Junior Tuesday

[plumtreeblossom]

Today is Junior Tuesday, the day on which the states of Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont are holding their primaries (as well as an unorthodox but crucially important night caucus in Texas). Never has an election been more important to me, and I firmly believe, to my country.

Everyone already knows that my support is behind Barack Obama, but I'm not posting to talk about that today. I don't know if I have any readers in the Junior Tuesday states, but if so, I urge you to go out to the polls and make your choice known, whatever that choice might be. If you have friends or relatives in TX, OH, RI or VT, please send them an e-mail reminding that today is the day for their voices to be heard.

Once upon a time, I didn't care very much about politics. If you'd met me 20 years ago you would have found a surly young independent, liberal in lifestyle but with a strong apolitical streak. Sometimes I didn't vote at all. I felt an overwhelming hopelessness about American government, and I turned away to hide in the world of avant garde art and underground subcultures. As you have witnessed, apathy such as this helped usher in one of the darkest spans of time in American history.

Never again.

I don't feel hopeless or helpless anymore. This past year has shown me that the energy to change our country and our world is out there, and I am a part of it. So are you.

Please vote.

Comments

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I screened it for you.

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

Random aside on solutions to voter apathy -- I'm remembering that my parents voted, like, last week, which reminded me that today wasn't the only day for voting in Texas; they have an "early voting" program that lets you go and vote within, like, a week or so (don't know exactly how long) preceding the election. I wish they had that here. I haven't missed very many elections in my life but there have been years when something prevented me. I'd love it if Election Day were a holiday, as has occasionally been suggested to encourage voter turnout, but having an "early voting" system might work equally well to help out all those people who "just can't find the time" (which is sometimes laziness, but sometimes genuine).
/random aside
**also encourages everyone in those states to vote!**

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm all for early voting options, too. There are many unpreventable reasons why a person might not be able to make it to the polls on Election Day, such as childcare, no available transportation that day, employers who break the law and forbid employees to take time off (and employees too poor to sue their employers for it).

I so admire the Texas Democrats, who are knocking themselves out today, and have been doing so for this whole election. They're an inspiration. GO TEXAS!

[tcb.livejournal.com]

I emailed my dad last week, encouraging him to vote today, and he said that he, like 1 in 5 other Ohioans, voted early, for Obama.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Yay Ted's Dad! Great to hear it. :-)

[gabriellag.livejournal.com]

I'm in Ohio and I voted for Obama. As did my 22 year old brother, my 30 year old boyfriend, all of my law school friends and my 35 year old co-attorney. My mom, dad, managing attorney (boss about 43), paralegal, secretary (both about my mom's age) voted for Clinton.

I drove home to Dayton last night (I live in Columbus) to take my mom to cataract surgery in the morning. She and my brother have been fighting over this election for ages. My mother and I have been more respectfully arguing and emailing her (my main argument, at least in terms of attempting to sway her was that Obama could beat McCain, Hillary can't). Yet last night (before they called it for Hillary) and even this morning, I couldn't believe the generalities (nobody with brains would vote for Obama), the misstatements (Obama has no experience) and the clear bias (You young people are too hopeful, I'm a realist, and would never trust you to pick our next president) that she mentioned.

My mom is more intelligent than I and probably one of the most intelligent people I know. And honestly, I'm not a Clinton hater - I just prefer Obama. But she was so antagonistic (not her style) and hateful. I just don't get it. Why is she so against young, energetic, new, hopeful?

(I really don't think it's racism, but I don't discount the fact that she wants to see a women president (although I know she wouldn't vote for Condi. She's not that desperate.)) My boyfriend is black and her grandchildren will be biracial. She has never said a negative word about our relationship and has even chided my father (in my childhood) for making some random generalizations about black maids in a hotel, or the poor being mostly black. That they needed money or something - nothing overtly racist, but still those incidents where my mom would correct my dad probably started me thinking about the whole race thing in the first place....

Anyway, the whole point of this comment, is that I think there is a great divide amongst the Democrats and I don't know what to do about it and it scares me. My mom and dad would certainly vote for Barrack if he gets the nomination. But will Willie J. Tucket in the Hocking Hills? Will my crazy liberal friends from college switch over to Nader if Clinton is our nominee? I won't 'cause I did in 2000 and regret it.

I can't take another Bush cronie in office. I can't. And I would give money to an effort to prevent that. But what do I do now.

If I were in charge? Rock, paper, scissors. Loser is VP.