Ever have a day where you feel like you are ground into the earth? I’ve been feeling like that the last few months, like everyone else in our nation - there is work, worrying if one will have a job in this recession, watching hard earned pensions shrink (if we have the luxury of having a pension), groaning under the burden of higher health costs while painfully noticing what medical benefits one has are covering less and less, heating costs, rising inflation, trying to make a paycheck stretch to the next pay period – sound familiar? Then I find out John Edwards dropped out. It was almost too much. I so admire John and Elizabeth and everything they are trying to do. How crunched they must have been.
I’m Sherri Welsh aka Congressional Candidates Wife. My husband is Barry Welsh, THE Congressional Candidate of Indiana’s 6th District. Yes, THAT guy!
I’m writing to give you a perspective that hit me today; we too have been crunched pretty hard with Barry focusing on his campaign and basically me taking on the "other stuff". It’s been overwhelming at times, daunting and hysterically scary at times. While I’ve been consumed with focusing on the "other stuff", I’ve found myself being cocooned actually just from sheer time constraints. Work for minimum 10 hours, commute another 2.5 hours per day, home for maybe 2.5 hours to at least remember what my husband looks like and talk to him, 3 hours taking care of home "stuff", sleep and then the cycle starts again. That’s gotta sound familiar – right?
It’s hard to stay on top of "important stuff" like who’s going to actually help or hinder one’s future, or the future of one’s kids when looking at leadership or government? What is going on, what is Government doing, how is it affecting my family and me? What is going on in my community, my state, and my country? While it’s easy to stay "cocooned" and say "I’m tired, let someone else take care of that" the danger lies in the state of cocooning and not being aware of the "important stuff". Who we elect ANYWHERE has an impact on our lives – big or small.
For instance, I work for a really large and VERY hard R Republican company (it’s the only job available in a 65 mile radius of where we live) and they have their own PAC and a special lobbying group specifically set up for "encouraging" voters. That may be a good intention but here’s the rub, they just recently put into policy (in part due to the nature of their industry) whereby an employee (or employee’s spouse or partner) MUST ask permission to donate or fund raise for any local/state or federal political candidate or party. There is another policy that states (largely due to the industry) that prohibits an employee from having a political position, political function, political office, etc. While there are legitimate reasons for some of these types of policies, it’s become VERY noticeable to the employees of my company. Especially since people have put in time and traded higher wages in order to attain good benefits that are being reduced, facing significant layoffs during a recession and the policies seem even more restrictive. We all know we make compromises in order to attain our priorities. However, I was shocked at an internal poll conducted internally – the question was "Who is your Presidential candidate? The answers were as follows (keep in mind this was not a scientific poll but had 2,584 responses none the less). I find this significant, this gives me hope that there are people that are waking up and fighting the "cocoon" effect of just making a living and at least thinking of or are aware of the "important stuff" like what is going on and how it may affect our future.
Who's your Presidential candidate?
Hillary Clinton 679 (26.28%)
John McCain 248 (9.60%)
Barack Obama 593 (22.95%)
Mitt Romney 593 (22.95%)
Other 89 (3.44%)
Undecided 382 (14.78%)
So like everyone else who is handling the "other stuff" and trying to keep up on "important stuff" it’s good to know one isn’t alone and this year we are all thinking about the stuff that is really affecting our lives.
While we may not be able to keep up with the current news because we are trying to make the rent or the mortgage, EVERYONE has a vested interest in being aware. We ALL have a reason to be aware and to make the time for the "important stuff" because when you think about it, anything that affects our futures or impacts our daily lives is "important stuff".
While I may have been long winded this evening, I want to especially thank you for taking the time to read my diary and I welcome all comments.
This is my diary and is not vetted through the campaign and is my perspective of a Congressional campaign from the inside looking out.
Love,
Sherri Welsh
Congressional Candidates Wife