As has probably been clear of late, my mood regarding current politics is best described as fatalistic. The recent Republican power play over Supreme Court nominations may have pushed me over the edge and into the belief that the system is beyond repair, but the feeling has been building over years of obstructionism and the growing political civil war that the radical right wants so badly.
So it’s worth asking why, given my current lack of faith in positive outcomes, I’m still committed to voting in every primary and general election I can make it to.
Back at the tail-end of the 1990s, when President Bill Clinton was riding his impeachment scandal to sky-high approval ratings, the thought of a Bush restoration via George W. Bush seemed a little on the inconsequential side. I remember thinking and saying, to paraphrase the past, “How bad could it be?”
That was a question we didn’t need answered.
I voted for Al Gore in 2000 but I honestly didn’t take the election all that that seriously. At least until Florida, Ralph Nader, and Bush v. Gore.
So these days I take all elections seriously, even if the political system itself seems broken.
Here’s why. The current crack-up at the national level has roots going back to the Civil Rights era and beyond. You can’t really understand where we are now without understanding why Southern Democrats bolted for the Republican party rather than support equal rights for black Americans; Richard Nixon’s southern strategy and appeals to the so-called silent majority; or the religious right’s relentless focus from the 1970s onwards on winning local elections to school boards and city councils.
That last one is particularly relevant. The religious and radical right have been able to leverage the system so that, through control of state legislatures and resulting gerrymandering of congressional districts, a minority of the country is able to exert near total control of Congress. That’s why Barack Obama won the presidency with a majority vote twice, yet Capitol Hill remains a Republican stronghold. It’s the result of decades of work and patience by people who took their elections very, very seriously.
There’s nothing wrong in theory about divided government — a democracy means people are free to vote for different parties in different situations. Where it goes wrong is when one side of that divide refuses to accept the legitimacy of the other — a distinct problem with Republicans under Clinton that has reached its nadir under Obama. In that case, you end up with the legislative branch of government holding the judicial branch hostage to delegitimize the executive. All of which is about two short steps away from being a failed state.
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That’s why I will still vote. Repairing today’s fiasco will likely take decades. It will definitely take voters in the center and on the left taking their local elections as seriously as they do presidential elections. It will take effort to make sure as many people vote as possible, even as state legislatures try to turn them away.
The horror show that is the Republican presidential primary means I will be getting out to vote both in the Democratic primary and the general election. I’ll vote for Hillary Clinton because I think she’s the best choice of this situation, but I won’t be an ass about it because I want Bernie Sanders’s supporters to vote in the general (and I hope the sentiment will be returned). I’ll be doing what I can to support reasonable people in my state and local elections, because Virginia could frankly stand to be a lot less insane.
It’s not an especially inspirational reason to vote but this isn’t an especially inspirational time. Still, voting does count — so much so that plenty of people are trying to figure out ways to keep you from doing it. That’s reason enough to use it.
As expected, the Republican National Convention has featured a number of speakers seeking to elicit applause from the audience of delegates and convention attendees packed into Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum.
Part of that rhetoric includes criticisms of incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden, focusing on his physical health, mental acuity, ideology, and policies -- all of which are typically considered acceptable attacks in a fiercely fought campaign.
But a significant number of speakers have attacked the LGBTQ community, especially when expressing their contempt for transgender rights.
The afternoon of the now infamous debate, I posted a Thread. (Because why are you still Xeeting on Xitter? Gross.) "Biggest consideration on whether to watch the debate tonight is my fear that it will ratchet up my anxiety to puking level," I wrote. To illustrate the point, I added a cute gif of America Ferrera as Ugly Betty dry heaving. And, because Threads, there was but one interaction: a Florida high school pal responding, "Same." Wendy gets it.
Ever since Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 election -- like an adult actually capable of putting the country ahead of her ego -- to the deplorable Donald Trump, it's felt as though human existence has been covered in a surreal sheen. These are painfully interesting times.
The Queer calendar promises us that come late May/early June 2025, World Pride will fill Washington, D.C.'s streets with affirming, magical mirth. This year, the Capital Pride Alliance gave us a great trial run. While a jubilee in its own right, this year's festivities illustrated that World Pride 2025 should be safe, secure, and glorious.
It may, however, also be a righteously angry occasion, as 2025 Washington could be the epicenter of a new, awful age. Barring any seismic shenanigans, either President Joe Biden will hold the White House, or Donald Trump and his bully boys and goon girls will move in. If Hillary Clinton's loss to The Don taught us anything, it is that we live in absurdly uncertain times. (And that the Electoral College should be abolished.)
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