Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
(Apologies and kudos to those of you who already have voted.)
It's simple: Voting is making your voice heard.
And I hear you whine: But I'm one of millions! It doesn't matter. Down at the local level races are often decided by a handful of votes. You don't like who got voted in as dog catcher, and she only won by a hundred votes? This is why you get off your ass and vote.
And I hear you whine: But the party in power wins all the time. Or I hear you whine: My party is gonna win. They don't need my vote. Remember the picture from 1948 of a victorious Harry Truman holding up a newspaper with the headline DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN? Would the outcome have been different if some people had just gotten off of their asses and voted?
And I hear you whine: I can't get the ID to vote. I'm disenfranchised. And I say, get off your ass and file a provisional ballot. The Supreme Court will be looking at the Texas Voter ID law. I suspect the number of provisional ballots filed will tell a story one way or another. Your vote may not count in the outcome of any races (unless you can get your ID back to the county within the allotted time), but you'll be leaving a strong message that you want to vote.
And I hear you whine: It's my right NOT to vote. Well, that's true. And I don't want to hear you whining about the government in power if you couldn't be arsed to get off your ass and vote. Go in and vote a blank ballot. Write Mickey Mouse or Alfred E. Neumann in for an office. Instead of sitting on your ass and whining, get out and let those in charge know you don't like any of the candidates on the ballot.
And I hear you whine: But big money controls the elections. What does my vote matter? Here's why it matters: If we all get off our asses and vote, if we stop voting straight tickets, if we take the time to research and vote for the candidate rather than the party, big money isn't going to win. We will win.
So get off your ass and vote, already. And if you don't, I don't want to hear you bitching at all.