Turning or Tuning Out the Vote

At the risk of being sanctimonious, if you aren't planning to vote during the midterms, what is wrong with you? Literally thousands of Iowans and millions of others around the country will likely sit this election out just because they believe their vote doesn't matter or is being suppressed, that politicians are all crooks, that their vote is being manipulated, etc. Hogwash. Sadly, it means that others are doing their thinking for them. All those political strategists, lobbying efforts, PACs, etc. have targeted them as a demographic and through caterwauling web ads, tv spots, and campaign framed-messages convinced them that they would be suckers to vote (or to vote for their best interests). Add to that those nattering nabobs of negativity that are our friends and family who also reinforce that sentiment and give us comfort to do nothing. In a nutshell, that is what keeps generally decent people from voting.

Some will say, that is overly simplistic and say things like what about those who don't know enough about the candidates and their stances--do we really want them voting?" --Yes we do and clue, check-out Headcount for ways to self-inform about issues and candidates. Well, what about those who mean to but... (kids, work, illness)--surely you have compassion? No, I don't and a clue, vote early or absentee (check-out Vote.org to figure out how). Well, what about those who have committed a crime, should they vote? Yes, when they have served their time, they should automatically be restored to the voter rolls--no governor or panel should be needed--but, your vote can help get this done.

It is your right and privilege to vote or not vote, but ignorance or feeling minimalized are not justifiable reasons--just excuses. Reasons you should vote are numerous, but here are mine:

1. A vote is the oil that makes democracy run. Democracy is still an experimental form of governing. Voting is the mechanism that puts representatives to work for or against you. 
2. A vote is influence peddling. You likely don't have enough money to influence your representatives financially, so the least you can do is help elect the one who you feel will be less likely to screw you over for campaign cash.
3. A vote is a form of hope. You want your world to be better, your schools, neighborhood, state? A vote is for all those things.
4. A vote is a protest. You don't like what a party or candidate are doing, your vote for another party or candidate is your best way to show your discontent.
5. A vote is a voice. Your voice and many others add up to a public library being given the go ahead, a scoundrel given the boot, or a part of the Constitution being amended. 
6. A vote is change. Who really knows what the Founding Fathers (and Mothers) would think about the United States today? What is true is our votes create change through policy, law, and leadership.
7. A vote is the future. With what we hear about the effects of climate change, nukes, and other potentially life ending events and factors, our vote can change the course of humankind or speed our demise.
8. A vote is a choice. A vote says "I think A is better than B" and you have weighed the pros and cons and made a decision.
9. A vote is a responsibility. It is you contract with your neighbors, your fellow citizens and, to some extent, to the people of the world, that you understand that we all need to figure out a way to live with each and thrive together. You vote says you understand that id being responsible.
10. A vote is a connection. The issues, whether they be local, state, or national will impact you and others in good and bad ways. Your vote connects you to the person who is representing you and allows you to petition them when you are aggrieved and encourage them when you want them to do more.
11. A vote is a correction. History tells us that we don't always get it right the first time. A vote is a way to repeal and replace solutions with better ones. 

Tune out or turn out, those are the only choices. How will you vote?

Dangerous Politics

The toll of politics is on my mind today. County Supervisor Kurt Friese, one of the biggest hearted people I have known passed away on Friday and that made many of us locally take a collective breath as we felt the heaviness of that loss. However, time waits for no one and politics has an even shorter timetable with an election a week away from now. And to that point. With no less than three mass killings that were based on hatred and rage because of the victims color or religion, can we have a long-term moratorium on race baiting and religious intolerance? From the President on down, many of us have shown a great deal of intolerance of others, but some have seen it as an opportunity to unleash their brand of hatred in support of some ideal that they hold. No holds barred.

Enough is enough! If this nation should fissure, it will not be by accident. There are political motives in play that have been harnessed to to put us at each others' throats. And yet, it is so preventable, if we decline to be played for political gain. Refuse to be used as a photo opportunity or to lend credibility to the party or person who converts your presence as a referendum on their ideas and methods. In other words, don't be played a fool or turned into a pawn. Be brave enough to call BS when you know you are being fed it.

This is not to say that you should not be involved in politics. This is to say, be involved in a better more humanistic-style of politics. One that, as Kurt did, put service ahead of agenda. The only politics that is worth spit is that which attends to the needs of people and uses political movement toward that end. People need jobs? Great work on that, but not by telling lies about other people. Health care needs to be fixed? Great, work on it, but not by robbing Peter to pay Paul. It is clear that the scales of justice and economics are badly out of balance. Let's use the tools of government to right the wrongs and even out the scales, but not through scapegoating our fellow human beings.

An action you can take right now is to vote for people who are more aligned with justice and democracy. Ask yourself, whose policies make things better for more people than a relative few? Also ask yourself: what is gained by my hatred or intolerance of any other human being? I say that fear for fear sake benefits no one but those who invoke it. Work backwards, who is trying to instill fear in you? Vote against that agenda. 

What Is at Stake in the Midterms

With November 6th rapidly approaching, it is a good time to walk away from the noise and conflation and media spin and talk about what is going on in our country and how voters make a difference. Currently, unemployment has decreased and more people are working. In a normal cycle, that would bode well for the incumbents. However, with healthcare expenses, property taxes, inflation and other factors, workers are not seeing the benefits of income tax cuts. With Congress looking to change Social Security and public healthcare in ways that are not looking good for those who need them, social insecurity seems to be the mantra of the day. Add to this the ongoing struggle of immigrants and asylum seekers, a military whose actions are largely stealth operations with lack of media coverage, a leader who is arguably the most divisive of any to date, and it leaves a lot of room for improvement.

On the other hand, what does the other side offer?

According to The Hill

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said recently he’d “focus like a laser on job creation, infrastructure and skills training investment.”
Rep. Joseph Crowley (N.Y.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said he’d like to prioritize health-care access, affordable college tuition and oversight of the Trump administration.
Rep. Linda Sánchez (Calif.), vice chairman of the Democratic Caucus, added another item to the list: retirement security.
And Pelosi on Tuesday named four items on her wish list: infrastructure, campaign finance reform, tougher gun restrictions and help for the Dreamers — immigrants brought to the country illegally when they were children. She noted that Democrats have been urging Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to take up all those issues before the elections.
“We’d be hard put to call on the Speaker to do it, and then when we win, not do it,” Pelosi said.

A reasonable question to ask is what about the things that matter to younger and poorer voters? Certainly skills training and affordable college tuition are helpful (and not on the other side's agenda). What about paid family leave, childcare supports, supports for nutrition programs and addressing the environment and climate change? What about reforming the criminal justice system, addressing sensible drug policy? These are important issues for a group of voters who may not show up, if they don't see the benefit directly to them.

People who follow politics understand that it is the down the ticket races that are super important because if the Republican agenda keeps growing at the state level, more and more people will feel the tightening of its grip on their personal choices, on their wallets, and the safety net that has served generations well since the Great Depression. But the average voter  does not vote big picture.

The cult of personality is a funny thing. Despite the divisiveness of Trump, he is not running at this time and voters who support him are going to support whoever makes sense to them. If the Blue Wave turns into washout, it will likely be because the message missed a really important point: give the people what they want and, more importantly, what they need.

The Problem with Populism or Why the Mob Always Rules

“A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.” ― Thomas Jefferson

Mob Rule: "control of a political situation by those outside the conventional or lawful realm, typically involving violence and intimidation."

I am a populist with a Progressive bent. I happen to think that The People (aka the Mob) are better served by socialist democratic tendencies than with conservative capitalistic ones. Donald Trump recently said “The Democrats are willing to do anything, to hurt anyone, to get the power they so desperately crave"  in Minnesota last week. He added, “They want to destroy.” Jenny Beth Martin of the Tea Party's Patriot Citizens Fund said, “Do I want to live in a nation besieged by left wing political violence and mob rule, or a nation where we are all protected by the Constitution and the rule of law?” in an op-ed in The Hill. 

If you take either of these statements seriously, you have to ignore the actions like the Tea Party and Nationalistic conservative groups, like the one that marched on Charlottesville (where a neo-Nazi ran over a anti-Nazi marcher by driving backwards through the crowd). So, point one, you can't be against the very thing you are for and be seen as credible.

In our country, the mob is ruled by elected officials who try their best to game the system in their direction. The good thing about a voting public is that they can reverse course by voting. That is not to say all things can be changed by elections. For instance, as long as Supreme court justices have lifelong appointments, their rulings can literally cripple one type of political ideology and make it possible for another to rule the roost. One of the reasons that the conservative movement has been so focused on the Supreme Court is that they know things like the Voter's Right Act has not helped their cause. Already voters in North Dakota have seen the harm to voters who have no street address (Native Americans no less).

So the mob rules all the time. As political leaders roil their base and elect people who march in step, the mob decides which way the country will go politically. The problem with populism is the people and their susceptibility to charlatans bearing ideology.
For democracy to be truly broken, all three branches of the government have to be aligned and the ability of the common voter to make a change via the vote made obsolete. If anyone should be worried about mob rule, it is the mob itself.With the mob actually propping up a leader who lies to them constantly and likens authoritarian rule to being a good businessman, it is right that other people would be trying their best to beat back that threat.
Fear not the mob, but fear the mob rulers.

The Blame Stops Here

A friend posted on Facebook that the "Bernie or Bust" people are responsible for Brett Kavanaugh being in the Supreme Court. Other than it being patently wrong, it also continues to pick at the scab of a group of people who really need to rally the troops and work on what happens next, not what has happened in the past. This is something that conservatives do much better than progressives.
   Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch are on the Supreme Court and that is a fact. The best cure for them and the conservative surge is a trouncing in the mid-terms and a movement in the state and national level to shift the ride back toward progressivism. Trump has given Americans ample reason to want to step away from the abyss and that means getting people out and voting. Mad about Kavanaugh? Good, go to work to help elect better leaders. Remember, the enemy of your enemy is your friend. And we need all the friends we can get!