It's such a hoary old chestnut, the phrase should be roasting on an open fire. We hear it over and over, leading up to every even-numbered November, from any politician sniffing
to be an officeholder: “This is the most important election of our lifetime.” The big difference is, this time they may be right.
He hasn’t ruined the Republican Party, he lifted the rock they were hiding under.
If indicators hold true and the elections are fair, the Democrats should retake the House of Representatives. The Senate is bit of a stretch, although possibly attainable. Victory in either chamber would allow new committee chairs to initiate investigations and rein in our current President’s more despicable impulses. Bring the chaos down to a dull roar. Then again, if the elections aren’t fair, you might want to finish that application at the Canadian immigration website bookmarked on your computer.
Despite the corruption in the White House being so large it can be seen from space, the former New York City real estate developer is predicting . . . a Red Wave. He continues to insist his administration is a “smooth-running machine,” which certainly sounds better than “out-of-control dumpster fire,” but appears to be a little less apt. These are not elections. They’re an intervention.
A certain reluctance to go to the polls is understandable. Many people are afraid they may be struck by the vast amounts of partisan sludge being flung about. And yes, we know all the axioms: “If voting were actually effective, they would have made it illegal by now.” “There ain’t a dime’s worth of difference between the lot of them.” “The only time you can believe a politician is when he calls his opponent a liar.”
But this is different. The Republicans have successfully used this guy to cloak their basest instincts: racism, greed, xenophobia, misogyny, lust for power, and a disregard for the health of the poor and the environment. He hasn’t ruined the Republican Party, he lifted the rock they were hiding under.
That is why we need to live and die for November 6. Eat and breathe for November 6. Hope and pray and steal and cheat for November 6. It could be our final stand. A high-stakes, last-ditch effort. This isn’t brain surgery. It’s more important.
Vote like they’re trying to take it away from us. Because they are. Vote as if the whole world was watching. Because it is.
Vote for the person who is most like you. Vote for the person most unlike you. Vote for the person most unlike HIM. Vote for the candidate with big plans. Vote for the candidate who couldn’t organize a take-out order at Dairy Queen. Vote for the candidate you dislike the least. Don’t think of it as the lesser of two evils, but the better of two lessers.
Don’t just talk about voting. Read about voting. Write about voting. Shout about voting. Encourage other people to read and write and shout about voting. Grab folks on the street by the lapels and shake them about voting. We have to show up in such numbers that anyone even thinking of tampering with the election will be intimidated like a poodle in a rhinoceros paddock.
Even that will not be enough. We have to actually vote. Vote early. Vote often. Adopt a dead voter in Chicago. Go out and vote like we’ve never voted before. We’ve got to vote like it’s going out of style. Vote as if the lives of our children are at stake. Vote like they’re trying to take it away from us. Because they are. Vote as if the whole world was watching. Because it is.
Pay no attention to the billionaire PACs or hacking Russians or our own Justice Department or the National Enquirer’s Pecker. Democracy is a participatory sport. It is not meant to be glimpsed from the sidelines. We have to exercise our electoral muscle before it atrophies. Use it or lose it, people. Get pumped up. Besides, if you don’t vote, you can’t bitch, and we do plenty of that, don’t we?