about volunteering. Contribute $$. Persuade your relatives. Do whatever you can. We must unite and stop this.
Neon from Kendell Geers
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Wendy, I am disgusted with this election! I will vote for sure in Nov and I just pray that enough women and minorities come out to vote against Trump. I’m just waiting to see who gets the D nomination. I just want it to be whoever has the best shot at beating Trump. And from what I hear in the news it’s Clinton. I’m also hoping there are enough R’s and undecided voters who could not bring themselves to vote for him.
I completely agree, Dee.
I live in Indiana and I DID vote in yesterday’s primary (for the “D” party). And my schadenfreude at Ted Cruz’s awkward and humiliating exit from the race is tempered with the realization that Donald Trump could, conceivably, win the presidential election. I do believe that a Cruz win would have been far, far worse. Trump is a narcissistic opportunist, whereas Cruz is a narcissistic ideologue.
That said, where I live in Indiana, I didn’t see much intense support for any candidate (and I’m using yard signs as my data source). I saw 1 Cruz sign and 2 Trump signs, 2 Hillary signs and maybe half a dozen Bernie signs. What I HAVE seen (and for months and months now) are signs against our governor Mike Pence (including in my own front yard). Pence, who is running for reelection, is vulnerable, particularly since he galvanized the left after his disastrous handling of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act debacle last year. For all the talk of the presidential election, it is equally–perhaps even more so–important to vote for state, regional, and local offices. So much gets done at the state and local level, yet it is the presidential campaigns that draw all the attention. State legislatures set tones for the future (think of North Carolina’s bathroom law as an example). So as vital as it is to get out the vote for the presidential election, the word needs to be spread that people should also pay attention to voting for state senators, Congressmen, city councils, etc. No, these are not “sexy”, high-profile races, but they are critical if we want to make changes. Suppose Trump wins–he still has to work with Congress. A Congress that will probably be quite hostile to him. So make sure that the Senators and Representatives you elect will be obstacles to his promotion of racist/sexist agenda items.
It’s been said (and perhaps even documented) that young people vote in presidential elections but not in “off-year” ones. That’s a problem.
Good to keep in mind since I am one of those people who knows nothing of my state representatives. Not sure where to start for research though.
I’ve had the privilege of lobbying local legislators and testifying at the CA state assembly. It’s very empowering, and there’s much more potential for change at local level than the federal one. Kathleen, where do you live?
I live in Massachusetts, south of Boston.
Local legislators in Massachusetts https://malegislature.gov/People/House
Petra, you are so right about what happens on a local and state level. I’m so happy to live in California where progressives have a commanding majority. We also need more people to vote in the midterms.
You make some great points, Petra. Our system of checks and balances (which would keep a presumptive ‘President Trump’ [help!] under control) only works for us if we pay attention to electing the best candidates for ALL positions, at every level.
Yes, yes, yes. We have to stay engaged.