Last week in an interview, Congressman James Clyburn, of South Carolina said that this is what happens when people refuse to participate in the process. I thought, yes well put. When 90 million people in this country decided that they couldn’t decide between a competent, experienced leader, with ovaries, and an ancient, orange conman, they opted out of the process entirely. Plato mentioned this very thing, centuries ago. “Those who are indifferent to political affairs are doomed to be ruled by inferior men.” In our case, inferior, incompetent, evil, greedy men and women. We are reaping the consequences of indifference and apathy. I do not know what it will take to get people to step up and do the very bare minimum of actually registering and turning in a ballot, but we must find a way.
I am encouraged by all the protests, podcasts, articles, videos, comedy sketches and more, but a lot of the people now acting and reacting to the horrors now playing out in Minnesota, and Oregon were some of the very people who chose not to vote. I know many of us feel like Cassandra, priestess of Troy, seeing the future and warning everyone, but never believed. We worked so hard to get people to vote, to make them understand what was at stake, only to have them say, nah, voting doesn’t matter. Oh my, but it does! Why do you think the Republican administration is working so hard to take voting rights away from us?
Republicans fear voter turnout. There are more Democrats in the country than Republicans, and Unaffiliated voters outnumber more than both groups together. When voter turnout is high, Democrats tend to win. Undermining the validity of the voting process, suppressing voter accessibility, and limiting voter registration are all ways Republicans cheat, because they know they do not have a platform or a plan of governance that makes sense for anyone in the 21st Century.
I have some serious concerns about the SAVE Act. This would entail having your voter registration name match your birth certificate or passport. If it does not, your voter ID could be compromised, and you could not vote. This is a big deal for women. If you are married, you probably changed your maiden name to your married name which does not match your birth certificate. If Republicans weaponize this, they could wipe a lot of women off the voter rolls. Since women overwhelmingly vote Democratic, this could have a disastrous consequence and keep Republicans in power. If you don’t have a passport in your current name, I strongly suggest you get one this year, even if travel is not in your plans.
Other factors making voting more difficult and expensive is the outrageous cost of elections. The 2024 election cost 21 billion dollars. So much fund raising and dark money and corporate donations have led to a system of “highest bidder take all”. We must overturn Citizens United and get money out of politics. No one or group should be able to buy an election. It is coming to that, though. The billionaire class increased their wealth exponentially this year and they will not want to stop wielding their influence. We need to elect candidates who will put a stop to this and I for one would support anyone with that as a top-of-mind issue.
Like nearly everyone, I am sure you have had enough of what is going on throughout our land and abroad and the thought of three more years of it makes you ill. Because the mid-term elections are this year, we can put a stop to it. If we can elect enough representatives to change the Legislative branch, Congress could again have power in Washington and we could stop ICE and get rid of the cast of incompetent cos-play characters that now run and are ruining the government. It is going to take Democratic voter turnout in numbers like never before seen. We must get Unaffiliated voters to wake up and vote and vote blue, or better yet to affiliate as Democrats. By taking over many seats in the Legislative branch we can protect our neighbors, get back on track with climate and healthcare initiatives, job growth, education and childcare, cost of living and foreign relations, and of course, campaign finance reform.
This is the year to make a difference. We have said it repeatedly, but it is and we must. The stakes are too high for us, our future and the world. We have momentum in our favor. You can be the voice of strength and reason by coming to caucus and on to assemblies. That is the first step in selecting candidates and party leaders that will take bold leadership in the right direction and hold accountable those who are undermining our constitution and democracy. If you haven’t signed up yet, go to our website Weldcountydems.org or directly to this interest form: https://forms.gle/x37QjAqr4LF61N9X6 . Even if you can’t attend some of the events you will be registered and your wishes will be known and if you can’t attend, you can send in a proxy. Please take a moment to register today if you have not. Also, please consider taking the next step and run for something. We have many races for House District and Senate Districts that have no candidates. It is time to ask what you can do for your country. Working together we can set the path for the democracy and country that we are meant to be. You will find lots of ideas on how to get involved and what you can do to make a difference by visiting our website.